Adapted from Dimitri Verhulst’s semi-autobiographical novel with a flair that recalls the squalor-and-dazzle visuals of “Trainspotting,” Felix Van Groeningen’s highly entertaining tale is full of hilarity, horror and heartbreak (sometimes within the same scene).
The Misfortunates(De helaasheid der dingen)
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Belgium, Netherlands · 2009
1h 48m
Director Felix van Groeningen
Starring Kenneth Vanbaeden, Valentijn Dhaenens, Koen De Graeve, Wouter Hendrickx
Genre Comedy, Drama
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In this bittersweet meditation on dysfunctional family life, novelist and soon-to-be father Gunther reflects on his childhood that was ridden with alcoholism and instability. This poignant coming-of-age drama finds tenderness amid the chaos of breaking free from one's upbringing.
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What are critics saying?
Deftly mixing the visual exuberance of “Trainspotting” with the familial pathos of “Angela’s Ashes,” the gifted van Groeningen offers gleeful depictions of drinking contests and naked bicycle races that gradually give way to a sense of moral peril for young Gunther.
New York Daily News by Joe Neumaier
The title of The Misfortunates really applies to any audiences unlucky enough to sit through it.
The New York Times by Manohla Dargis
They drink at the pub, they drink at home. They drink until they pass out and then, after they have had a good vomit, they drink again. If that sounds too disgusting to watch, it almost is.
Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea
There's whimsy and raunchy humor here, but also an underlying sense of darkness and despair.
The acting is super -- these guys know how to be sweet and disgusting -- and the story provides its share of laughs. But after a while, the one-note movie, directed by Felix van Groeningen, grows tiresome.
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