09/10/2013 - Admissions are ready to go mad with the release of Jan Verheyen’s new film (The Alzheimer Case), the champion of the Belgian box-office

2013 has so far been rather shy in terms of box-office successes for Flemish Belgian cinema – the last big success being The Broken Circle Breakdown [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Felix van Groeningen
interview: Felix Van Groeningen
interview: Felix Van Groeningen
film profile] by Felix Van Groeningen, released in December 2012. The release of the new film by Jan Verheyen, and the combined arrival of the rain give hope for an improvement this season.

With The Verdict [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Verheyen takes the opportunity to surf on a trending theme. A judiciary thriller in the genre’s greatest tradition, The Verdict hopes to put justice itself on trial. It follows the footsteps of Luc Segers, a father destroyed by the savage murder of his wife and daughter. As the main suspect is rapidly arrested but nearly as quickly set free because of a procedural irregularity, Segers intends to seek justice himself. “There is no justice, but there are limits”, the film clearly expresses from the start. Determined to set his own rules, Segers transforms his trial into a modern day circus, exposing the failures of the judiciary system to the jury of the people.    

Served by a first class cast (Koen De Bouw, Johan Leysen, Veerle Baetens), Verheyen delivers a fascinating story thanks to his science of breathtaking thrillers and turns the moral dilemma of a broken man into the symbol of the struggle of a man against a deviant system which fails to protect the real victims. Produced by Eyeworks, The Verdict is distributed by Kinepolis in nearly 40 cinemas. Rendez-vous after this first weekend to see if the film will reach 400,000 admissions as easily as the director’s previous films.

(Translated from French)