We get another musical endeavor from one of Belgium's finest contemporary directors Felix Van Groeningen, after his Oscar-nominated film 'The Broken Circle Breakdown' from 2012. However, instead of the artists behind the music, we take a closer look at those providing a venue.
Based on the true history of Ghent's famous bar Charlatan we move to the other side of St. Jacob's Church to Café Belgica (you'll recognize it as Afsnis): the children's dream of running a bar of two alienated brothers, with beautiful performances by Stef Aerts and Tom Vermeir, come true. Of course, these brothers aren't children anymore, and as their success grows, so do their dysfunctional reality beyond the dream.
'Belgica' is great, or at least the bar is. Rarely have exuberant parties and decadent behaviour been put to the big screen with such style and a sense of 'you had to have been there'. The camera flies around at the pace set by Soulwax in the middle of sweat, flirtation, dancing, yelling, and doing drugs. I don't think a better party music clip has not been produced since The Prodigy's "Smack My ***** Up". However, just like any great party, there's a painful hangover looming up ahead. Life outside the bar is not only boring for our characters but also for us viewers. Each subplot is dotted with forgetful two-dimensional characters; terrible acting performances (especially Charlotte Vandermeersch - Felix van Groeningen's wife no less); and unoriginal ideas. I wouldn't go as far as calling it a "style over substance" movie, but the substance that's there is almost unforgivably basic considering the original decor and set-up.
No, this movie sadly isn't up to the same standard as Van Groeningen's previous films have set. Whereas the film itself is something most people will quickly forget, the soundtrack for this movie will live on as a great party anthem. In that sense it did get me pumped for a good raunchy party, regardless of what kind of tiresome hangover follows afterwards.
