JCVD
Encyclopedia
JCVD is a crime-based
comedy drama directed by French-Tunisian director Mabrouk El Mechri
, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
as a semi-fictionalized version of himself, a down-and-out action
star whose family and career are crumbling around him as he is caught in the middle of a post office heist in his hometown of Brussels
, Belgium
.
The film was screened on 4 June 2008 in Belgium and France
, at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
(Midnight Madness), and at the Adelaide Film Festival
on 20 February 2009. It was distributed by Peace Arch Entertainment from Toronto and opened in New York and select cities on 7 November 2008.
When he goes into a post office to receive a wire transfer
, he ends up arguing with the bank teller just as, coincidentally, the bank is robbed. As he turns he is pistol whipped in the face by the head robber, cutting his lip. The bank robber takes the customers hostage
, and the police mistakenly identify Van Damme as the head robber. The following action is portrayed from different perspectives, and Van Damme finds himself acting as a hero to protect the hostages, as well as both a negotiator and presumed perpetrator.
In a notable scene, Van Damme and the camera are lifted above the set, and he performs a six-minute single-take monologue, where he breaks the fourth wall
addressing the audience directly with an emotional (but characteristically cryptic) monologue about his career, his multiple marriages, and his drug abuse.
Van Damme then persuades one of the bank robbers to release the hostages. After this happens, a scuffle ensues and in the resulting conflict, the head robber is shot. The police, after hearing a gunshot, storm the building. The police shoot another one of the thieves, and Van Damme is held at gunpoint by the final one. Van Damme briefly imagines a scenario in which he takes the robber out by elbowing him and kicking him in the face and everyone including the police and crowd cheering for him, but in reality, he just elbows him in the stomach, and the police quickly apprehend him. While speaking as the ringleader of the robbers, Van Damme demanded $465,000 from the law firm handling his custody case. Consequently, he is arrested for extortion
, tried and sentenced to 1 year in prison. The final scene shows him teaching karate
to other inmates, then being visited by his mother and daughter who both utter the word "Hi" to each other.
The filmmaker offered to write a draft, and the producer asked if he would direct it as well. El Mechri agreed on the condition he could meet Van Damme first before starting the draft, so he would not waste six months on something that Van Damme might veto. El Mechri and Van Damme had dinner, where the idea of the bank heist and not knowing what has happened inside was pitched. Van Damme was thrilled with the concept. After watching El Mechri's film, Virgil
, he immediately went to work with the French director.
El Mechri stated that about 70% of the film was scripted, and the other 30% was improvised from the actors. Most of the ad-libs came from Van Damme.
During Van Damme's six-minute, one-take monologue, he references past drug problems. In truth, Van Damme had troubles with cocaine
during 1995, entering a month-long rehab program in 1996 but leaving it only after a week.
In the film, Van Damme has a daughter, who chooses her mother's custody. A similar scenario was played out with Van Damme's real-life son.
The Gaumont
title sequence has been altered for this film. The normal sequence has a silhouette
d boy pulling a daisy from the ground, which floats to space to become the company logo. In this film, the boy is confronted by a silhouetted Van Damme, who attempts to take the daisy from him. When the boy resists, Van Damme does a roundhouse kick
on him and kicks the daisy upwards, where it becomes the company logo.
and collaborations between Spike Jonze
and Charlie Kaufman
.
has the film rated at 83% on the Tomatometer, based on 100 reviews. To date, this is Van Damme's first film to be listed as Certified Fresh by the aggregate website. Peter Bradshaw
reviewed the film for The Guardian
and called the monologue "a Godardian
coup de cinéma", describing the film as "inter-textual and self-referential".
Time
magazine named Jean-Claude Van Damme's performance in the film the second best of the year (after Heath Ledger
's The Joker in The Dark Knight
), having previously stated that Van Damme "deserves not a black belt, but an Oscar". Roger Ebert
gave the film 2.5 stars, noting that the movie "almost endearingly savages" Van Damme, who "says worse things about himself than critics would dream of saying, and the effect is shockingly truthful".
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
comedy drama directed by French-Tunisian director Mabrouk El Mechri
Mabrouk El Mechri
Mabrouk el Mechri is a French director, screenwriter and actor.El Mechri was born in Versailles, France of Tunisian origin. He is married to actress Audrey Dana. He has directed a number of films...
, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
as a semi-fictionalized version of himself, a down-and-out action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
star whose family and career are crumbling around him as he is caught in the middle of a post office heist in his hometown of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
The film was screened on 4 June 2008 in Belgium and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
2008 Toronto International Film Festival
The 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This 33rd annual festival was from September 4 to September 13, 2008...
(Midnight Madness), and at the Adelaide Film Festival
Adelaide Film Festival
The Adelaide Film Festival is a biennial and non-competitive film festival held over two weeks in late February, in Adelaide, South Australia....
on 20 February 2009. It was distributed by Peace Arch Entertainment from Toronto and opened in New York and select cities on 7 November 2008.
Plot
The film establishes Jean-Claude Van Damme playing himself as an out-of-luck actor. He is out of money; his agent cannot find him a decent production; and the judge in a custody battle is inclined to give custody of his daughter over to his ex-wife. He returns to his childhood home of Brussels, the capital of Belgium, where he is still considered a national icon.When he goes into a post office to receive a wire transfer
Wire transfer
Wire transfer or credit transfer is a method of electronic funds transfer from one person or institution to another. A wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account or through a transfer of cash at a cash office...
