''The Misfortunates'' ( nl, De Helaasheid der Dingen) is a 2009

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by Felix Van Groeningen. It is adapted from the 2006 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Belgian writer

Dimitri Verhulst Dimitri Verhulst (born 2 October 1972) is a Belgian writer and poet. He is best known for his novels ''Problemski Hotel'' and ''The Misfortunates''. Biography Verhulst was an unwanted child in a violent home and spent his later childhood in a fo ...

. The film stars Kenneth Vanbaeden, Valentijn Dhaenens,

Koen De Graeve Koen De Graeve (born 28 April 1972) is a Belgian actor. He appeared in more than forty films since 1993. Selected filmography References External links * 1972 births Living people Belgian male film actors {{Belgium-actor-st ...

, Wouter Hendrickx,

Johan Heldenbergh Johan Heldenbergh (born 9 February 1967) is a Belgian actor, playwright, screenwriter, theatre director and film director. He gained international fame by starring in films, including ''A Day in a Life'' (2007), '' Moscow, Belgium'' (2008), '' T ...

, Bert Haelvoet, and Gilda De Bal.

Synopsis

In the 1980s, Gunther Strobbe (Kenneth Vanbaeden) is a thirteen-year-old boy living with his father, Celle (

), his three uncles Petrol, Breeze, Koen, (Wouter Hendrickx,

, and Bert Haelvoet respectively) and his mother Meetje (Gilda De Bal). Celle works part-time as a postman, while his brothers are boozing layabouts who live off their mother's pension. The men of this family spend their days drinking beer and eating sausage, breaking things, playing pranks on people, and chasing women. In the present day, Gunther has made a career as a writer when his girlfriend suddenly falls pregnant with a son—apprehensive of his new responsibilities, Gunther seeks out his father and his uncles for some advice on fatherhood.

Cast

* as 13-year-old Gunther Strobbe * as 33-year-old Gunther Strobbe *

as Marcel 'Celle' Strobbe * as Lowie 'Petrol' Strobbe *

as Pieter 'Breeze' Strobbe * as Koen Strobbe * as Meetje * Pauline Grossen as Aunt Rosie * Sofie Palmers as Cousin Sylvie

Critical reception

The chief film critic of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'',

Manohla Dargis Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Career Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...

, wrote: "The revelation of the adult Gunther’s thinking and being – he’s callous, near brutal to his girlfriend – is extremely well managed and shows just how subtle this loud, seemingly rough tale really is." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described the film as starting out as an "extremely lowbrow comedy" but later "morphing into a bittersweet meditation on whether familial love and pride are enough to sustain a proper upbringing." ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' compared the film to mixing "the visual exuberance of ''

Trainspotting Trainspotting may refer to: * Trainspotting (hobby), an amateur interest in railways/railroads * ''Trainspotting'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh ** ''Trainspotting'' (film), a 1996 film based on the novel *** ''Trainspotting'' (soundtr ...

'' with the familial pathos of ''

Angela’s Ashes ''Angela's Ashes: A Memoir'' is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt, with various anecdotes and stories of his childhood. The book details his very early childhood in Brooklyn, New York, US but focuses primarily on his life ...

''".

Accolades

The film won the Prix Art et Essai at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

in the

Director's Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festi ...

section. The film was the official Belgian entry for the

82nd Academy Awards The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2009 and took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...

in 2010 in the category of

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

References

External links