Firmin (2007)

A retired boxing champion takes a young apprentice from an immigrant family under his wing

Director:

Dominique Deruddere

Writers:

Dominique Deruddere (screenplay), Frank Van Laecke (story)

Stars:

Chris van den Durpel, Jan Decleir, Annick Christiaens

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris van den Durpel	...	Firmin Crets
Jan Decleir	...	Freddy White
Annick Christiaens	...	Germaine
Said Assissi	...	Mohammed Boutrous
Catherine Kools	...	Lies
Frank Focketyn	...	Voorzitter
Peter Van den Begin	...	Jespers
Kurt Vandendriessche	...	Raymond (as Kurt Van den Driessche)
Jurgen Goemans	...	Rudy Vervloet
Ben Segers	...	Presentator sportshow
Marc Van Eeghem	...	Make-up sportshow
Bruno Vanden Broecke	...	Studiomeester sportshow (as Bruno Van den Broecke)
Mieke Verdin	...	Moeder Lies
Josse De Pauw	...	Vader van Lies
Amid Chakir	...	Vader Mohammed

Storyline

A retired boxing champion takes a young apprentice from an immigrant family under his wing

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Plot Keywords:

security guard | knockout punch | uppercut | boxing match | punched in the stomach | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Sport

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User Reviews

Flat and unimaginative

I just don't get this. They've spend two years writing this movie and putting the production together. They hired actors that rank from decent, inoffensive B-listers to full-blown acting powerhouses like the amazing Jan Decleir. They have an experienced director who has made downright excellent stuff like "Crazy Love" and "Hombres Complicados". They have all the money and needs required because apparently this was worth a grant from the Belgian government's audiovisual fund (which is downright insulting when you think of some movies that apparently weren't). Why isn't this movie the slightest bit entertaining or funny? It's definitely not in the main character Firmin, because that's actually one of the few things they got right. Firmin is a comedy character known from two minute sketches, but here they give him plenty of depth in an almost natural way (almost). It's just well, it just doesn't matter. The story of this movie is so boring, it's a predictable underdog tale with predictable story developments (you can just make a list and tick them off) that just drags itself to an ending you can see coming from miles away. That would be okay if it distracted with jokes, but even that's a letdown. Firmin says dumb things once in a while: that's all there is to it. No funny situations, no quotable lines, not even competent delivery sometimes: just no laughs whatsoever. Jesus what a mess of a movie this is.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Belgium]

Country:

Belgium

Language:

Flemish French Dutch

Release Date:

14 February 2007 (Belgium)

Filming Locations:

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

EUR2,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,757,609

Company Credits

Production Co:

Firmin's Boks Office, VT4

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1