Aaltra (2004)
Genre: Road movie / Comedy
Duration: 92 minuten
Country:
Belgium / France
Directed by: Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern
Stars: Benoît Delépine and Benoît Poelvoorde
IMDb score:
6,9 (3.024)
Releasedate: 23 June 2004
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Aaltra plot
Ben and Gus, one farmer and the other commuter, are neighbors in a small Belgian hamlet, but they can't breathe or see each other. Moreover, both are dissatisfied with their lives. A combination of circumstances leads to a fight and an accident on a farm machine. At the hospital, it turns out that they are both paralyzed below the waist and will spend the rest of their lives in wheelchairs. They reject the possibility of suicide and instead undertake a strange journey to Finland, in search of the manufacturer of the agricultural implement that caused their disability. During their journey, the relationships between the two ruffs and their view of the world change.
Actors and actresses
L'employé
L'ouvrier agricole
Le paysan
L'épouse
Le Chinois
Le patron
Le médecin
L'amant
Le patron Aaltra
Le chanteur finlandais
Reviews & comments
Onderhond
-
- 87585 messages
- 12834 votes
Nice.
We are shocked that the man in the wheelchair is not Poelvoorde. Looks suspicious and I was also misled by the to Benoit on the poster. Very special I must say.
Also a good movie, which unfortunately occasionally sputters. Anyway, the journey of the two misses a bit of a goal, making it very sketchy. The entire middle section is a sequence of the two standing along a road, interspersed with sketches.
Not every piece is equally successful. For example, I thought the beach trip was great, but the German family was rather poor. The scene with the motorbike is funny, but the other chatter at the racetrack not so interesting. And so the film keeps going up and down. At times very nice, fine black humor, at times a bit flat and bland.
Visually it was also a bit disappointing. Black and white cinematography looked a bit faded and the editing could use some fine-tuning. Didn't notice much about the music, except for the somewhat silly cover towards the end. Didn't think it was such a funny scene either, it's too close to reality so it loses the humor a bit. Incomparable to the bar scene from Calvaire that someone here refers to.
All in all an entertaining film, but there is something wrong with it left and right. Still enough funny moments and a killer ending, which still ends the film on a positive note.
3.0*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Movsin
-
- 8264 messages
- 8426 votes
So you can see that you can make a funny film out of a handicapped situation. Packs of dry humor, without too many words, with a kind of live camera on the street.
Sober, black and white and with a pretty sarcastic ending.
Certainly enjoyable.
Translated from Dutch · View original
ZAP!
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- 5448 messages
- 3621 votes
Homeric odyssey to Finland by a Belgian duo who don't have the time or the inclination to wait for Godot.
The makers waste no time and immediately plunge the viewer into the ultimately not fatal finale of a neighbor dispute with the result that one of the two wants to go to Finland to take one Aaltra because of the physical damage suffered. The other still wants to become a motorcycle racer and they unwittingly set off together. For the most part very successful absurd comedy.
When the film breaks down, the beautiful photography remains an added value so that watching further never becomes a crime. The actors (also directors, I only found out today) have great heads for the screen and their comedic talent isn't bad either.
It is a pity that the pieces in Finnish had no subtitles. Well, it must have been the intention that we got into the atmosphere of the 2 main characters(?).
Aki Kaurismäki came to mind while watching and I guessed he was too, right there at the end.
It is funny that Simenon also had a certain link with Finland through detective Maigret (in the TV series anyway), but I doubt whether there is anything else behind it.
The scene with the corpse is probably there because they wanted to put in some nudity & manslaughter(?) - I was waiting for it anyway, somehow.
A neat 7 for now.
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