Bullhead

For some reason Swedish critics gave this film very mixed reviews, ranging from lukewarm to downright negative.

Why is the biggest question for me because this film is better then it's reputation.

This belgian crimedrama introduces the viewer to the illegal use of growth hormones in the beef industry. Jacky Vanmarsenille, the main character, is a beef farmer who together with his family have been doing this for many years, buying hormones from the local mafia.

But is not just the animals who use the hormones, Jacky has been pumping himself with hormones and steroids for many years. He needs it because of a very deep dark family secret, that only he and old friend of his knows about.

When his friend reappears in his life again, Jackys life starts to unravel with tragic results...

Matthias Schoenaerts(Jacky Vanmarsenille) is simply amazing in the main lead, filling his character with a vulnerability seldom seen in crimedramas. Even though he is a muscular, threatening figure, prone to violence, the viewer feels only sympathy for him and his struggle for a decent life.

Jacky Vanmarsenille describes himself as bull, in many ways this film feels like bullfight were Jacky is a Spanish Fighting Bull waiting to meet the matadors sword.

Other fantastic performances in this film includes Jeroen Perceval as his old friend, who plays his Diederik Maes very well, a man filled with regrets and guilt but willing to good.

Jeanne Dandoy as Lucia Schepers not ready to handle the massive rage and lust from Jacky Vanmarsenille.

The sense of dread is everywhere in this film, and viewers expecting an upbeat filmexperience should stay away.

Another great thing about this film is the discussion of growth hormones, chemicals and the abuse of such. Viewers wanting to know more should see documentaries such as Food, Inc. (2008), King Corn (2007)etc.

Rundskop/Bullhead (2011)gives the illegal users a face and tells the story from the users perspective.

Viewers who liked Fingers (1978), Raging Bull (1980), Beautiful Boxer (2004)etc might want to look at this film. It deserves more viewers then some critics claim.

This is without doubt one of the best European films I've ever seen.

First of all this was a brilliant performance by Mattias Schoenaerts, his character being a man tormented by a childhood trauma that makes him withdrawn and only really relating to the animals on his farm, even through his silence you can feel the agony he goes through because of this being such a good performance by him.

Having lived on farms it is also refreshing to see a good crime film based on the countryside underworld and for it to be accurate as well to various themes of this film.

One of the only downsides to this film is that the flashbacks that occur are scattered about and can cause some confusion if your not paying full attention to the film.

However overall a great watch and it is not a surprise to see it got nominated for best foreign film of the year.

A must see - 9/10

Bullhead (2011)

A tough, sometimes horrifyingly violent, but ultimately moving tale about a man caught up in a world of crime and violence. And it began in childhood, which is revealed in some key, difficult flashbacks. All of it is set in Belgium, and is multi-lingual (French and Dutch), and it has a European kind of gangster crime world that is quite different than the Hollywood way of depicting American versions of the same.

These are all strong reasons to watch it. I found myself confused by the many characters because part of the style is to offer a series of different situations, all related, and have the viewer put it together. While this is a million times better than movies that explain too much, there were many times that I was just watching and waiting to see how it would make sense later.

And the acting is so wonderful, and the general style of filming so beautiful without being distracting, you can really get absorbed even without knowing the details of the plot. The leading man in particular is a steroidal, muscled up guy who plays a brute, but who is deeply troubled inside due to a childhood incident. While you never quite are on his side, you come to feel for his situation. The various thugs around him are not always so sympathetic, but all of them are regular guys at heart, and you generally see them as people, not as criminal stereotypes.

In this way, the movie is a little like "The Killing" (a mid-fifties Kubrick film) or "Reservoir Dogs" (the 1990s Tarantino film). While you don't follow a heist step by step, you do get to see the characters behind the crimes as more important than the crimes. There is even a bit of comic relief in "Bullhead" with the pair of car mechanics who bumble just enough to make you laugh.

A great film? Not really, but it has elements that point that way. I think many people will totally love it, the way it's made, the aura of easy realism. Some might find the central childhood trauma a bit excessive (it's really brutal and a bit over the top, but yet believable), and others might see the complicated relationships between criminals, innocents, and cops a bit too fuzzy. But it all has total purpose, and if you give it time it will justify itself, right up to the tense ending.

I made an account solely for this movie, a true tragic, mesmerizing Movie. It really is a must see. I think it has a very high change being nominated for the Oscars as best foreign movie and maybe even winning it. Another reviewer posted something about silence moments in this movie but really, even without saying much, you can feel the pain and tragedy the main characters went through. Brilliant performance by Matthias Schoenaerts and , amongst others, Frank Lammers.

I do think however the spoken language might be a bit of a barrier for non-Flemish/dutch speakers because I feel that a lot of the words and sentences spoken here add to the drama; translation tends to loose that drama. (I can give a few examples but that would be a spoiler) I predict that this movie will be remade/re shot in English (pity) for a broader audience.

10/10 for me

I found this film remarkable for its ability to stir feelings of sympathy for a kind of character who seems utterly brutish and unredeemable. Jacky is a brute, the kind of man who all too often resorts to abominable acts of violence when he's aroused. And yet, thanks to the portrait of Jacky drawn by the director and by the actor, we cannot help but feel great sorrow for him. Yes, Jacky does terrible, terrible things over the course of the film, but by the end I was sobbing for him. Maybe it's simply "tout comprendre, c'est tout pardonner", but whatever that emotion was I felt at the film's end it was something that revealed to me (and one would hope to all who see this film) a terrifying and redemptive bond of common humanity.