Bullhead

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.

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 stumbled across this movie last night, and, although I'd no idea who the director or any of the actors are, based on the reviews, and especially the trailer, I decided to take a look.

I'm both sorry and glad I did.

I think the lead actor in this movie, Matthias Schoenaerts (who, incidentally, should have been cast as Bane in Batman Rises. He IS Bane) has a bright future in Hollywood. Certainly I know I'll be checking out his other movies, now that I'm aware of him.

Bullhead constantly threw me for a loop and kept me on my toes all at the same time.

The obvious simpatico between director Michael R. Roskam and Mr. Schoenaerts is evident in the constant tension and slight unease that's able to be maintained throughout the entire movie, even during the "softer" (if you can call them that) moments of the film. The scenes of Jacky, alone in his room/apartment are very powerful.

Jacky's alienation and rage make us, the viewer both nervous, as though he'll somehow be able to reach through the screen and bring us, kicking and screaming into his brutal world, and sympathetic as we're able to see the reason for this young man's pain.

The Oscar nomination (I've forgotten if it won or not, but if it didn't it should have) was well deserved, and I look forward to great things from this wonderful young actor.

Hoss.

Rundskop – BullHead – CATCH IT (A) Belgian "Rundskop" is nothing what I had expected to be a movie about a cattle farmer. It turns out to be something beyond I had ever imagined. Rundskop is about a young cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts), who is constantly pumped on steroids and hormones and initiates a shady deal with a notorious mafia in meat trader. The new set of events takes Jacky to his mysterious shocking past. To be honest even writing this gives me chills, I cannot believe what happened with him is anyway mentionable or thinkable. Rundskop features one of the most disturbing and beyond shocking scenes of the celluloid's history. After watching that it made me sick to my stomach and even now it's almost a week since I saw that but I cannot forget it. The brutality of that moment and its after effects on Jacky's life is remarkably portrayed in Rundskop. Matthias Schoenaerts as Jacky Vanmarsenille is remarkable, talk about Oscar worthy performance here. His pain, anger, loneliness and wanting to be loved can be seen through Matthias Schoenaerts's eyes and physicality. I don't have words for his performance so here is what famous critic Rodger Ebert says ""The one excellent aspect of the film is Matthias Schoenaerts' performance. We often follow him walking in a controlled lurch from side to side, as if merely walking is not enough of a challenge for him. We see his eyes, burning with pain. The film impresses because of the pain, sadness and rage contained in the title performance by Flemish actor Matthias Schoenaerts, who bulked up for the role (without steroids), and seems ready to burst from his clothes and even his skin." Te performance by all the supporting cast including young Jacky "Robin Valvekens" is admirable. In the end, Rundskop is an intense thriller/drama filled with a remarkable performance by Matthias Schoenaerts which makes me want to see all his previous and upcoming movies.

You do not have to be Belgian to appreciate and be an admirer of this movie. The way it is told, filmed and performed are Oscar worthy....

This the incredibly sad story of Jacky, a farmer who's whole life will be turned upside down following a dramatic and traumatising event in his youth....making him the man (or what's left of it) he is today!

It handles in a very realistic way the animal (cow-bull) drug and hormone maffia and its traffic. Following the lives of several people who are directly affected by it.

The two stories, one the telling of Jacky's way to deal with his trauma and how he suffers from it, how it affected him and the other about the hormone traffic are brilliantly melt together to a story that will leave no one insensitive!!

AMAZING!!