“Welcome to your favorite place of perdition!” The grip of the film sets the tone, the Belgica is THE place to be to party. Meeting with Belgian filmmaker Felix Van Groeningen who talks about his film released this March 2 in theaters.
How did the Belgica project?
This is something that kept running through my head for a long time. I knew the bar of Ghent which the film is based, The Charlatan, I lived there and I lived many things. The idea of the film has grown in my head for many years, also as I turned my other feature films. I wondered how I could recreate everything I had in my mind and then I had a click: I saw a small cafe to be great, I have witnessed this evolution we see in the film. There was also the story of the brothers I had heard; I contacted them and they told me their vision. The story of these brothers is simple and often it is the simple stories that are most moving. The dramatic stakes were high because they are very close brothers and they eventually move away. So there was a great tragedy to tell centered on an arena, a place that completely changes that I had much to say. I felt there was something very interesting in there because it also talks about the changing society too. All this helped me to see more clearly and to say, “there, there is a movie”
After Alabama Monroe, you feel the need to attack you one. lighter movie to vent somehow gravity and hardness of this poignant project?
There is indeed this lighter side, more rock ‘n’ roll but also emotional film. It’s more fun qu’Alabama Monroe but at the same time, the scenario has become more serious and believed that what I had in mind. Alabama was rather heavy but emotionally treatment remained classic and I’m really proud of this film. With Belgica, I wanted to find the way I was doing my films before and it was a little gross. I learned a lot about Alabama Monroe, including how to use the music, which is why, although I wanted to go back to my old way of making movies with Belgica is still a step forward because j ‘I brought everything I’ve learned.
subtlety We realized that resided in the small details that showed how the brothers were related. In this chaos, you had to stay with them.
The music obviously holds great importance in the film, how did you work with Soulwax to create this musical atmosphere?
I contacted enough upstream group to offer their collaboration, long before the screenplay. Then I made them read an early version of the script and there was much talk in. They are very busy so we had that we can discuss way ahead. They quickly gave their agreement, they wanted to embark on the adventure, they knew the place that inspired the film and felt an affinity with the characters. From the beginning, they did not want to just write a few pieces but take care of the entire soundtrack. They really wanted to control everything, create the groups present in the film, to the cast of singers etc. They found real musicians to create these groups then have all supervised on set. All music we hear, even reggae Jo puts the beginning of the film were composed by Soulwax. I find that incredible. What I find so beautiful is the fact that they were a rock band then evolved into DJs and electro group they are very eclectic. Their course is very intelligent and very special.
Belgica videoExtract You shot over 130 hours of footage with Belgica, three times more than usual you turn, how did you compound with all this material mounting?
The installation is always a difficult test. Every time I tell myself that the next film will be easier but I always wrong; For example, Alabama Monroe, the first version was not at all and we had to change everything. On Belgica, the starting point has been well defined, the film must be chronological. But even following a chronology, it is also difficult because there are still plenty of opportunities. We stayed close to the script but when we dug in all the scenes editing, we realized that they were very good but there were too, especially for the holidays moments. Step by step, we managed to find the rhythm, especially with the help of my producer Dirk Impens. We realized that the subtlety lay in the little details that showed how the brothers were related. In this chaos, you had to stay with them. At the same time, I did not want to cut the music scene but it was appropriate to focus still on this simple story of two brothers. The emotion was there, the beauty was there, it just took time to find out how we could sculpt these feelings by mounting. During mixing, I still wanted to cut 5 minutes. Everything went well during this period, we worked a lot on the music of course, but on seeing the film, too. Each music already put a slap in the head and in the end, there was a weakness in the assembly. So I decided to further cut 5 minutes which showed a complexity that was ultimately not required.
It is beautiful because it is the little brother with a disability that ends boss.
How did you work with the two main players, Tom and Stef Aerts Vermeir?
the fact that they were very different to the large base . Their characters were inspired by two brothers that I knew and then I exaggerated personality. I liked the physical difference between the two, Jo is the younger brother, so it is smaller, thinner than Frank. However, his journey is interesting, it becomes still the big boss; as in A Prophet, the character can not even talk and eventually became the boss. Stef Aerts managed to bring something very beautiful and very pure. The two actors are actually quite close to their characters in real life, for example, Tom Vermeir is less cerebral than Stef, it is very instinctive animal. The combination of both is perfect because they complement. Otherwise, regarding the preparation, I like to do many repetitions. They began four weeks before shooting. During this time, we ask questions, we also tried improvisations, it is still very open. The improvisations are difficult because it is very annoying at first, you have to go this time of “shame”. But once past that point, you can do anything. Actors can tell me what they think of a scene, if they do not like, we reworked the or I defend my point of view if I do not agree and I try to find a way convince them of the importance of a sequence. Tom brought a great idea for example that wearing his little brother down the stairs during a scene, they invented their stuff to them. What was also important was the specific dialect they speak. Tom has translated into their dialect dialogues I wrote with my co-writer Arne Sierens and Stef had to learn them phonetically. This work has brought the two players.
Belgica videoExtract Jo is blind, why did you choose to give it that special?
One of the brothers I my inspiration for the character is blind. Initially, I did not want to implement it on the screen, pushing it a little far realism. Then I thought about it and I thought it was telling things about his relationship with his brother about his childhood. It is also beautiful because it is the little brother with a disability that ends boss and who looks with his one eye the monitoring screens.
The rule is that it does there were no rules on how to film the scenes.
looking at the film, we realize that there are like two parallel worlds, the Belgica and outside, have -you had the will on the set to create the image that clear separation between these two worlds?
Not really, what was important was the fact that the scenes in outside the bar take place day. At the frame, this translated into a camera more “calm”, to show the difference between the world of the night and the rest. Otherwise, the rule is that there were no rules on how to film the scenes, not defined cutting.
What is your next project?
I am working on a US project called Beautiful Boy. It is a story between a father and his son.
Interview by Vincent Formica in Paris February 18, 2016
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