Any Way the Wind Blows

Sympathetic attempt by Belgian dEUS front man Tom Barman in his debut film about the intertwined lives of ten people during a summer day in Antwerp, his beloved home town. For Dutch people watching this on DVD, you might wanna watch this with subtitles (which I did recently), because most of the dialog is in 'plat Antwerps'.

Tom Barman is a man who likes to leave all odds open. This is the way he likes to play records when he's dj-ing, his latest passion. Not long ago, I attended a party where he was spinning some records. His choice of music is interesting, but hardly fitting for the dance-floor. After three songs I was bored out of my mind, and so was the audience. There was no built-up, no climax and no connection and the dance-floor stayed empty. I've had a bit of a dEUS overdose in the past ten years, but there's no denying it was one of the most interesting music formations to come out of Belgium in a long time. In 2002, I went to a concert of theirs, which ended in a complete anti-climax (they ended with three ballads). Again, Tom Barman seemed oblivious to the fact the audience was snoozing for the last half hour.

Basically, this film offers a similar experience. Lots of ideas, well-meant, attractively shot, but it's little more than a loose collection of ideas. Some pointed out, this is the ultimate reflection of the many loose ends of the main characters' lives. Too bad the characters we're watching are quite obnoxious.

However, the cinematography is pretty good, as well as the soundtrack, and the final party scene is impressively shot and choreographed. But in the end, the main thing that stuck, was that David Bowie probably made his best records in the eighties.

I know.

Camera Obscura --- 6/10

I'm not the typical imdb movie-fanatic. I'm not even someone who really likes watching moves (I doubt I've ever watched more than 3 movies a month).

I liked this movie because the characters could really exist and really be living in Antwerp. Having often walked the thin line between the underground and the 'decent way of living' myself, this movie brought back memories when I watched some of the characters in there. Although the standard-issue 'tax paying upright citizen' might not believe this, I don't think I've seen one person in there that I couldn't compare to someone I've met in the past. This movie really shows live as it is living in Antwerp.

The choice of music i great. There's for example a drum'n'bass track in there at exactly the right moment that just made me want to start dancing right there.

I had some good laughs too!

I can't comment on (or care about) the technical aspects of this movie, but if mr Barman ever makes another movie I wouldn't want to miss it.

Barman directed Any Way the Wind Blows as he would sing a dEUS song. Anarchy rules over a logical and common strain of thoughts. The story behind this movie just goes any which way the wind blows. And that can truly be refreshing to watch, if you are prepared and willing that is. Viewers who state that there is nothing to keep the story-lines together are right. Who the hell is that Wind-man anyway? Still, I really enjoyed this movie. Antwerp is a beautiful, bustling, happening place and Any Way captures that feeling. It also captures the silliness, the racism, the bureaucracy, the addictions and the violence that reveals a new character of a seemingly friendly city. The movie is entertaining, funny and yes, a little shallow. Barman's screen debut will not make as heavy an impact as his music debut. In that light some might be disappointed. But then again, 'Worst Case Scenario' (the title of dEUS groundbreaking debut album) would be a apt subtitle for Any Way the Wind Blows.

What we have here is a classic case of TOO much patriotism. This is what happens when you live in a small country with very little (next to none, even) cinema history. Whenever somebody does come up with a slightly more ambitious film project – other than the usual dramas about struggling farmer families or long feature slapstick movies of local comedians – everybody feels obliged to love it and even responsible to spread favorable reviews across the countries' borders. This is especially the case when the writer/director of this particular film is already a nation's sweetheart, because he's also the founder and lead singer of a popular rock band. "Any Way The Wind Blows" is by no means a bad film, but it's definitely overrated (if that is even possible within the boundaries of a small country) and has absolutely nothing new or even remotely original to offer. This is basically the Flemish version of classic movies such as "Short Cuts" and "Magnolia" and illustrates a mosaic of characters whose daily lives initially appear to be unrelated but eventually come together in the end. The only thing that seems to unite the eight protagonists at first is the city of Antwerp, where they all live and work, but gradually the deeper relationships between them become transparent and near the climax they all gather for a party. The main problem with "Any Way The Wind Blows", at least according to yours truly, lies with the characters. They really are random, uninteresting and honestly don't experience anything that could be considered out of the ordinary. It was presumably writer/director Tom Barman's intention to depict the average & regular inhabitant of Antwerp but then, seriously, what is the point? One of the characters gets fired from his film projectionist job, another one is a failed novelist struggling with a marriage crisis, two siblings recently lost their father and the most "mysterious" one of them all is followed by the wind wherever he goes. There are a couple of more characters regularly walking through the screen, but they're even less worth mentioning. These people simply drivel on and on about very random topics (like life in the 80's, dates and each other's bowel motions) and philosophy about matters nobody cares about. Some of the dialogs do evoke mild chuckles, especially the interactions between the two twenty-something guys from Ghent, but still nothing extraordinary or even memorable. The film actually works best as a touristy video to promote the city of Antwerp and as an extended & versatile music documentary. There are several stylish & nifty sightseeing images of Antwerp and there's always beautiful music playing, whether really loud or subtly in the background. Generally speaking "Any Way The Wind Blows" is a competently made and stylish effort, but too mundane and slightly boring, and I honestly wonder most of its fans would even had bothered to watch if it weren't a Flemish production.

I really liked Tom Barman's AWTWB. You just have to let it come over you and enjoy it while it lasts, and don't expect anything. It's like sitting on a café-terrace with a beer, in the summer sun, and watching the people go by. It definitely won't keep you pondering afterwards, that's true, but that's not a prerequisite for a good film. It's just the experience during the movie that's great.

I felt there were a few strands that could have been worked out a little more, but being a Lynch fan I don't care that much anymore :)

And I *loved* the style, or flair of this movie. It's slick, but fresh, and the soundtrack is a beauty. Any music-lover will get his kicks out of AWTWB, I can assure you.

I'll give it 8 out 10.

(music-wise 10 out of 10)