The Wall (original title ''Le Mur'') is a 1998 Belgian tragicomedy film, directed by
Alain Berliner for the
2000, Seen By... series. The story is a surreal
satirical allegory of the
bi-lingual problems in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.
Plot
Belgium, 1999. Albert is a 35-year old Walloon philosopher who works as a
Belgian fries salesman. His store is located right on the Belgian
language border. He serves his customers in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
and bakes his fries in
Wallonia
Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...
. Albert fancies the Flemish woman Wendy. After a
new year
New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...
celebration Albert wakes up and discovers to his horror that overnight a giant wall has been built on the language border, effectively separating Flanders from Wallonia. His store is therefore cut in half. As a citizen of Wallonia he is only able to travel to Flanders by using a visa...
Production
The film was made for the
2000, Seen By... project,
Le Mur
" ''Haut et Court'', URL accessed 15 August 2016. initiated by the French company Hout et Court to produce films depicting the approaching turn of the millennium seen from the perspectives of 10 different countries.[Yoram Allon, Del Cullen, Hannah Patterson, ''Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide'', Wallflower Press, 2002, p. 367.]
Cast
* Daniel Hanssens: Albert
* Pascale Bal: Wendy
* Mil Seghers: Marcel
* Michael Pas: Stijn
* Peter Michel: Ivo
* Damien Gillard: Didier
* Peter Rouffaer
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
: Fred
* Harry Cleven: Gréviste
* Dett Peyskens: Nicole
* Laurence Bibot: Journalist
* Daniël Van Avermaet: Negotiator
* Emile Ringoot: Soldier
* Bruno Van De Voorde: Flemish man
* François Lahaye: Walloon woman
* Julian Cope: Mel
* Michèle Laroque
Michèle Laroque (; born 15 June 1960) is a French actress, comedian, humorist, producer and screenwriter.
Early life
Michèle Laroque was born in Nice in the department of Alpes-Maritimes. She is the daughter of Romanian dancer and violinis ...
: The TV announcer
References
External links
*
* http://alainberliner.com/site/cat-en/features/le-mur/
* http://moria.co.nz/fantasy/wall1998-lemur.htm
1998 films
Belgian satirical films
Belgian political satire films
Belgian drama films
Belgian comedy films
Belgian romance films
Dystopian films
Films set in Belgium
Films shot in Belgium
Films set in the 1990s
Films directed by Alain Berliner
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