The Ardennes (2016)

Waste of time

Lack of good storyline.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Dave and Kenneth are brothers and are on the wrong side of the law. They attempt a robbery and it all goes to hell in a hand cart, but Dave manages to escape leaving his brother to take the rap – and he does.Move on four years and Kenneth is out and he wants to make up for lost time. He also cant accept that his brother has had the temerity to grow up and start acting like an adult. He also wants back with his ex- girlfriend but she has other ideas and he involvement with both brothers becomes pivotal to how things spiral.Now this is gritty but it is a lot of psychological pain before the actual real pain kicks in. The acting is great and the cinematography very well done and it is in Flemish, but this is in the Antwerp dialect which has upset a few observers as it is a bit on the 'common' side. However it also adds to the realism of the piece – all in all though a very commendable film indeed.

Saw this at the Ghent film festival 2015, where it was part of the official opening night. Programming a Belgian movie at a Belgian film festival may seem suspicious if not chauvinistic. On the other hand, for a prestigious film festival like Ghent's, we can safely assume they present something at the opening night deserving such an advantageous position. And indeed, it was worthy of its place. The one negative is the potential problem I see upfront due to the uneven genre mixing, criminal action next to family drama. It may not attract its intended audience, or others having bought tickets may find themselves misplaced during a screening.The story starts with the immediate aftermath of a failed home jacking. We never see or hear the ugly details, only what is shown to us in the opening scene where Dave enters the getaway car, obviously in sheer panic, while uttering words along the line that it all went very wrong and that they need to leave forthwith. When asked what happened with their mate Kenneth, no real answer is given. Later on we see Kenneth in court where he is sentenced to 7 years in prison, the maximum penalty due to his crime history. What really happened when he was left behind on the crime scene, remains unclear. Nevertheless, it still burdens their relationship when Kenneth is released after 4 years. We can only assume that Dave's failed part in the home jacking never became public, and that guilty secret is used by Kenneth after his release to blackmail Dave, pushing Dave to actions he actually abhors, stretching Dave's resolution to live as a law abiding citizen to the limit.And there is a second guilty secret, of a completely different category. Dave wants to tell Kenneth something all along, but we see that he never succeeds in finding the right moment or the right words. It has to do with Kenneth's former girl friend Sylvie, who we see initially as member of a self-help group, where she is applauded for staying drugs free for 2 years. It happens that the same Sylvie is pregnant from Dave, and that they are on the lookout for a home on their own. Hence it is logical that we see Dave avoiding involvement in any of Kenneth's actions. Moreover, for the sake of their worrying mother, Dave keeps a continuous eye on Kenneth, and even follows him on a distance on various occasions. Including the worrying mother, these are the four main protagonists that carry the story from start to finish.Kenneth's outfit, posture and hairstyle suggest overly clear (too much?) that he is a loose cannon without any intention for a career change. His behavior is overbearing from the outset, at first merely pushy yet without violence, but losing more and more restraints later on. In the last half hour, it escalates beyond control, thereby gaining nothing in the end and leaving only losers. His brother Dave succeeds in keeping his hands clean, though ultimately involved in an act of deadly force albeit as a matter of self-defense.We witness a lot of violence in the proceedings, but it is an inherent part of the story and not filmed just for shocking purposes. Most of the violence is suggested rather than shown in raw detail. Nevertheless, it leaves a depressed feeling on the viewer, at least that happened to me, by demonstrating that there are really people who think and live that way, and assume their own goals to be important enough to harm other people in the process.All in all, the focus of the story changes back and forth from criminal action to the relationship between the two brothers and the family members around them. Violence and crime are not the main ingredient, only the binding element to show how the relationship between the two brothers develops, given aforementioned guilty secrets kept from the outside world as well as between themselves. Though the violence is not made explicit, the criminal actions tend to distract from the real story that ultimately carries the drama. Viewers who are interested in action movies, will not be happy with the emphasis on family relationships. Viewers who are interested in family drama, will be discouraged by the crimes that overshadow a considerable number of scenes. In other words, a mixed bag that will not satisfy either category of viewers. Yet, well made and well-acted, but the final product is just above average by trying to humor two categories of viewers who both will leave the theater disappointed.

The Dutch crime-drama about two brothers, especially the plot revolves as a love triangle, but it is not a romance movie. The movie opened in the middle of some crime scene which is never going to be revealed what actually happened, because it wasn't important as the film's narration is something else. What comes later is the twist in the character's relationship with each other, especially between two brothers and a woman they're in love.The actual story begins a few years later to that opening incident. Looks everything has changed at that point, except one of the brother who just stepped outside the prison. The remaining is all about the condition of the family and the romance relationship that appears to be complicated to explain to one another. When it begins to unfold, the final twist strikes which bring further complexity to the conclusion section.Frankly, I did not like the first two acts. Actually, I expected it to be a crime story. With two tough characters the scenes did not create enough curiosity or the thrilling moments. But the third act is where the movie changed its pace as well as genre to what I was eagerly waiting for. Because of the decent developments in the earlier, this ending was so exciting. But overall product is just above average. That means it is not a bad flick, yet everyone's not going to like it.6/10

Dave and Kenny are brothers and robbers. After a failed robbery attempt Kenny goes to prison, he kisses his girlfriend Sylvie good bye, she promises to wait for him but ultimately abandons him and starts dating his brother Dave (without telling Kenny anything, of course). OK, these things do happen. When Kenny is released from prison, Dave and Sylvie decide to keep their relationship secret (just for no reason). Kenny gets suspicious, confronts Sylvie but she still does not want to tell him the truth. Eventually Kenny finds out, goes insane and kills Sylvie. This is it. The end of the story. Why on earth was this movie made? What is the point? No answers. The characters are really dumb and lacking the kind of psychological depth or anything else that might make us sympathize with them, the plot is thin and unconvincing. Tec contribution is solid although the movie was made on a relatively low budget.