Directed by:
Michaël R. RoskamScreenplay:
Michaël R. RoskamCinematography:
Nicolas KarakatsanisComposer:
Raf KeunenCast:
Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy, Barbara Sarafian, Tibo Vandenborre, Frank Lammers, Sam Louwyck, Robin Valvekens, Baudouin Wolwertz (more)Plots(1)
A hormone-addicted cattle farmer becomes drawn into the murky world of Belgium's illegal beef trade in this award-winning noir-ish debut from director Michael R. Roskam. Haunted by a disturbing incident from his past, Flemish farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts) is addicted to the illegal hormones he regularly feeds to his cattle. Bull-like in appearance, his unpredictable, violent presence soon comes to the attention of mobsters involved in what is known locally as the 'hormone mafia'. But after being coerced into dealing with a shady meat trader, Jacky's life spirals out of control as the murder of a policeman and the re-appearance of a woman from his past conspire to threaten his future. (Thunderbird Releasing)
(more)Reviews (3)
An unfinished attempt to combine a gangster and psychological film, which hits its limits mainly due to the director's efforts to "look like someone else". The script is also unfinished, drowning in its own potential and trying to deal with the chaos with a Hollywood-arched melodramatic arc, for which Michael R. Roskam does not have sufficient filmmaking skills (the film sometimes gets completely out of hand stylistically). However, Matthias Schoenaerts in the lead role is fabulous, and it is worth watching thanks to his testosterone addict.
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Given the fact that it’s a young director’s debut, Bullhead is an incredibly bold and admirably executed
endeavor. Roskam takes up a plot idea that could have been used in a mainstream crime thriller and
turns it into a brutally raw psychological drama. Matthias Schoenaerts turns in an excellent performance.
Bullhead is a brutal film that doesn’t demean itself by trying to suck up to the audience.
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A solid Belgian drama with the absolutely excellent Matthias Schoenaerts. You can clearly see that he really devoted himself to this role. The only thing bothering me about this film is that there is very little humanity and emotion in it and overall, it is too artsy. Bullhead offers a completely honest existential drama, which is very popular among European filmmakers. But everything is so obvious that the only real power of this film lies in the lead actor, who is excellent in this role. By the way, until this moment I remain quite shaken by the scenes from his childhood. Seen based on the Challenge Tour 2015.
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