The Alzheimer Case is a hit

by Marie-France Dupagne

19/11/2003 - The Belgium film The Alzheimer Case [trailer] by Erik Van Looy was released on the domestic market on October 15 and has beaten all the records. After just over a month on release, the film has registered an audience of 370,000. Last weekend it was number one at the Flemish box office, beating American productions like The Matrix Revolutions.

It’s distributor, KFD, confirms that the film’s excellent performance is mainly down to the quality of the work, as well as an exceptionally positive word of mouth. The Alzheimer Case is based on the book by Jef Geeraerts and the film stars Jan Decleir, Koen De Bouw and Werner De Smedt. The production company, MMG, is planning to make a version of the film dubbed in French.

When the box office figures for The Alzheimer Case are added to those of films like Any Way the Wind Blows [trailer] by Tom Barman, The Emperor’s Wife by Julien Vrebos and Sea of Silence by Stijn Coninx, its success has led to the doubling of the cinema audience figures Flemish films, which now stand at half a million people in Belgium for 2003. So, this year is an exceptional year for national cinema, and this positive showing should continue with the upcoming release of Team Spirit II by Jan Verheyen, on December 10, 2003.

(Translated from French)