Gurlyndrobb
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
AshUnow
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Roxie
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Coventry
What is it with films from Flanders that they seemingly MUST feature either farmers or marginal people in order to be successful? Prior to 1995 it seems like movies from here only revolved on farmer families battling against poverty and various other types of misery, whereas after 1995 the farmers were replaced by marginal people, but they were still battling against poverty and various other types of misery. Our most famous cinematic export product, the Oscar-nominated "Rundskop" (aka "Bullhead") even features a combination of both! Marginal farmers, hooray! But the term marginal is far too light to describe the lead characters in "The Ardennes", though. They're the equivalent of trailer trash! "The Ardennes" almost feels untouchable here in Flanders, Belgium. You're almost not allowed to say something negative about it. Ever since the release in 2015 - and even before already - this film has been incredibly popular and benefiting from a tremendous media buzz. Everybody loves it, audiences as well as critics, and I honestly wonder why it's so well-received and successful. Admittedly it's a competent film and much better than the overrated "Rundskop" or the pretentious but substantially void "De Helaasheid der Dingen" (aka "The Misfortunates"), but "The Ardennes" nevertheless remains a simplistic and clichéd tale with predictable twists and protagonists you can't possibly sympathize with. Especially the first half feels long, tedious and overly familiar. Fans of the film will undoubtedly call it a harrowing and confronting portrait of a suffering family in the lower middle class of Belgian society, but the simple truth is that it's a form of 'disaster tourism'. You're looking at trailer trash people and you're glad you're not like them. These people eat Flemish stew on Christmas Eve, listen to loud 90s house music in their ugly car, behave and talk like racists and participate in miserable drug-rehabilitation group sessions. There aren't any underlying messages or lessons to be drawn. Personally I'm 100% fine with that, but then please stop pretending it's a relevant film that shows how difficult it is to re-integrate into society after a prison sentence or how to get your life back on track after a severe drug addiction. "The Ardennes" doesn't do that, and I don't think writers Robin Pront and Jeroen Perceval ever intended their script to become a social requiem. In fact, the story can be described best as: the trailer trash version of Cain and Abel. Two brothers, jealousy and uncontrollable anger resulting in violence. Please don't get me wrong; "The Ardennes" honestly isn't a bad film, but it simply never lives up to the praise and compliments it is receiving. That's hardly the film's own fault. The second half, primarily set in the titular Ardennes, is more exciting and introduces a few fantastically eccentric supportive characters, like this hideous drag queen Joyce (Sam Louwyck) and the psychotic ex-con Stef (Jan Bijvoet). I swear, those two deserve a spin-off film of their own! The climax isn't too difficult to foretell, especially if you're familiar with mainstream thrillers, but it still comes as a minor shock even if you know what is going to happen. Lead actor Kevin Janssens deserves extra respect for the performance he gives. I read that the role was originally reserved for Matthias Schoenaerts (pretty much the only Flemish actor to have success in Hollywood). Taking over from him surely couldn't have been an easy task, but Janssens truly gives away a stellar performance. I didn't care much for him as an actor before, but he underwent a phenomenal metamorphosis here. The same can be said for Robin Pront. The film was supposed to be directed by Michael Roskam ("Bullhead") at first, but eventually Pront directed the scenario that he co-wrote himself. Kudos to him, because in his debut feature he certainly demonstrations copious amounts of talent, style, vision and surefootedness. Oh, and one last thing: I love the soundtrack! I don't care that it gets linked to criminals, drug-abusers and lowlifes; - Belgian house/dance music from the 1990s is awesome. Search for songs like "The House of House", "The First Rebirth" and "Rigor Mortis/ Flesh & Bones" on YouTube and concur with me!
Tom Dooley
Dave and Kenneth are brothers and are on the wrong side of the law. They attempt a robbery and it all goes to hell in a hand cart, but Dave manages to escape leaving his brother to take the rap – and he does.Move on four years and Kenneth is out and he wants to make up for lost time. He also cant accept that his brother has had the temerity to grow up and start acting like an adult. He also wants back with his ex- girlfriend but she has other ideas and he involvement with both brothers becomes pivotal to how things spiral.Now this is gritty but it is a lot of psychological pain before the actual real pain kicks in. The acting is great and the cinematography very well done and it is in Flemish, but this is in the Antwerp dialect which has upset a few observers as it is a bit on the 'common' side. However it also adds to the realism of the piece – all in all though a very commendable film indeed.
Reno Rangan
The Dutch crime-drama about two brothers, especially the plot revolves as a love triangle, but it is not a romance movie. The movie opened in the middle of some crime scene which is never going to be revealed what actually happened, because it wasn't important as the film's narration is something else. What comes later is the twist in the character's relationship with each other, especially between two brothers and a woman they're in love.The actual story begins a few years later to that opening incident. Looks everything has changed at that point, except one of the brother who just stepped outside the prison. The remaining is all about the condition of the family and the romance relationship that appears to be complicated to explain to one another. When it begins to unfold, the final twist strikes which bring further complexity to the conclusion section.Frankly, I did not like the first two acts. Actually, I expected it to be a crime story. With two tough characters the scenes did not create enough curiosity or the thrilling moments. But the third act is where the movie changed its pace as well as genre to what I was eagerly waiting for. Because of the decent developments in the earlier, this ending was so exciting. But overall product is just above average. That means it is not a bad flick, yet everyone's not going to like it.6/10
hfhfdfse
Dave and Kenny are brothers and robbers. After a failed robbery attempt Kenny goes to prison, he kisses his girlfriend Sylvie good bye, she promises to wait for him but ultimately abandons him and starts dating his brother Dave (without telling Kenny anything, of course). OK, these things do happen. When Kenny is released from prison, Dave and Sylvie decide to keep their relationship secret (just for no reason). Kenny gets suspicious, confronts Sylvie but she still does not want to tell him the truth. Eventually Kenny finds out, goes insane and kills Sylvie. This is it. The end of the story. Why on earth was this movie made? What is the point? No answers. The characters are really dumb and lacking the kind of psychological depth or anything else that might make us sympathize with them, the plot is thin and unconvincing. Tec contribution is solid although the movie was made on a relatively low budget.
