22/10/2024 - Already adapted three times for the big screen, Dimitri Verhulst makes his debut as auteur and director with an absurd comedy carried by the always remarkable Peter Van den Begin

Screened as the closing film of the 51st Film Fest Gent and as a world premiere before its release in Belgium on 23 October with Kinepolis Film Distribution, The Weeping Walk [+see also:
trailer
film profile] is the debut feature film by Flemish novelist and now filmmaker Dimitri Verhulst, with an appetising cast. Verhulst is one of the most renowned authors of Belgian literature, known as much for his works, a part of which has been published in France, as for his engagements, and for the adaptations of his writing, the most famous being The Misfortunates [+see also:
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film profile], which contributed to making its director Felix Van Groeningen known and was selected in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2009 where it made a strong impression. The novelist has also been adapted on two other occasions, in Problemski Hotel [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Manu Riche in 2015, and in 2018 in Angel [+see also:
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interview: Koen Mortier
film profile] by Koen Mortier, who is also the producer of The Weeping Walk.

In The Weeping Walk, we follow a strange funeral procession. Bas (Peter Van den Begin) is about to bury his wife Christine. Soon joined by a motley crew of friends, family and acquaintances of the deceased, he discovers with amazement that she clearly stipulated in her will the wish to be buried in Wettelen. The problem is that no one knows this village, except maybe the hearse driver, who himself doesn’t seem very sure anymore. Betraying the last wishes of the deceased is not an option, however, and so this little group embarks on an adventure in slow motion towards Wettelen, wherever that might take them.

One understands while watching The Weeping Walk why the novelist turned to cinema, guessing the power of attraction of certain images that could only flourish on the big screen and not in the pages of a book. This taste for shots with absurd touches shines throughout the whole film, such as in this funeral procession moving slowly on a country road, of course, but also in this image of a wheelchair lost in the frame and bumping along the paved road, or that of a dancer in an abandoned quarry, or of this coffin plunged into a too-deep hole, or of this priest in rain boots.

Verhulst is known for his dark humour and his taste for provocation. The Weeping Walk, which  doesn’t stray from tradition, is willingly trivial, and doesn’t skimp on scatological jokes. Verhulst cultivates a strangeness that can seem a little forced, multiplying aphorisms and transgressive postures and carefully desecrating as many things as possible: a fake disabled person, an incestuous relationship, a priest fully empathising with the lactose intolerant. Bordering on excess with apparent if not always convincing delectation, the film is defended by an interesting cast, led by the always excellent Peter Van den Begin (the star of King of the Belgians [+see also:
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interview: Jessica Woodworth
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interview: Artemio Benki, Sylvie Leray
interview: Felix Van Groeningen
film profile]), as well as the surprising Marijke Pinoy (also seen in Belgica and Problemski Hotel – we’ve gone full circle).

The Weeping Walk was produced by CZAR in Belgium, and co-produced by Graniet Film in the Netherlands. Germany's Atlas handles international sales.

(Translated from French)