I love this movie so much

Undescribable Perfection

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

One of the motifs in thrillers is that a person's past comes back to haunt him. Michaël R. Roskam's Academy Award-nominated "Rundskop" ("Bullhead" in English) follows this motif but adds a new dimension. Matthias Schoenaerts's Jacky is a steroid-fueled cattle farmer. Making a deal with a beef trader, he soon comes across a friend from his younger years, which brings up several unpleasant memories.I read that this movie is based on the murder of Karel van Noppen, a government livestock inspector who was investigating illegal practices. Basically, it's a look at the ugly things that take place behind the idealistic image of Belgium that we usually get. To be certain, there's a scene from Jacky's past that will really make your blood freeze. But unlike the Hollywood movies focusing on crime, this movie isn't about high action; it's all about the characters and how they deal with events from the past. I recommend it, and I hope to see more of Roskam's movies.

One of the best films I have seen for a number of years. Perfect storyline, perfect direction and perfect acting. If you are board with Hollywood P.S. and wants to see something different watch this film. As a man I am naturally feeling deep sympathy towards the main character; and thus enjoyed the film. However, there is no doubt in my mind the female audience would enjoy it just as well. Nevertheless, only mature (I don't mean old) audience could enjoy that kind of a storyline. Thoughts evoking film, where for many days after watching it you would feel somehow emotionally touched by the film. Though the sadist part of the film is the final seen, somehow I felt this is a perfect ending for everyone involved!!!! He could find peace at last!

This film is the story of Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts), a Belgian cattle farmer who gets involved in illegal meat trading but after a federal agent gets killed a complex situation arises that eventually brings trouble to Jacky and his family. We see Jacky as a brutish and explosive character who continuously injects hormones and takes steroids. At the same time characters from Jacky's past resurface and introduce a parallel and intertwined back story that explains why Jacky is like he is.It is hard to explain the plot and why this film is so powerful without introducing spoilers and for this reason I have marked this review as containing spoilers but will try to keep to a minimum.Jacky is portrayed as a bullish brute who fits well into the dark underworld of mafia dealings etc. But as time passes we start to see the humanity within Jacky and feel sympathy for his character. This emerges as we see flashbacks to his childhood and an extremely horrifying event that shapes the man he becomes. Jacky is unable to claim the revenge that he so rightly deserves and unable to realise the love that is in his heart. Many situations demonstrate Jacky's suffering as an individual that are all as a result of this one event. We see Jacky as a sweet boy and we see Jacky as the tortured and brutish man and the links between the two slowly unfold.Schoenaerts portrayal of the complex character that is Jacky is magnificent and Oscar worthy. He does this with few words but with a power of presence and with expressions that reveal the character's underlying pain - he is a truly great actor. I have seen him do similar before in Rust and Bone but this role defines him as a great actor.The film starts slowly and the meat mafia characters are somewhat complicated to follow as they are introduced but stick with it as the film develops into a superb character study. This is not a Hollywood style film with loads of action but a very European film that values the importance of emotion and plot much more highly.There are scenes of violence and some that are quite disturbing, especially the event in Jacky's childhood is very hard to watch. What I am saying is that this is not a feel-good film but one that portrays gritty and sometimes brutal reality in a way that is rewarding for those that like to watch films that make them feel and think.This is one of the best films I have seen for a long time. It will not be to everybody's liking (those that can't do subtitles should avoid it - but you miss so much great cinema).I believe this is the first film from this director so I will be looking out for more. It certainly establishes Schoenaerts as a great actor and I hope to see much more of him and hope he is not snapped up by Hollywood to play dumb gangster roles, which he undoubtedly could do well and might pay him much more.So, in summary, this is a powerful and gritty drama from a new director with an astounding lead role which I cannot recommend highly enough - watch it! The only reason I do not give it 10 is some slowness and confusion in the early parts which prevent it from being perfect.

Bullhead (2011)A tough, sometimes horrifyingly violent, but ultimately moving tale about a man caught up in a world of crime and violence. And it began in childhood, which is revealed in some key, difficult flashbacks. All of it is set in Belgium, and is multi-lingual (French and Dutch), and it has a European kind of gangster crime world that is quite different than the Hollywood way of depicting American versions of the same.These are all strong reasons to watch it. I found myself confused by the many characters because part of the style is to offer a series of different situations, all related, and have the viewer put it together. While this is a million times better than movies that explain too much, there were many times that I was just watching and waiting to see how it would make sense later.And the acting is so wonderful, and the general style of filming so beautiful without being distracting, you can really get absorbed even without knowing the details of the plot. The leading man in particular is a steroidal, muscled up guy who plays a brute, but who is deeply troubled inside due to a childhood incident. While you never quite are on his side, you come to feel for his situation. The various thugs around him are not always so sympathetic, but all of them are regular guys at heart, and you generally see them as people, not as criminal stereotypes.In this way, the movie is a little like "The Killing" (a mid-fifties Kubrick film) or "Reservoir Dogs" (the 1990s Tarantino film). While you don't follow a heist step by step, you do get to see the characters behind the crimes as more important than the crimes. There is even a bit of comic relief in "Bullhead" with the pair of car mechanics who bumble just enough to make you laugh.A great film? Not really, but it has elements that point that way. I think many people will totally love it, the way it's made, the aura of easy realism. Some might find the central childhood trauma a bit excessive (it's really brutal and a bit over the top, but yet believable), and others might see the complicated relationships between criminals, innocents, and cops a bit too fuzzy. But it all has total purpose, and if you give it time it will justify itself, right up to the tense ending.