Hugues cannot get over the untimely death of his wife Blanche, who made him happy for ten years. He lives alone in his house in Bruges, a city he would like to be dead like his wife. The sorrowful widower has transformed the place he lives in into a shrine dedicated to his beloved wife. One day, he meets Jeanne, a ballet dancer, who looks like Blanche.
In 1833, when the fledgling Belgian kingdom still fears a Dutch invasion, recruits were selected annually from an age cohort by a draw of lots in each locality. In this grim, then contemporary drama by the 'father of Flemish literature', Hendrik Conscience, Jan Braems, a poor and naive farmers-boy, accepts the not uncommon offer by a rich family to sell his lucky ticket (out) to their son for a hefty sum compared to the miserable labor wages at the time. Army life is even harsher then a farmhand's, especially for a Dutch-speaking an-alphabet who simply can't understand his francophone superiors, and Jan's nature is not complacent enough for military discipline even by todays standards, so he soon gets into all kinds of trouble, including gambling his capital away and a venereal disease. When his girlfriend back home goes looking for him, her life is doomed as well.
A factory worker is employed in the desolate, cold-storage cellars of a brewery. His spare time he devotes to collecting romantic images of wild flowers and sticking newspaper cuttings in an album, demonstrating a preference for more gruesome stories. Murders, rapes and acts of violence are the events which accompany his everyday existence and invest it with a tinge of color.
A forty-year-old man loses his work and is unemployed. There is a continual coming and going between uncomfortable in his own skin unemployed person, his mistress - a middle-class - and an exuberant and fragile girl.
The captain of a ship in port has been entrusted with a secret government mission. He gives leave to the crew, but orders them to report back each morning. As the days go by, and the sailing date still remains a secret, the crew are thrown into a state of increasing uncertainty. The film concentrates on two crew members whose experiences are coloured by the omnipresent reality of the ship which is about to depart.
Princess is the title of a photo novel which will be written by Walter and photographed by Mark. A story of sex and violence which has great success. But Mark falls so much in love with his model that he can't tell her apart from Princess...
The tribulations of an American GI during the Ardennes offensive and the people he encounters, keeps you riveted all the way through the unexpected ending. Great characters in a cold and snowy Belgium.
Jan Decorte's second feature film is an adaptation of the play Hedda Gabler by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Decorte moved the locus of action of Ibsen's realistic play from 1890 to 1950, twenty-eight years earlier than when the film was shot. The story begins when Hedda returns home from an overly long honeymoon with her newly wed but colourless husband Tesman. She is pregnant and will be courted by the writer Eljert Lövbor, an old lover who is about to break through with an exceptional novel of autobiographical quality [Avila].
A 40-year-old mother struggles to deal with the anxiety of growing older after her eldest daughter moves out and the youngest distances herself.
Thomas, in his forties, holds an important post in a slaughterhouse. He is engaged to Marie-Rose, the daughter of the director, whom he hopes to follow later. In a routine examination in the hospital, however, he finds out that he has cancer and his days are counted. The upheaval that he suffers as a result, however, does not take long, his decision is certain: he will use the short time to clean up some bad guys. What else can he do now?
Stefan Pielek a florist wants to commit suicide but has no official permit. He signs an official application, While he waits to get the permit he falls in love with a young girl Ophelia.
The men of Chemics International lead a quiet life. However, this is cruelly disrupted by an industrial accident in which a toxic substance is released. Some workers are killed; many others are irrevocably contaminated and may suffer permanent injuries. The management, government, press and unions do not react, seeing this as an unfortunate incident. When one of Herman and Jef's best friends also dies, they have had enough. Together they made an ultimate attempt to reveal the truth to the outside world.
Sam starts his first week as a helper at a brickyard. He got this job because his new boss is the chairman of the local football team for which he plays. He's a talented goalkeeper. There is much resemblance between Sam and Louis, a 65-year-old who is pottering through the last days before his retirement. They both react strongly to the illegal dumping practices of a firm from the city. But also their boss' hands do not seem to be entirely clean in this business. Will Sam sink into the rut and routine that Louis is rebelling against?
"Palaver" tells us the day of three Congolese students (Albert, Victor and Marcel) who visit Bruges for a tour of the city, and end up on the beaches of Ostend. During their trip, they cross a beautiful blond on the arm of an equally superb African.
In this silent film, a hermit living in the ruins of an old castle spies on and grows obsessed with a young couple building a home by the river.
Fred, a 28-year-old bachelor from a quiet village in the Ardennes, is forester and grave digger. He is in love with Isabel but she has always loved their childhood friend Peter. Then Peter returns after a failed marriage.
Arno's contract with an oil company in the Sahara desert has come to an end and he's planning to return to Europe. On his way to the harbour his car breaks down and he's unable to get it running again.
Jonny loves Jessy, but he likes his car even more and therefore Jessy breaks up with him.
This is a semi documentary about a Belgian woman trying to deal with her confused ideals after the big industrial strikes in Wallony. To do so, she goes to Spain to try and find out if there is a future for anarchist ideals.
A mentally deranged concert pianist recalls his deceased love and decides to search for her. He believes he will be able to trace her in the underworld.
