With Friends Like These (2007)
"Dagen zonder lief" (original title)

The lives of a group of friends get disturbed when one of them comes back after having been away for some years.

Director:

Felix Van Groeningen

Writers:

Arne Sierens (scenario), Felix Van Groeningen (scenario)

Stars:

Koen De Graeve, Wine Dierickx, Pieter Genard

Cast

Credited cast:
Koen De Graeve	...	Niek
Wine Dierickx	...	Zwarte Kelly
Pieter Genard	...	Kurt
An Miller	...	Blonde Kelly
Jeroen Perceval	...	Frederic
Tania Van der Sanden	...	Moeder Zwarte Kelly
Charlotte Vandermeersch	...	Ingrid

Storyline

The lives of a group of friends get disturbed when one of them (Zwarte Kelly) comes back after having lived in New York for some years. Her arrival leads to problems for Frederic when his girlfriend, who's away on a volleyball tournament, thinks he's having an affair with her. While Nick turns out the only one of the group who hasn't really changed with advancing years, some unfinished business between Zwarte Kelly and Kurt make already troubled Kurt decide he has had it and he takes off. Frederic and Nick are going after him.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | briefs | bare butt | pool | fight | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Belgium

Language:

Flemish French Dutch

Release Date:

21 March 2007 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

With Friends Like These

Filming Locations:

Auvergne, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Menuet Producties, SCOPE Invest, VAF

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Youth's innocence and freedom

IFFR writes: "Youth's innocence and freedom from care, so close by and yet so remote: That is the great disillusionment of twenty-somethings. A fresh Flemish variation on this theme: five friends are confronted with reality when one of them returns to the provincial town of St. Niklaas. Beautiful soundtrack by Jef Neve.

Only three years after his debut Steve + Sky, the Flemish Felix van Groeningen has finished his second feature. With Friends Like These is a refreshing variation on a well-known theme: twenty-somethings on the way to thirty look back at their youth that is gone forever. At first sight, the four friends from With Friends Like These are doing well: Zwarte Kelly leads a flashy existence in the New York fashion scene. Frederic has a rich girlfriend and is about to move to Brussels. Kurt has a wife, child and Labrador and runs a web-shop for robot-gadgets. And bar owner Nick? Oh, he's just his loafing self. When Zwarte Kelly unexpectedly returns to her old home - to 'ask her mother something' - she is the unintentional catalyst of tempestuous events. Everyone does his best to make the mood what it once was, but too much has changed. Frederic is henpecked by his beloved and Kurt suffers mysterious blackouts. When Kurt suddenly leaves his wife and child, Frederic and Nick go looking for him. Calmly and using sober stylistic techniques, Van Groeningen sketches the inner world of the protagonists. The streets and squares of the town are deserted, they keep driving round the same roundabout. The beautiful jazzy score by pianist Jef Neve contributes to the melancholy mood."