Le Huitième Jour (1996)
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Duration: 118 minuten
Alternative title: The Eighth Day
Country:
Belgium / France / United Kingdom
Directed by: Jaco Van Dormael
Stars: Daniel Auteuil, Pascal Duquenne and Henri Garcin
IMDb score:
7,5 (10.594)
Releasedate: 22 May 1996
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Le Huitième Jour plot
"What a difference a day makes…"
Busy businessman Harry, with a bulging agenda full of locations where he has to give lectures on how your appearance can determine your business success, meets Georges, a lively man who suffers from Down syndrome. Not a single moment had been worse for relationship troubled Harry. Georges considers him his best friend, and from that moment on Harry can't get rid of this block on his leg.
Actors and actresses
Harry
Georges
Julie
Bank manager
Georges' Mother
Fabienne, Georges's sister
Juliette
Snack waitress
Dustman
Nathalie
Reviews & comments
RuudC
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- 4636 messages
- 2529 votes
... And on the eighth day He created Georges. He shouldn't have done that. I've resolved not to feel guilty about what I'm about to say. I actually have no problem at all dealing with people who have Down syndrome. I like how they can spontaneously burst into joy. Georges, on the other hand, I found quite irritating because of his behavior, while he refuses to accept the consequences (middle finger to the truck driver) or is just downright egocentric.
Furthermore, the film is a neat copy of Rain Man with an alternative ending. Of course the businessman's net melts for our Georges. Of course you can't afford to kick such a person out of your car. I also couldn't really laugh at all the antics they're up to. I found that scene in the shoe store quite embarrassing, for example. I felt little emotion for a moving film. To be honest, I was a little relieved at the end.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Onderhond
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- 87623 messages
- 12889 votes
Mediocre.
Second viewing, still don't understand that people ever thought it was a good idea to watch this in the cinema with a whole grade. Not exactly a typical film for high school students, although in the end it is a lot better than I remembered. Yet it is the least of Dormael's.
It is mainly a somewhat more straightforward film. In his other work he is much more playful, both in visual language and in structure. You occasionally see that visual language again, but much more limited. The structure of the film is rather linear. Story even reminded me a bit of Kikujiro, although I liked that movie a lot more.
Two hours is a bit too long and between a few successful scenes there are also a lot of moments that don't work too well. In addition, it is sometimes a bit too corny, although that is mainly because the film is not 100% convincing elsewhere, I suspect. If the styling had been better, it would undoubtedly have disturbed me less.
Not the childhood trauma I once had, but still not a great movie.
2.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
Le huitième jour is a film that is somewhat reminiscent of Rain Man, but then heavily topped with a Jaco Van Dormael sauce. You have to love the sometimes absurd comic ways of Van Dormael. The unfortunate thing about the entire film is the outspoken black-and-white thinking. The film creates two artificially polarized figures and makes them grow towards each other. A businessman Harry whose private life is in shambles and a person with Down syndrome who languishes in a home after the death of his mother.
The whole plot feels a bit strange. It is quite unbelievable that both are attached to each other and cannot get rid of each other. It comes across as too forced. Regardless of Van Dormael's good intentions, I can't shake the idea that the people with Down are portrayed as rather brutal or stupid. Certainly with George's group of friends, who are more like a group of hooligans than people with a disability. I also noticed how averse society reacts to such people. It could be the era, but still, all quite anxious and self-centered.
Nice performance by Duquenne as an amateur with no experience in the film world. Very beautiful and pleasant moments, unfortunately interspersed with some clichés. Alternately comical and moving, but also irritating or annoying. All in all a success.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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