Think of an ant in an anthill. Or a bee in a beehive. Or better yet, an ice cream hiding at the back of your chock-a-block freezer. This is Belgium in comparison to the world. And despite being able to comfortably squeeze into Australia 250 times, this petite French–speaking nation has just emerged with a new film that idolises the elaborate imaginations and (mis)adventures of youth, The Giants.
With director Bouli Lanner’s cheeky and moving film winning an award at the Cannes Film Festival last year and making the selection in the 2011 London International Film Festival, this film’s clearly one of the contemporary royals of the European film circuit. Starring the surprising talents of Zacharie Chasseriaud, Martin Nissen and Paul Bartel, The Giants invites all young inspiring actors to skip Hollywood and head to Brussels for a decent callback.
Playing across a pasture and lake-filled countryside one sunny summertime (though often wet and gloomy to the cinematographer’s delight), anyone that has lived through a blazing Aussie summer could come to appreciate seeing living grass that hasn’t been destroyed by oafish rugby players who only think about kicking balls and eating meat.
Accompanied with an inept sense of fragility and innocence that comes with the antics of young boys (now I’m sounding like a Vatican padre), the audience journeys alongside a violent black-eye covered voyage that would leave an imprint in the memory of the most nature-hating city-dwellers. It’s an uplifting film, not atypical of the nouveau character of indie films exported by award-winning filmmakers, so two thumbs up to the cinematography.
Music performed by Bram Van Parys almost touches the soul, falling just short of producing acidic tears that occasionally rise up under the spell of my stomach’s crimson-coloured butterflies.
One word of advice before watching this film? Prepare your savings account for a sudden urge to fly off to the cornfields of continental Europe and float down algae-covered riverbeds.
★ ★ ★ ★ ½ Stars
Ryan Auberson-Walsh
