Belgica, a powerful film and a soundtrack that kicks ass

Published on 2 March 2016

Belgica is a Belgian dramatic comedy (you could have guessed), directed by Felix Van Groningen, who also gave us the excellent Alabama Monroe.

The pitch is pretty simple, Jo and Frank are brothers, they reunite at the "Belgica" bar opened by the younger of the two: Jo. The days go by, the bar becomes an unmissable spot in the neighborhood, Frank decides to join his brother's business and expand the bar, to turn it into a concert hall and nightclub.

We follow this adventure, as entrepreneurial as it is boozy, of two men who go from a small neighborhood bar to a huge party venue. It's all there, the partying, brotherhood, love, sex, drugs, more drugs, family. This film throws everything in the blender, and doesn't miss a crumb of human nature, in all its states.

It's very beautiful, it's very long, the film seems to never stop, some people leave the theater before the end, but the film remains striking, as Alabama Monroe was.

A magnificent film about social diversity, human relationships, drunkenness, freedom. This film is clearly not accessible to everyone, may seem very boring, and yet I warmly recommend it. Here we're on a beautiful mix of a Trainspotting and a Commitments.

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And so, a superb transition to talk about the soundtrack, which is the marvel of this film. A feat achieved by Soulwax, the duo actually invented 16 fictional bands, totally credible and absolutely brilliant, it's my musical crush of the moment.

Photo credit: DR

By Paingout