26/01/2023 - The Brabant Killers case gets the “based on true events” treatment in this first go at a bilingual series from Belgium’s national broadcasters, directed by Wouter Bouvijn

The Brabant Killers case might not ring a bell for you. The killings, unfolding from 1982 to 1985 in the central province of Brabant, Belgium, all followed a straightforward and brutal formula of armed robberies and random murders, with close to 30 people dying at the gang’s hands over the course of three years. The investigation is still open to this day and has failed to charge or even identify the members of the gang. What has emerged, though, is how closely tied these masked shooters were to some upper echelons of the Belgian authorities. Several Belgian films have already taken a shot at this dramatic topic (Above the Law [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: François Troukens
film profile] by Jean-François Hensgens and François Troukens, and Don’t Shoot [+see also:
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film profile] by Oscar-nominated Stijn Coninx), but they shied away from a comprehensive recreation of these unsolved events.

Which brings us to 1985 [+see also:
trailer
series profile], an eight-episode series that dares to go out on a limb. This longer format allows screenwriter Willem Wallyn (Albatros, De Zestien) and director Wouter Bouvijn (The Twelve) to chronologically re-enact many of the attacks, and to try and connect all the dots. This might feel a bit dry if 1985 weren’t led by its three main fictional characters, named Marc (Tijmen Govaerts), Franky (Aimé Claeys) and Vicky (Mona Mina Leon). They are three endearing friends whose bond and ideals will be shattered by the case, with Vicky studying to become a lawyer, and Marc and Franky entering the police academy a few months before the Brabant Killers’ first attack. 1985 intends to keep it real, though, and this innocent trio gets mixed up with a whole lot of real-life characters, mainly officers from the police force, both honest and corrupt.

Besides its narrative audacity, the show further makes its mark thanks to it being the first Belgian series to be produced by both the Flemish national broadcaster, VRT (The Twelve, Undercover), and its French-language counterpart, RTBF (The Break, Pandore). No wonder, then, that the main theme of this multicultural series lies in its criticism of a highly polarising era. That decade was as obsessed with security as our current one is, systematically pushing its citizens apart and distracting them from the reactionary effects of political paternalism. The first episode takes on this parallel with current politics head on. The very first scene sees Vicky asking the listeners of her pirate radio station: “Do you also feel like you constantly have to make a choice? Good or bad, head or heart, the Beatles or the Rolling Stones?” Marc and Franky’s arrival at the gendarmerie school is even more confrontational, especially in their chief’s welcome speech: “It is commonplace for people to describe us as racist hotheads with a low level of education. But as long as this myth prevails, we win. And the more our detractors shout, the stronger we get.”

For all its factual precision and political relevance in depicting a national tragedy, 1985 never forgets to enjoy it retro-pop premise. Blondie and TC Matic lead the soundtrack, and high perms and moustaches dominate the fashion. Some viewers might still not be impressed with the show’s achievements, though, and get frustrated by its refusal to resolve the case. But didn’t fiction features like Zodiac or The Night of the 12^th [+see also:
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interview: Dominik Moll
film profile] prove how thrilling an open ending can be? And what about the astonishing number of true-crime documentary series popping up on mainstream platforms nowadays? Whatever your stance, 1985 will make for a full-throttle trip back in time, keen on reminding us that the present is always informed by the past.

1985 was produced by Peter Bouckaert (Belgium’s Eyeworks), VRT and RTBF, and is currently airing on Belgian TV.