Jaco Van Dormael
Encyclopedia
Jaco Van Dormael is a Belgian
film director
, screenwriter
and playwright
. His complex and critically acclaimed films are especially noted for their respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disabilities
.
interest.
Van Dormael made his feature-length debut in 1991 with Toto le Héros
(Toto the hero), a tale about a man who believes his life was "stolen" from him when he was switched at birth, told in a complex mosaic of flashbacks and dream sequence
s, sometimes with almost a stream of consciousness effect. Toto le Héros gained wide critical acclaim, winning both the César Award
for best foreign film and the Camera d'Or
at the Cannes Film Festival
, making Van Dormael something of an overnight celebrity.
His brother Pierre Van Dormael
was a jazz
guitar
ist and composer, and had scored his feature films.
and examine the world from an innocent perspective (the young Thomas in Toto, the mentally handicapped protagonist of Huitième Jour, and the unborn child of Sur la Terre comme au Ciel). These characters views are often colorful, imaginative, and somewhat removed from reality, with slight elements of surreal
imagery used to illustrate their active imaginations.
His movies also typically end with a death, which is portrayed not as a tragedy, but as a happy moving on where the deceased looks down happily at the world below. Sur la Terre ends with a birth, but it is similarly handled the passing of a character into a new world. This pattern is continued in Mr. Nobody which screened recently at the Toronto International Film Festival, where two deaths open the movie and a unique twist on death at the end of the film conveys a wistful sense of happiness.
Van Dormael makes prominent use of nostalgic standards music, as well, featuring "Boum!" by Charles Trenet
in Toto and "Mexico" by Luis Mariano
in Huitième Jour as recurring themes. Mr. Nobody used "Mr. Sandman
" as its recurring musical theme.
All of Van Dormael's films contain surreal
elements. In his first two films, these moments were few, like dancing flowers in Toto or Georges flying around the room in Le Huitième Jour. Mr. Nobody makes much more extensive use of surreal imagery throughout the film.
Both Toto and Huitième Jour prominently featured characters with Down Syndrome
, and portrayed these characters lovingly, emphasizing their child-like characteristics.
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...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. His complex and critically acclaimed films are especially noted for their respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disabilities
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
.
Biography
In the 1980s, he became interested in filmmaking and produced a number of short films that aroused considerable criticalFilm criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
interest.
Van Dormael made his feature-length debut in 1991 with Toto le Héros
Toto le Héros
Toto le Héros is a 1991 Belgian film by Belgian film director and screenwriter Jaco Van Dormael.-Plot:...
(Toto the hero), a tale about a man who believes his life was "stolen" from him when he was switched at birth, told in a complex mosaic of flashbacks and dream sequence
Dream sequence
A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many...
s, sometimes with almost a stream of consciousness effect. Toto le Héros gained wide critical acclaim, winning both the César Award
César Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
for best foreign film and the Camera d'Or
Caméra d'Or
The Caméra d'Or is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections ....
at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, making Van Dormael something of an overnight celebrity.
His brother Pierre Van Dormael
Pierre Van Dormael
Pierre Van Dormael , born in Brussels, Uccle, was a Belgian musician and composer.In 1988, he played with the James Baldwin Project with a.o. David Linx and Deborah Brown , Slide Hampton , Diederik Wissels , Bob Stewart and Michel Hatzigeorgiou...
was a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist and composer, and had scored his feature films.
Themes
Van Dormael's films, while few, have strong common themes between them. They make distinctive use of naive voiceoverVoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
and examine the world from an innocent perspective (the young Thomas in Toto, the mentally handicapped protagonist of Huitième Jour, and the unborn child of Sur la Terre comme au Ciel). These characters views are often colorful, imaginative, and somewhat removed from reality, with slight elements of surreal
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
imagery used to illustrate their active imaginations.
His movies also typically end with a death, which is portrayed not as a tragedy, but as a happy moving on where the deceased looks down happily at the world below. Sur la Terre ends with a birth, but it is similarly handled the passing of a character into a new world. This pattern is continued in Mr. Nobody which screened recently at the Toronto International Film Festival, where two deaths open the movie and a unique twist on death at the end of the film conveys a wistful sense of happiness.
Van Dormael makes prominent use of nostalgic standards music, as well, featuring "Boum!" by Charles Trenet
Charles Trenet
Charles Trenet was a French singer and songwriter, most famous for his recordings from the late 1930s until the mid-1950s, though his career continued through the 1990s...
in Toto and "Mexico" by Luis Mariano
Luis Mariano
Mariano Eusebio González y García aka Luis Mariano was a popular tenor of Spanish Basque origin who achieved celebrity in 1946 with « La belle de Cadix » an operetta by Francis Lopez...
in Huitième Jour as recurring themes. Mr. Nobody used "Mr. Sandman
Mr. Sandman
"Mr. Sandman" is a popular song written by Pat Ballard which was published in 1954 and first recorded in that year by The Chordettes. The song's lyrics convey a request to "Mr...
" as its recurring musical theme.
All of Van Dormael's films contain surreal
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
elements. In his first two films, these moments were few, like dancing flowers in Toto or Georges flying around the room in Le Huitième Jour. Mr. Nobody makes much more extensive use of surreal imagery throughout the film.
Both Toto and Huitième Jour prominently featured characters with Down Syndrome
Down syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
, and portrayed these characters lovingly, emphasizing their child-like characteristics.
Early shorts
- Maedli la Brèche (1980)
- Stade 81 (1981)
- L'Imitateur (1982)
- Sortie de Secours (1983)
- È Pericoloso Sporgersi (1984)
- De Boot (1985)
Feature films
- Toto le HérosToto le HérosToto le Héros is a 1991 Belgian film by Belgian film director and screenwriter Jaco Van Dormael.-Plot:...
(1991; Toto the Hero) - Sur la Terre comme au Ciel (1992; Between Heaven and Earth [lit. In Heaven as on Earth]; screenwriter only; directed by Marion HänselMarion HänselMarion Hänsel is a Belgian film director, producer, actress and screenwriter. Her film Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was entered into the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* Palaver...
) - Le Huitième JourLe Huitième JourLe huitième jour is a Belgian 1996 film that tells the story of the friendship that develops between two men who meet by chance...
(1996; The Eighth Day) - Mr. NobodyMr. Nobody (film)Mr. Nobody is a 2009 Belgian science fiction drama film directed by Jaco Van Dormael, starring Jared Leto, Diane Kruger, Linh Dan Pham, Sarah Polley, Natasha Little, Rhys Ifans and Daniel Mays. This movie tells the life story of Nemo Nobody, the last mortal on Earth. Nemo is 118 years old and lives...
(2009)