Toto le héros (1991)

Director:

Jaco van Dormael

Writers:

Didier De Neck (collaborator)
Pascal Lonhay (collaborator)

Release Date:

19 June 1991 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Thomas and Alfred were born around the same time; a fire in the nursery had nurses scrambling to save the newborns...

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Jealousy | Childhood Fantasy | Love Triangle | Surrealism

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 15 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Michel Bouquet	...	Thomas, as an old man
Jo De Backer	...	Thomas, as an adult
Thomas Godet	...	Thomas, as a child
Gisela Uhlen	...	Evelyne as an old woman
Mireille Perrier	...	Evelyne as young woman
Sandrine Blancke	...	Alice
Peter Böhlke	...	Alfred as an old man
Didier Ferney	...	Alfred, as an adult
Hugo Harold Harrison	...	Alfred, as a child
Fabienne Loriaux	...	Thomas' Mother
Klaus Schindler	...	Thomas' Father
Pascal Duquenne	...	Celestin, as an adult
Karim Moussati	...	Celestin, as a child
Didier De Neck	...	Mr. Kant
Christine Smeysters	...	Mrs. Kant

Also Known As:

Totò the Hero
Toto der Held (Germany)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

France | Belgium | Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Baasrode, Dendermonde, Flanders, Belgium

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

As some of the locations were rather remote (particularly the unguarded railway crossing at Sint Amands), much of the technical crew and equipment was carried on the train.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#10.2)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Boum

Our Doppelgangers, Our Selves

A hearty recommendation for this film, which deftly kaleidoscopes time. Three actors portray one life at various age stages, through them we see the innocence of childhood and the guilt of autumn years are two sides of the same coign of vantage.

The creative imagination of the protagonist (and the director) are well framed...and it was reassuring that some of the magic that our hero, Thomas, felt as a child stays with him throughout his life, and this film.

Minor caveats for people who

1) dislike non-linear time in a film

2) voice-over narration

But the distinct actors/times make #1 no problem here, better yet the dissolves between them are often lyrical...and I think more accurate to how we remember our time in this world.

Reaffirmed my belief of the power in charged details (shoes in a closet, a pop tune, candy wrappers) and my faith in the beautiful complexity of a simple life.