The Eighth Day (1996)

An unusual and wonderful friendship develops between a busy but unhappy salesman and a resident of a mental asylum.

Director:

Jaco Van Dormael

Writer:

Jaco Van Dormael

Stars:

Daniel Auteuil, Pascal Duquenne, Miou-Miou

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Auteuil	...	Harry
Pascal Duquenne	...	Georges
Miou-Miou	...	Julie
Henri Garcin	...	Le directeur de la banque
Isabelle Sadoyan	...	la mère de Georges
Michele Maes	...	Nathalie (as Michèle Maes)
Fabienne Loriaux	...	la soeur de Georges - Fabienne
Alice van Dormael	...	Alice
Juliette Van Dormael	...	Juliette
Marie-Pierre Meinzel	...	La vendeuse du magasin du chaussures
Sabrina Leurquin	...	La serveuse du snack
Laszlo Harmati	...	Luis Mariano
Alain Bougnet
Magali Cote
Jean Désert

Storyline

Georges has Down's syndrome, living at a mental-institution. Harry is a busy businessman, giving lectures for young aspiring salesmen. He is successful in his business life, but his social life is a disaster since his wife left him and took their two children with her. This weekend his children came by train to meet him, but Harry, working as always, forgot to pick them up. Neither his wife nor his children want to see him again and he is driving around on the country roads, anguished and angry. He almost runs over Georges, on the run from the institution since everybody else went home with their parents except him, whose mother is dead. Harry tries to get rid of Georges but he won't leave his new friend. Eventually a special friendship forms between the two of them, a friendship which makes Harry a different person.

---

Plot Keywords:

friendship | suicide | children | weekend | train | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Details

Country:

Belgium France UK

Language:

French

Release Date:

7 March 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Eighth Day

Filming Locations:

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$328,452

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Center for Film and Audiovisual Arts of the French Community of Belgium, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pascal Duquenne has Down syndrome, like his character Georges.

---

Quotes

[lying on the grass in the sun]
Harry: We should get going.
Georges: Just one more minute.
Harry: Okay.
[they lie down for a minute more]
Harry: [looks at his watch] Okay, it's over.
Georges: A nice minute, for us.

---

Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Devil's Own/Cats Don't Dance/B*A*P*S/The Sixth Man/The Eighth Day/The Substance of Fire (1997)

---

Soundtracks

Qui sait, Qui sait, qui Sait (Quizás, Quizás, Quizáz)
Music by Osvaldo Farrés
Lyrics by Jacques Larue (French version)
Performed by Luis Mariano

User Reviews

Chapeau!

For anyone with a moderate sensibility, a moderate feeling of the human and humane condition, for anyone capable of getting above the Hollywood ilk, for anyone who is satisfied seeing cinema which does not have a series of Seagals/Willis/Van Dammes blasting the brains out of anybody or seeing who gets into bed with whom, for anyone whose intellectual level reaches a capacity to grasp, sympathise with, comprehend, laugh WITH, cry WITH natural tender heart-warming hilarious compassionate HUMAN BEINGS, `Le Huitième Jour' is waiting for you. Jaco van Dormael has not achieved simply a masterpiece, that would have been too simplistic; he has achieved one of those rare monumental works of art in the cinematographic world which defies any kind of encapsuling. Is it a drama? Is it a comedy? No: it is the story of Georges, a wonderful funny pitiful laughable loving frightened beautiful personality, a sufferer of the Downes Syndrome. It is a story which has you laughing through your tears, but this is not one of those classic tear-jerkers; this film moves through a world that has you at once mixing your feelings of compassion or pity or even shame with those of admiration, warmth and even love. A successful banking salesman, Harry, bumps into Georges: they were both going in opposite directions with absolutely opposing ideas, problems and priorities; skillfully van Dormael melts these two unlikely men into a warm friendship, but which is so much more than the good buddy friendship of those having a beer down the road. This is a relationship which develops into a profound needing by both for the other. The cuasi-surrealist scenes fit in perfectly: Georges recalls (or invents) past scenes of his life while either day-dreaming or sleeping; even the almost phantasmagorical final scene is totally correct. The only scene which might be considered a little out of place is when they steal a bus and drive it out of the show-rooms. However, this does not detract from the whole. This film is a monument. Even if your French is not up to much, please bear seeing it with sub-titles. `Le Huitième Jour' is worth the trouble. As for anything else, well, just read the following commentaries – I go along with all of them. This film is a joy, it is majestic, it is unique. If you have seen `Rain Man' which I consider an excellent film, you must see this one: it is far superior because it has not the superficial veneer of famous Hollywood-produced world-renowned actors; it has Pascal Duquenne and Daniel Auteuil – TEN oscars for these two, and three more for Jaco van Dormael. Who cares…………? Yes: 11 out of 10 if the IMDb rating doesn't break down under the strain.

Magnifique! Chapeau!