This Oscar nominee for best foreign film is very good, about the "Ups and downs, mostly downs," said Jack) of a Belgian musician couple. It played a week here, closing tonight. The very first scene shows Elise and Didier in the pediatric oncology ward with their little girl Maybelle, and then flashes back and forward to their cute meet, their immediate attraction, love affair (nudity and sex), professional music career (a first rate bluegrass band), and more. Be aware that the changes in time aren't always obvious. Didier, played by Johan Heldenbergh (he co-wrote the play from which the movie is adapted and had a small part in the excellent
Moscow, Belgium, also set in Ghent, Belgium), is a scruffy bearded sort, passionate about everything in his life, who can't believe his good luck when tattooed blonde bombshell Elise, played by Veerle Baetens, falls for him. Turns out she has a beautiful voice and joins his quintet onstage at bigger and bigger concerts throughout the movie. Little Nell Cattrysse is terrific in her scenes as Maybelle, too.
It's been compared to Once (2006), Walk the Line (2005), and
Blue Valentine. I can see why. One reviewer called it as tragic as a country tune. I see that, too.
The spoken language is Flemish, but the title is in English, based on the song
Will the Circle Be Unbroken. All the songs, in fact, are in English. You can watch the trailer and listen to the entire wonderful soundtrack at
this link, and at
this one look up where and/or how to see it. We also appreciated the inventive cinematography.
Rottentomatoes critics at 80% and audiences at 87 are in agreement. Don't miss it. We can't predict if it'll win the Oscar because it's the first foreign nominee we've seen so far this year.
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