Toto le héros (1991)

Thomas and Alfred were born around the same time; a fire in the nursery had nurses scrambling to save the newborns. Because he felt that he deserved Alfred's good fortune at being born into... See full summary »

Director:

Jaco Van Dormael

Writers:

Didier De Neck (collaborator), Pascal Lonhay (collaborator),

Stars:

Michel Bouquet, Jo De Backer, Thomas Godet

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 16 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michel Bouquet	...	Thomas, as an old man
Jo De Backer	...	Thomas, as an adult
Thomas Godet	...	Thomas, as a child
Gisela Uhlen	...	Evelyne as an old woman
Mireille Perrier	...	Evelyne as young woman
Sandrine Blancke	...	Alice
Peter Böhlke	...	Alfred as an old man
Didier Ferney	...	Alfred, as an adult
Hugo Harold-Harrison	...	Alfred, as a child
Fabienne Loriaux	...	Thomas' Mother
Klaus Schindler	...	Thomas' Father
Pascal Duquenne	...	Celestin, as an adult
Karim Moussati	...	Celestin, as a child
Didier De Neck	...	Mr. Kant
Christine Smeysters	...	Mrs. Kant

Storyline

Thomas and Alfred were born around the same time; a fire in the nursery had nurses scrambling to save the newborns. Because he felt that he deserved Alfred's good fortune at being born into a wealthy family, Thomas conceives the idea that he and Alfred were switched at birth, and he can't help seeing that his unhappiness should be Alfred's, from the loss of his sister to his inability to have a relationship with the woman Evelyne. So, as his life is ending, he formulates a plan of revenge against his bitter enemy, his lifetime adversary, the man who stole his existence.

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Plot Keywords:

fire | birth | revenge | watching a movie | lie | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and sensuality (nudity)

Details

Country:

Belgium France Germany

Language:

French

Release Date:

19 June 1991 (France)

Also Known As:

Totò the Hero

Filming Locations:

Baasrode, Dendermonde, Flanders, Belgium

Box Office

Gross:

$1,228,153 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Iblis Films, Metropolis Filmproduction, Philippe Dussart

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the railway scenes in the movie were shot on a preserved railway line between Dendermonde and Puurs, Belgium.

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Connections

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #10.2 (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Boum"
Music and Lyrics by Charles Trenet
Performed by Charles Trenet
Societe EMI France
(c) Edition Vianelly

User Reviews

In praise of the modernist aspects of Toto

Toto the Hero is one of those rare films that improves with each viewing (and you will want to watch it again and again) there are enough levels going on to satisfy the hardened movie deconstructionist but at the same time the story-telling is engagingly simple and seemingly naive. At the surface level a narrative of lost love, mistaken identity, family tragedy, life/death and tulips. Dig deeper and there is a complex reflexive subtext about language and subject identity that encompasses philosophy, psychoanalysis and the role of the media itself. Joyce, Levi Strauss, Freud and Lacan are cited alongside countless references to cinema and television. Watch the opening of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard or read the first page of Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man after Toto and you may catch my drift. A truly superb piece of cinema that skillfully manages to avoid the post-modern posturing that condemns many of Van Dormael's contemporaries.