The Lion of Flanders (1984) YIFY - Download Movie TORRENT

Reviewed by marclenglet80 4 / 10

A nationalist epic nobody wanted - and everyone managed to hate

Largely erased from collective memory today, The Lion of Flanders was, in its time, a genuine "Low Countries blockbuster" - and a magnet for controversy. The most expensive film ever made in Belgium also became one of the decade's most spectacular box-office disasters. Based on the 1838 novel by Hendrik Conscience, long considered a cornerstone of the Flemish Movement, the film was conceived - very explicitly - as a faithful mirror of the book. Faithful to the point of rigidity.Even the choice of director was contentious. Hugo Claus, who famously described himself as a "Francophile flamingant", was nonetheless one of the very few bekende vlamingen of his era. Deeply attached to Flemish culture, he had also spent his life openly criticising the narrow-minded provincialism of his compatriots - which explains why his work on the film was closely monitored by nervous financiers.Yes, the screen is filled with the most blunt, Manichean tropes of exalted nationalism. But given the producers' obsession with literal adaptation, and considering the novel's own agenda, this is hardly surprising. We are dealing with a mid-19th-century writer attempting to fabricate, almost from scratch, a "national consciousness" for a Flemish people he believed threatened with dilution by both the Francophone world and the Netherlands. From that perspective, the demonisation of the historical "villains" - the French, and by extension Francophones - is no more vicious than the way American cinema has long portrayed its Russians, Arabs, Mexicans or vaguely defined East Asians.After all, no one seriously reproaches Braveheart for inflaming Scottish nationalism - which is precisely what it did.Seen today, the film is not entirely disgraceful. It has aged, undeniably, sometimes resembling a giant costume reenactment staged for a Limburg sausage fair. The pacing is slack, several actors look visibly out of place, but one has seen far worse within the genre. The battle scenes do not shy away from the occasional decapitation or bloody disembowelment, which is always welcome.As for the patriotic acne flare-ups, they should be treated with the same amused indulgence as other clumsy anachronisms scattered throughout the film - like the oddly neo-romantic earrings worn by French nobles, or Philippe le Bel's unforgettable wig.The real irony is that upon release, this film - built entirely on compromises - managed to alienate absolutely everyone. The Francophone press fretted about potential post-screening beatings of young Francophones by overexcited Flemish nationalists. A handful of Flemish nationalist groups bristled at the irony Claus injected into certain scenes, particularly those mocking the religious dimension of Flemish resistance. Meanwhile, the mainstream Flemish press simply tore into the film's awkwardness - and above all its astronomical budget, already heralding the box-office humiliation to come.A national epic designed to unite, ending up offending all camps equally: there is something profoundly Belgian about that.

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Reviewed by robvanderaa 5 / 10

Great example (how not to make a movie)

I started out unbiased and neutral of this movie. I got through to the whole ninety minutes of it. And wow, this is a great example of a movie not to do this. Even at the 1984 pace and special effects it's bad, so bad that I had to cringe several time for the bad acting and effects.

The acting for nearly all actors is bad and the direction is even worse. I forgive the special effects team because the budget had to be extremely low. The cast is so few they can hardly muster any extra's during the battle or during the french royal scenes.

Please Hollywood and other movie makers, take note of this movie how to NOT do this kind of genre. I barely make any reviews, but this is a movie I had to review.

Don't waste time on this. It's 90 minutes you will never get back!

The Lion of Flanders

1984 [DUTCH]

Drama / History / War

The Lion of Flanders

1984 [DUTCH]

Drama / History / War

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A nationalist epic nobody wanted - and everyone managed to hate

Great example (how not to make a movie)

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