JCVD (2008)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Mabrouk El Mechri

Writers:

Mabrouk El Mechri (scenario)
Frédéric Benudis (collaboration)

Release Date:

4 June 2008 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Be Aware

Plot:

Between his tax problems and his legal battle with his wife for the custody of his daughter, these are...

Plot Keywords:

Movie Star | Criminal | Belgium | Shot In The Head | Police

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 13

2:00 AM

SPIKETV

Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	J.C.V.D.
François Damiens	...	Bruges
Zinedine Soualem	...	L'homme au bonnet
Karim Belkhadra	...	Le vigile
Jean-François Wolff	...	Le trentenaire
Anne Paulicevich	...	La guichetière
Liliane Becker	...	Mère JCVD
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
François Beukelaers	...	Père JCVD
John Flanders	...	Prosecuting attorney
Saskia Flanders	...	J.C.V.D.'s daughter
Dean Gregory	...	Realisateur de Tobey Wood
Kim Hermans	...	Prisoner in kickboxing outfit
Janine Horsburgh	...	JCVD assistant
Vincent Lecuyer
Raphaëlle Lubansu
Steve Preston	...	Accessoiriste JCVD
Paul Rockenbrod	...	Tobey Wood
Alan Rossett	...	Bernstein
Norbert Rutili
Jesse Joe Walsh	...	Jeff
Leslie Woodhall	...	Prison visitor
Mourade Zeguendi

Also Known As:

Le rois des Belges (Belgium: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violence.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Belgium | Luxembourg | France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | USA:R | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:11 | Singapore:NC-16 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium

Company:

Samsa Film

Trivia:

The whole scene in the taxi is completely improvised. Mabrouk El Mechri told Jean-Claude Van Damme to just be nice to the driver no matter what she said.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Police chief Bruges tells Van Damme the decision to act was GIGN's move, not his. GIGN (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale - French SWAT) exists in France but not in Belgium where the movie story takes place. In Belgium, police's tactical unit is called ESI (Escadron Special d'Intervention).

Quotes:

Policier: Central to Unit 27. Jean-Claude Van Damme's robbing a post office. I need back-up.

Movie Connections:

References "The Sopranos" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Hard Times

A pleasant surprise

JCVD is an excellent surprise. It's a kind of dramatic comedy where Jean-Claude Van Damme plays with great conviction his own role in life. This starting postulate, to tell a passage of the life of a movie-star on the decline by the person himself, makes the movie sail between fiction and autobiography. This original and ambiguous concept propels the script in a tasty, funny and tragic reality/fiction realm. One can think sometimes of Pulp Fiction.

The famous movie-star, Jean-Claude, is surprisingly right and touching. Van Damme plays here the role of his life, in all the senses of the words. There will be a before and an after JCVD. The central monologue of the film, a rare feat of ingenuity, a long one-shot sequence of the star made up of his doubts and his anguishes, is bound to become a classic.

The film is however not perfect. The flashbacks are well carried out but some scenes seen twice can be somewhat long and would have been improved by being shortened a bit the second time around. This saved time would have made it possible to develop the supporting characters, like the police chief, a bit more. Speaking of supporting characters, those are somewhat caricatures and with one dimension.

JCVD reveals itself as an excellent surprise. Far from being a hollow marketing ploy, this film, probably the best of Van Damme, is a true success that deserves to be seen.

The question now is what will Van Damme do next?