Bullhead was the Belgian nominee for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in 2012. This excellent film made the final cut among the five contending films. After seeing the winner, A Separation, I feel that it must have been a very tight race. Bullhead could easily have won.
I was not expecting to watch Bullhead at the theater. I figured I would have to wait for it on streaming, but was surprised to see it show up on the marquee of one of my local theaters shortly after the Oscars. It beat In Darkness to the theater, which I thought might also be a strong runner-up. I wasted no time, screening this film on opening night.
It seems that beef is big business in Belgium. The type of business controlled by organized crime. Using steroids on cattle is part of the process. Bulk the animals up and sell them at a premium, while cutting weeks off of the normal process of maturing. Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Shoenaerts) is born into the business. He works as a cattleman and quasi-enforcer for his uncle. Jacky's uncle sets him up to expand their operation at a time when police pressure on the syndicates seems to be peaking. Following the death of a police investigator, pressure from law enforcement increases.
A series of unusual coincidences place Jacky squarely in the scope of the police investigation. His brother Jean (Kris Cuppens) purchased rims for his BMW from a seedy repair shop. The repair shop ends up linked to the murder. While meeting with the syndicate that Jacky intends to start doing business with, he runs into a childhood friend. This friend is also a police informant. As the investigation unravels, the police end up on the entirely wrong track. We also learn of Jacky's own tragic childhood. We soon learn that tragedy follows him as rash decisions and pure bad luck persist.
While Bullhead is incredibly contrived, the contrivance is threaded into the story. The lead police investigator even mentions to the informant that she doesn't believe in coincidence. The coincidence is nicely woven together, although somewhat predictably, into an interesting web of stories that I found engulfed me. While I knew I was being manipulated, I was strangely fascinated by the premise of this film. While I thought it was going one direction, it went another. There is no redemption, no happy endings, just compounded tragedy. It was enjoyable to see a story that simply did its own thing.
Bullhead is the first feature length film written by Michael R. Roskam. It was also his first stint Directing a project of this sort. This film impressed me enough that I will seek out future films by Roskam. The script had minor flaws, but was rich in dialogue and content. But that content was brought to life through an incredible performance by Shoenarts. His performance carried this film. I was completely sold on his character, which was an odd mixture of anger, misfortune and likability. I found myself unable to dislike his character, which was due to an impeccable performance.
Bullhead received an R rating from the MPAA. The rating seemed to be triggered primarily by the violence, which was gut wrenching at times. There is a scene involving a young boy being tortured that was difficult to watch. The film also had some sexual content, although no nudity. To a lesser extent, the film also had strong language. The thematic material in this film was mature. It would likely be viewed as boring by younger viewers anyway. I would suggest at least a teenage audience for this film.
I enjoyed Bullhead enough to put it on equal footing with 2012's winner for Best Foreign Language Film. It was an interesting, dark film with a lead character that had an intensity and depth that is often lacking in other films. The film suffered from pacing issues at times, but moved along well most of the time. The acting could not have been better. For a Directorial Debut (feature length), Roskam did an excellent job. I was mesmerized. Kudos. 8/10.
