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.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | suicide | train station | children | weekend | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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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

Both Pascal Duquenne and Daniel Auteuil tied for the Best Actor Award at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival for their roles in this film. This was the first time such an event had happened.

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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.

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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)

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Soundtracks

Mexico
Music by Francis Lopez
Lyrics by Raymond Vincy
Performed by Luis Mariano

User Reviews

Original, refreshing, challenging, puts Rain Man in the shade

This is the French and Belgians doing what they do best. It's quirky, visually inventive, exhilarating and emotionally challenging storytelling. Director Jaco van Dormael takes us into the world of Georges, a Down's Syndrome sufferer and his quest for a meaningful relationship with someone, just anyone. This is not done in a patronising way but with a great sense of fun and also honesty. Georges' interplay with corporate management guru, Harry is dazzlingly handled - shifting from comedy to tragedy back to comedy again with breathtaking ease.

The Eighth Day puts similar Hollywood fare like Barry Levinson's Oscar winning Rain Man or Robert Zemeckis's Forrest Gump well and truly in the shade. At times, it evokes the humour of Milos Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with shades of Dennis Potter thrown in for good measure.

As the emotionally blunted and desperately lonely yuppie, Harry, Daniel Auteuil turns in yet another sublime performance. But it is matched by the brilliant Pascal Duquenne as Georges. It's a movie with uniformly strong performances and so many, memorable set pieces - the shoe shop scene, car showroom scene, George's dance to Genesis's 'Jesus He Knows Me,' the conference scene, the fireworks scene. If you haven't seen it, there's only one thing to do. Just rent it or attend a screening at a retro cinema near you and see what you've been missing. Better still, buy this movie. Sheer genius.....