09/09/2010

Oxygen [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a Belgium/Netherlands co-production by debut director Hans Van Nuffel, won the Grand Prix des Ameriques at the Montreal World Film Festival last evening. The award is the highest honor given at the Festival, which concluded a 10-day homage to world cinema that includes nearly 450 feature and short films from 80 countries.

Oxygen tells the poignant tale of two young men who suffer from cystic fybrosis, a genetic disease that slowly destroys their lungs. Although they share the same illness and the same limited life expectancy, the two could not be more different. Tom is a bitter person who expresses his frustration via violent behavior with his hoodlum mates. Xavier is a confirmed optimist who is a superb athlete who continues to push himself to embrace life. His energy and joy of life eventually bring Tom out of his doldrums and appreciate the possibilities that he still has in life. Van Nuffel, who won a short film prize at the Festival a few years ago, and co-scriptwriter Jean-Claude van Rijckegham, avoid all the usual disease-of-the-moment clichés and tells a life-affirming story of courage and determination that bare repeated telling.

Read the rest of this article at Sandy Mandelberger’s blog Eye on North America.