Lijmen/Het been is an overall well made film by Robbe De Hert, based on the novels 'Lijmen' and 'Het been' by Willem Elsschot, one of Belgiums most talented writers. The story about the dealings of a refined hustler, Boorman who makes a living selling his 'Algemeen Wereldtijdschrift voor Financiën, Handel, Nijverheid, Kunsten en Wetenschappen' (basically nothing more than a glorified advertising brochure) to unsuspecting business managers. He hires Laarmans as his secretary and together they keep swindling until a deal with madam Lauwereyssen (Willeke van Ammelrooy) puts the latter out of business, which leaves Laarmans and even Boorman guilt-stricken. Of course Elsschot's strong point, his prosaic writing style loses its flair being transposed to the silver screen. Nevertheless the story is strong enough to keep the viewer interested throughout the film, in no small part due to acting performance of Mike Verdrengh (Boorman). Koen De Bouw, albeit a decent actor is totally miscast for the part of Laarmans. I think Josse De Pauw does a better job at portraying him in Kaas (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0231846/).
Review of Lijmen/Het been
