Bullhead (2011)

A young cattle farmer is approached by a veterinarian to make a deal with a notorious beef trader.

Director:

Michaël R. Roskam

Writer:

Michaël R. Roskam (scenario)

Stars:

Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 21 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthias Schoenaerts	...	Jacky Vanmarsenille
Jeroen Perceval	...	Diederik Maes
Jeanne Dandoy	...	Lucia Schepers
Barbara Sarafian	...	Eva Forrestier
Tibo Vandenborre	...	Antony De Greef
Frank Lammers	...	Sam Raymond (as Frank Lamers)
Sam Louwyck	...	Marc DeKuyper
Robin Valvekens	...	Jonge Jacky Vanmarsenille
Baudoin Wolwertz	...	Jonge Diederik Maes
David Murgia	...	Jonge Bruno Schepers
Erico Salamone	...	Christian Filippini
Philippe Grand'Henry	...	David Filippini
Kris Cuppens	...	Jean Vanmarsenille
Sofie Sente	...	Irene Vanmarsenille
Kristof Renson	...	Stieve Vanmarsenille

Storyline

The young Limburg cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille is approached by an unscrupulous veterinarian to make a shady deal with a notorious West-Flemish beef trader. But the assassination of a federal policeman, and an unexpected confrontation with a mysterious secret from Jacky's past, set in motion a chain of events with farreaching consequences. BULLHEAD is an exciting tragedy about fate, lost innocence and friendship, about crime and punishment, but also about conflicting desires and the irreversibility of a man's destiny.

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Plot Keywords:

brief male full frontal nudity | speaking french | critically acclaimed | animal in title | drinking alcohol | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong violence, language and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Belgium] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Belgium Netherlands

Language:

Flemish French Dutch

Release Date:

24 November 2011 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Bullhead

Filming Locations:

Liège, Wallonia, Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

€2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$32,267 (USA) (17 February 2012)

Gross:

$42,070 (USA) (17 February 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Savage Film, Eyeworks Film & TV Drama, Waterland Film & TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (35 mm version) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michaël R. Roskam's feature film debut.

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Goofs

When Diederik Maes (Jeroen Perceval) is sitting on the toilet, he calls detective Eva Forrestier (Barbara Sarafian). While leaving a message on her voicemail, he farts in the middle of the message. However, when Eva is listening to the voicemail message, the fart is already heard in the beginning of the message.

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Quotes

Sam Raymond: You know what's wrong with you?... You've got no balls!

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Connections

References Merlina (1983)

User Reviews

Intense and powerful

Bullhead is the story of Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts) a cattle farmer. He along with his business partners inject their cows with steroids and hormones to achieve the results they desire. The problem is the only thing Jacky injects more than his cows is himself as he's got some sort of chemical compound coursing through his veins at all times. Things begin to go south when Jacky makes a deal to distribute his cows to a well-known yet crooked meat trader. A federal agent is killed amongst their negotiations as Jacky is dragged into the investigation and his disturbing past comes bubbling to the surface.

Matthias Schoenaerts' performance is the first thing that will win you over. The reason why he shoots up so frequently along with what he injects himself with has this really breathtaking explanation. Schoenaerts has a short fuse the entire film and you never know when he's going to explode. That's the beauty of his performance. He's so dangerous yet you can't help but feel sympathy for the guy. Schoenaerts is a ferocious powerhouse that chews you up and spits you out like the most devastating hurricane imaginable.

Bullhead features some incredibly impressive cinematography. Belgium has never looked so beautiful. Those shots of the sky and the clouds that populate every inch of it and those lush moments of taking in the countryside speak volumes. Something as simple as grass blowing in the wind is made to look like this grand accomplishment thanks to how the film was shot. It was interesting to see characters that were out of frame become out of focus and or blurred in some way; whether they were approaching somebody in frame or walking away. It was a masterful touch.

The Belgian drama has a unique sense of perspective, as well. The dizzying staircase sequence near the end of the film is the best example. It kind of goes hand in hand with the cinematography though; a brilliant looking film is even better with distinguishing shots. Speaking of unique, the entire film is one of the more original experiences to grace the silver screen in quite some time. Bullhead does draw comparisons to films like Drive and even Bronson, but the mafia and mobster kind of storyline is presented in this rough, grainy, meaty, and intense package that hasn't been done before. Bronson is actually a really great comparison. Matthias Schoenaerts put on 59 pounds of muscle for Bullhead and Tom Hardy put on 42 pounds of muscle for Bronson. While the two films are almost nothing alike when it comes to their story lines, they're extremely similar at their core.

Bullhead is an extremely intense piece of cinema that includes a fairly bloody and hard hitting elevator sequence that rivals that infamous scene from Drive. With an incredible performance from Matthias Schoenaerts, gorgeous camera work, and a huge injection of originality, Bullhead should not be missed by anyone especially those who are looking for something different when it comes to movies. This comes highly recommended for those who enjoyed Animal Kingdom, A Prophet, Drive, and/or Bronson.