Toto le héros (1991)

Director:

Jaco Van Dormael

Writers:

Didier De Neck (collaborator)
Pascal Lonhay (collaborator)

Release Date:

19 June 1991 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Thomas and Alfred were born around the same time; a fire in the nursery had nurses scrambling to save the newborns...

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Jealousy | Childhood Fantasy | Love Triangle | Surrealism

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 15 wins & 1 nomination

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

Also Known As:

Totò the Hero
Toto der Held (Germany)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Belgium | France | Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Baasrode, Dendermonde, Flanders, Belgium

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

As some of the locations were rather remote (particularly the unguarded railway crossing at Sint Amands), much of the technical crew and equipment was carried on the train.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#10.2)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Boum

Bitter-sweet and surreal

This movie is sheer visual poetry. Although it is in subtitles and I don't speak a lick of French, I found myself not needing to read the subtitles as the visuals told the entire story. This is rather impressive, as the story is very complicated. It tells the tale of one man's life by interweaving four different elements of his life: Childhood, Middle-Age, Old-Age, and a Film Noir Fantasy World. To give it even more of a chance of being confusing, these elements are not shown chronologically. However, "Toto..." is not confusing at all. It pulls off this complicated plot beautifully. This movie truly is a Modern Day Classic!! DVD? When? Criterion Edition!