, he ends up arguing with the bank teller just as, coincidentally, the bank is robbed. As he turns he is pistol whipped in the face by the head robber, cutting his lip. The bank robber takes the customers hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
, and the police mistakenly identify Van Damme as the head robber. The following action is portrayed from different perspectives, and Van Damme finds himself acting as a hero to protect the hostages, as well as both a negotiator and presumed perpetrator.
In a notable scene, Van Damme and the camera are lifted above the set, and he performs a six-minute single-take monologue, where he breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
addressing the audience directly with an emotional (but characteristically cryptic) monologue about his career, his multiple marriages, and his drug abuse.
Van Damme then persuades one of the bank robbers to release the hostages. After this happens, a scuffle ensues and in the resulting conflict, the head robber is shot. The police, after hearing a gunshot, storm the building. The police shoot another one of the thieves, and Van Damme is held at gunpoint by the final one. Van Damme briefly imagines a scenario in which he takes the robber out by elbowing him and kicking him in the face and everyone including the police and crowd cheering for him, but in reality, he just elbows him in the stomach, and the police quickly apprehend him. While speaking as the ringleader of the robbers, Van Damme demanded $465,000 from the law firm handling his custody case. Consequently, he is arrested for extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, tried and sentenced to 1 year in prison. The final scene shows him teaching karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
to other inmates, then being visited by his mother and daughter who both utter the word "Hi" to each other.
Cast
- Jean-Claude Van DammeJean-Claude Van DammeJean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
as JCVD - François Damiens as Bruges
- Zinedine SoualemZinedine SoualemZinedine Soualem is an award-winning French film actor. He has appeared in at least five films directed by Cédric Klapisch.-Selected filmography:* JCVD * The Names of Love * Nothing to Declare...
as The Man with the Cap - Karim Belkhadra as The Vigil
- Jean-François Wolff as The Thirty
- Anne Paulicevich as The Teller
- Saskia Flanders as JCVD's daughter
- Dean Gregory as the Director of Tobey Wood
- Kim Hermans as the Prisoner in kickboxing outfit
- Steve Preston as the Assistant to JCVD
- Paul Rockenbrod as Tobey Wood
- Alan Rossett as Bernstein
- Jesse Joe Walsh as Jeff
Production
The concept for the film originated from a producer who had an agreement with Jean-Claude to play himself in a movie. The producer, knowing El Mechri was a Van Damme fan, asked him to review the original screenplay. The screenwriters had perceived Van Damme as merely a clown, but El Mechri felt that there was more to Van Damme than just what people knew from his big screen action-hero persona.The filmmaker offered to write a draft, and the producer asked if he would direct it as well. El Mechri agreed on the condition he could meet Van Damme first before starting the draft, so he would not waste six months on something that Van Damme might veto. El Mechri and Van Damme had dinner, where the idea of the bank heist and not knowing what has happened inside was pitched. Van Damme was thrilled with the concept. After watching El Mechri's film, Virgil
Virgil (film)
Virgil is a 2005 comedy drama film written and directed by French-Tunisian director Mabrouk El Mechri, his first long feature. It had its first public screening in movie theaters starting September 2005...
, he immediately went to work with the French director.
El Mechri stated that about 70% of the film was scripted, and the other 30% was improvised from the actors. Most of the ad-libs came from Van Damme.
During Van Damme's six-minute, one-take monologue, he references past drug problems. In truth, Van Damme had troubles with cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
during 1995, entering a month-long rehab program in 1996 but leaving it only after a week.
In the film, Van Damme has a daughter, who chooses her mother's custody. A similar scenario was played out with Van Damme's real-life son.
The Gaumont
Gaumont Film Company
Gaumont Film Company is a French film production company founded in 1895 by the engineer-turned-inventor, Léon Gaumont . Gaumont is the oldest continously operating film company in the world....
title sequence has been altered for this film. The normal sequence has a silhouette
Silhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...
d boy pulling a daisy from the ground, which floats to space to become the company logo. In this film, the boy is confronted by a silhouetted Van Damme, who attempts to take the daisy from him. When the boy resists, Van Damme does a roundhouse kick
Roundhouse kick
A roundhouse kick is a kick in which the attacker swings his leg around in a semicircular motion, striking with the front of the leg or foot. This type of kick is utilized in many different martial arts and is popular in both non-contact and full-contact martial arts competitions...
on him and kicks the daisy upwards, where it becomes the company logo.
Influences
The filmmaker was influenced by Jean-Luc GodardJean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
and collaborations between Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
and Charlie Kaufman
Charlie Kaufman
Charles Stuart "Charlie" Kaufman is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. His film work includes Being John Malkovich, Human Nature, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Synecdoche, New York...
.
Reception
Reviews for JCVD have been positive. , Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
has the film rated at 83% on the Tomatometer, based on 100 reviews. To date, this is Van Damme's first film to be listed as Certified Fresh by the aggregate website. Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw is a British writer and film critic. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he was President of Footlights.Bradshaw is a film critic for The Guardian...
reviewed the film for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and called the monologue "a Godardian
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
coup de cinéma", describing the film as "inter-textual and self-referential".
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine named Jean-Claude Van Damme's performance in the film the second best of the year (after Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...
's The Joker in The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight (film)
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
), having previously stated that Van Damme "deserves not a black belt, but an Oscar". Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film 2.5 stars, noting that the movie "almost endearingly savages" Van Damme, who "says worse things about himself than critics would dream of saying, and the effect is shockingly truthful".
See Also
- Wes Craven's New NightmareWes Craven's New NightmareWes Craven's New Nightmare is a 1994 horror metafilm written and directed by Wes Craven. Although it is the seventh installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street series, it is not part of the series continuity, instead portraying Freddy Krueger as a fictional movie villain who invades the real world...
another film with a fictionalized version of a celebrity