2015 ‘D'Ardennen’ Directed by Robin Pront
A brutal home-jacking goes hopelessly wrong. Dave, one of the two robbers, manages to run off, leaving his brother Kenneth behind. Four years later, Kenneth is released from prison and much has changed. Dave has his life back on track and is trying to help Kenneth however possible, but is witnessing how the highly strung Kenneth tries to win back his ex-girlfriend Sylvie.
Jeroen Perceval Veerle Baetens Kevin Janssens Eric Godon Jan Bijvoet Peter van den Begin Sam Louwyck Viviane de Muynck Rachid El Ghazaoui Nico Sturm Luc Nuyens Brit Van Hoof Uwamungu Cornelis Caroline Stas Jacqueline Pluche Andreas Perschewski Joel Gosset Olivier Bony Dominique Van Malder Kuno Bakker
Le Ardenne - Oltre i confini dell'amore
Last night I happened to see this film at one of my cousin's house who told me about it and while I was there he encouraged me to watch it in his room, I was unaware of this work brought from Belgium... until now.
The story takes place after an unsuccessful robbery of a house, Dave is forced to flee, leaving behind his brother Kenneth, who for not informing on his brother must spend four years in prison. After that time, Kenneth wants to pick up where he left off, but inevitably things have changed: Sylvie, his girlfriend, doesn't want to see him again and Dave is now a teetotaler determined to get back on the right track. What he…
Belgian drama/thriller about two brothers who rob a bank, only one gets caught and serves time. The movie starts on his release from prison.
Same producers as Bullhead.
The scene at dinner with the dog was TENSE
Bleak n brutal crime drama/thriller by way of Belgium about two brothers who reunite after one of them serves four yrs in prison for a robbery gone wrong. Once reunited...a love triangle, different life values, shady characters, and murder push the brothers right back into a life of crime. Only this time they aren't on the same page...
Gritty and brooding, with a bluish green tint over the film that fit the vibe perfectly. The ending was solid.
The Ardennes is one of those movies that I really like simply because of its atmosphere. The gloomy green color palette with hints of neon, the synthy soundtrack... the sheer grittiness of it all. Story is pretty cool and had some unexpected beats. It reminds me of
Drive
Suburra
A slightly above average modern noir crime thriller with brothers in a love triangle, ostriches, murder, nightclubs and a carwash...
Ideally I’d give this a 3.75 ... I’ll settle on 4 but I revisit these things sometimes
Btw my DOGS tag is films with dogs that do not get injured in any way 😍🐶
Ok film zonder sympathieke personages. Prima gemaakt maar het verhaal was niet voor mij. Marginalen die slechte beslissingen maken zie ik al genoeg in de spiegel. Hoewel ik nog niet vaak perongeluk iemand heb vermoord. Nooit eigenlijk. Bewust ook niet.
Jean-Claude van Damme or Eddie Merckx? Hm, that's a toughie. Brotherly love has its boundaries in this atmospheric, intense, brooding and bleak thriller from Belgium. A burglary goes wrong. Kenny gets caught, his girlfriend and brother manage to escape. Kenny goes to jail without squealing. Years later he gets out and tries to pick up his life again. Much has changed in the mean time. I felt that the characterizations were a little too strong in the set-up. Especially Kenny's. The explosive type and he goes there rather quickly. Perhaps Pront should have used a little more time on him. On the other hand, the underlying tension between the brothers and the girl makes your palms sweat (I loved the…
* Recommended to me by lesfetes *
This is the kind of movie that I really admire.
It's smart, emotionally deep, full of complex characters and shot extremely well. A gritty story of a pair of brothers living on the edge of criminality, fighting against addiction, a shared love and the world around them trying to pull them in directions they know are wrong.
It's kind of awesome.
Plus it co-stars Veerle Baetens whom I loved in THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN as well as an important cameo performance by Jan Bijvoet who is an amazing performer.
A great film that is worth seeking out.
(currently available for free on Tubi)
Eine griechische Tragödie in fünf Akten, in das heutige Belgien verlagert. Rau, roh und absolut unnachgiebig. In den stillen Momenten (die es glücklicherweise zuhauf gibt) ist permanente Anspannung angesagt. Einen Abzug in der B-Note gibt es für die etwas fremdschämige Einführung in die Beziehung der zwei Protagonisten.
Abgesehen davon gelang Robin Pront mit seinem Debüt ein Thriller allererster Güteklasse. Ich bin gespannt und voller Vorfreude darauf, was wir in Zukunft von ihm noch werden bewundern dürfen.
Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuur wa nen debuutfilm. Fantastische bijrol van Jan Bijvoet. Camerawerk ook dik in orde. Soit, ben direct fan geworden van Robin Pront. Benieuwd naar zijne Zillion film.
A film like this, with minimal queer presence, is not only not marketed to queer people, but could not be said to be a queer story because the story it tells is one that centers straight people, that tells a stereotypically boring heternormative tale of masculine violence of repressed emotion, misogyny, and competition. The queer people in this story aren't stereotypes, but they are offensive caricatures. Their queerness is used as a prop to make them "strange" rather than as something about their deeper identities. It's a very, very bleak punchline in a very, very bleak story, something used to make something seem edgier. It's superficial and demonizing, and the violence against the queer people in this is exaggerated and cruel (just as is much of the violence in the film). It's sickening to watch not because it's violence, but because it's pointlessly sadistic.
Pride count: 2/30
Top notch drama/thriller is even more impressive considering it’s the director, Robin Pront’s first feature film.
The story of two brothers separated for 4 years as one, Kenny, takes the fall for a botched robbery, while Dave straightens his act and tries to live a crimeless life, now dating Kenny’s ex Sylvie and expecting a baby, is deep with character and very strong performances. And even though this story feels like it’s been done before, “Les Ardennes” comes with plenty of surprises, originality, and strong directorial choices.
Jan Bijvoet (Borgman) gives a standout performance among plenty of strong performers. The tension builds up to a suspenseful and hard-hitting violent ending that masterfully is packed with some great camera work, fitting greenish/grey color scheme, and build up set up through stress and worry for our characters.
Tight, original, and robust crime drama from Belgium.
