I never thought I would like this movie, but it turned out to be one of the biggest surprises in Belgian cinema history for me. My expectations were really low because of a few indicators. It's based on a book by the famous Belgian writer Willem Elsschot. It's thick and boring. They actually tried to force me to read it once when I was in school. I didn't read it and took pleasure with my F. Some of my former classmates did read it and they said it was dull, difficult and most UNinteresting. Also, I was even less enthusiast when I heard Robbe De Hert was set to direct Lijmen / het Been. He may be Belgium's most known famous director but he usually tries to be too controversial and two of his previous films ( Blueberry Hill, Brylcream Boulevard ) were failures because of that.
But enough with the complaining, after all ... Lijmen / het Been is a very good movie and not at all hard to follow. The actors very well cast and the use of decors and settings of Belgium in the 1930's are just GREAT !! There's plenty of humor, drama, sentiment and even a bit of suspense to detect in the whole finished product. ***SPOILERS *** Mike Verdrengh ( a true Belgian TV legend ) is brilliant as the sophisticated swindler who publishes a sort business magazine. With a lot of smooth talk and promises, he knows how to convince many people to make a special issue of the magazine around their company. Most of the people who're talked into this by him end up all broke and bankrupt. The weird title "Lijmen / het Been " ( roughly translated "to glue / the Leg "... yeah, I know ...weird ) refers to both how he made his biggest deal AND the element that brought him down finally down. "Lijmen" is an expression that means smooth talking and "Het Been" refers to the handicap his last costumer suffered from...a wooden leg.
The whole story is told through a flashback but the story is pretty chronological. No Pulp Fiction or Memento style in other words. There really are good Dutch and Belgian films out there to discover. We may not have the best reputation when it comes to cinema but we do exist. Lijmen / het Been proves that. Cinema buffs will certainly recognize the original ( and still beautiful ) Sylvia "Emanuelle" Kristel as the prostitute. Highly recommended, but please don't watch it dubbed in English, German or any other language...This is one of the few times that the Dutch language really does justice to the quality of the story
But enough with the complaining, after all ... Lijmen / het Been is a very good movie and not at all hard to follow. The actors very well cast and the use of decors and settings of Belgium in the 1930's are just GREAT !! There's plenty of humor, drama, sentiment and even a bit of suspense to detect in the whole finished product. ***SPOILERS *** Mike Verdrengh ( a true Belgian TV legend ) is brilliant as the sophisticated swindler who publishes a sort business magazine. With a lot of smooth talk and promises, he knows how to convince many people to make a special issue of the magazine around their company. Most of the people who're talked into this by him end up all broke and bankrupt. The weird title "Lijmen / het Been " ( roughly translated "to glue / the Leg "... yeah, I know ...weird ) refers to both how he made his biggest deal AND the element that brought him down finally down. "Lijmen" is an expression that means smooth talking and "Het Been" refers to the handicap his last costumer suffered from...a wooden leg.
The whole story is told through a flashback but the story is pretty chronological. No Pulp Fiction or Memento style in other words. There really are good Dutch and Belgian films out there to discover. We may not have the best reputation when it comes to cinema but we do exist. Lijmen / het Been proves that. Cinema buffs will certainly recognize the original ( and still beautiful ) Sylvia "Emanuelle" Kristel as the prostitute. Highly recommended, but please don't watch it dubbed in English, German or any other language...This is one of the few times that the Dutch language really does justice to the quality of the story