29/06/2009

The Brussels Film Festival, which opened on Saturday, June 27, gives viewers the opportunity to discover an unreleased Belgian film in avant-première, as part of the French Community of Belgium evening. This year, Yves Hanchar was in the spotlight with his third feature, Sans rancune ! [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“No Hard Feelings!”).

After his cerebral film The Chess Game set in the 19th century, and a seaside comedy centring on a group of friends (Holiday), Hanchar this time draws inspiration from the post-war period.

Set in 1954, Sans rancune! centres on 17-year-old Laurent Matagne, who joins a boarding school run by former soldiers. Fatherless, like most of his friends, he begins a double quest: for his vocation and the ghost of his dead father.

He thinks he sees the latter in the witty eloquence and charisma of his literature teacher, who is nonconformist and rejects the usual classroom tools, from exercise books to blackboards.

Writing is, however, at the heart of the story: writing as a means of communication, but also as a gift or close call, a means of personal fulfilment and satisfaction of one’s fantasies. The plot is reminiscent of a certain “Cercle”, and another, more musical boarding school.

This classic cinematic duo is played by Thierry Lhermitte, who lends charisma to the character of Vapeur, and young actor Milan Mauger, who holds his own with naturalness and ease.

Hanchar admits that he drew inspiration from men in his family, including himself, when painting this portrait of masculinity at the end of the war. His father lived in a similar boarding school in the 1950s, while his grandfather was a fighter pilot, like Vapeur. The character of Matagne, meanwhile, finds his truth in fiction, like the director.

The film was produced by Belgium’s To Do Today and France’s Mact Productions, and co-produced by Frakas and RTBF.

Victory Productions is releasing the title in Belgium on Wednesday, July 1, while Pyramide is launching it in France on July 15.

(Translated from French)