Cinema
Le Grand Paysage d'Alexis Droeven
Jean-Jacques Andrien · 1981
Synopsis
The Herve country, in the east of Belgium, near the Fourons, which are divided by the quarrel over languages. The farming world must industrialise or disappear, align itself with European standards or be marginalised. Then the father dies. For eight days, Jean-Pierre hesitates: take over the farm, or leave for the city as his aunt, a lawyer, advises him.
Context
The film, produced by Les Films de la Drève with the Belgian public broadcaster, opens with archive images of the events in the region, and the narrative moves from present to past and future through the voice-over of the hero's son. Jerzy Radziwilowicz plays Jean-Pierre, alongside Nicole Garcia, Maurice Garrel and Jan Decleir. Le Monde saw in it “the first great film of a Walloon cinema”. The distributor Shellac re-released it in France in 2014.
Who it is for
An eighty-eight-minute feature film, in French, that mixes fiction and documentary.
Prizes and reception
Special Mention of the jury at the Berlin festival in 1981, and the André Cavens Prize of Belgian film critics the same year.
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