Jan Bucquoy
Encyclopedia
Jan Bucquoy is an anarchist and author-filmmaker born in Harelbeke
, Belgium
who started as a theatre practitioner and who worked as a cartoon-scriptwriter.
(Insas) he started his career as an author of about 50 comics: ((Daniel) Jaunes, Le Bal du Rat Mort (1986), Retour au pays noir, Alain Moreau, etc...). With his producer Francis De Smet
he made his much acclaimed series of The Sexual Life of the Belgians (with the famous trilogy
) which includes 10 movies and documentaries about the whereabouts of Belgian people from the period after the war until now: the surrealist Camping Cosmos
(1996) with Lolo Ferrari
and Jan Decleir
, and with a parody
(detournement
) of Tintin
and Snowy
and of the play Mother Courage and Her Children
by Bertolt Brecht
; The Closing down of the Renault Factory at Vilvoorde Belgium (1998) as a Belgian version of Roger & Me
(1989) by Michael Moore
; Les Vacances de Noël with Noël Godin
and Yolande Moreau
(2005) etc...
in the manner of Jean-Luc Godard
(La Chinoise
(1967), Tout va bien
(1972), Italian neo-realism (Roberto Rossellini
) and the humanism
of Rainer Werner Fassbinder
(Satansbraten (1976), The Marriage of Maria Braun
(1979); Bucquoy directed some theatrical plays by Fassbinder during his university studies at Strassburg (The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
). Influenced by the Situationist book Society of the Spectacle (1967) by Guy Debord
, Bucquoy considers life in the 21st century to be a permanent theatrical performance. His films contain many references to the psychoanalysis
of Jacques Lacan
and one of his movies has even taken a title by one of the books of the pupils of Lacan: La jouissance des hystériques by the psychiatrist Lucien Israël. He was also influenced by the artist Marcel Mariën
and the writer Raoul Vaneigem
(The Book of Pleasures).
. This is the reason why he is an accomplice
of the entarteur Noël Godin
who threw pies at major figures of business as Bill Gates
, culture: Bernard-Henri Lévy
and politics: Nicolas Sarkozy
and that he celebrates his yearly coup d'état
of Belgium
as an art performance
or happening
just like his musée du slip. This does not mean that he takes politics seriously: his movie La vie politique des Belges (2002) with Benoit Poelvoorde
for instance, makes fun of the two minuscule opposing political parties in the race for votes: Tarte, and Vivant
with the Belgian millionaire Roland Duchâtelet
.
Harelbeke
Harelbeke is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Harelbeke proper and the towns of Bavikhove and Hulste. On January 1, 2006 Harelbeke had a total population of 26,172...
, 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...
who started as a theatre practitioner and who worked as a cartoon-scriptwriter.
Career
After his studies in Strassburg (theatre) and BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(Insas) he started his career as an author of about 50 comics: ((Daniel) Jaunes, Le Bal du Rat Mort (1986), Retour au pays noir, Alain Moreau, etc...). With his producer Francis De Smet
Francis De Smet
Francis De Smet . PH. D. of Philosophy . Inventor: soundenhancing, Human intervention on the Internet. Film producer. Music supervisor for Transatlantic Films...
he made his much acclaimed series of The Sexual Life of the Belgians (with the famous trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
) which includes 10 movies and documentaries about the whereabouts of Belgian people from the period after the war until now: the surrealist Camping Cosmos
Camping Cosmos
Camping Cosmos is a Belgian 1996 film, sequel to La Vie sexuelle des Belges 1950-1978, directed by Jan Bucquoy. It stars Claude Semal, Lolo Ferrari , Noël Godin , Herman Brusselmans and Arno ....
(1996) with Lolo Ferrari
Lolo Ferrari
Lolo Ferrari, born Eve Valois , was a French dancer, sex star, pornographic actress, actress and singer billed as "the woman with the largest breasts in the world" though their size was artificially achieved....
and Jan Decleir
Jan Decleir
Jan Decleir is a prolific Belgian movie and stage actor born in Niel, Antwerp .He had his first big role in Fons Rademakers "Mira" and has since then appeared in countless Flemish and Dutch films and tv productions...
, and with a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
(detournement
Detournement
A détournement is a technique developed in the 1950s by the Letterist International, and consist in "turning expressions of the capitalist system against itself." Détournement was prominently used to set up subversive political pranks, an influential tactic called situationist prank that was...
) of Tintin
Tintin (character)
Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy....
and Snowy
Snowy (character)
Snowy is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. He is a white Wire Fox Terrier and Tintin's four-legged companion who travels everywhere with him...
and of the play Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin...
by Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
; The Closing down of the Renault Factory at Vilvoorde Belgium (1998) as a Belgian version of Roger & Me
Roger & Me
Roger & Me is a 1989 American documentary film directed by Michael Moore. Moore portrays the regional negative economic impact of General Motors CEO Roger Smith's summary action of closing several auto plants in Flint, Michigan, costing 30,000 people their jobs at the time and economically...
(1989) by Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
; Les Vacances de Noël with Noël Godin
Noël Godin
Noël Godin is a Belgian writer, critic, actor and notorious cream pie flinger or entarteur. Godin gained global attention in 1998 when his group ambushed Microsoft CEO Bill Gates in Brussels, pelting the software magnate with cream pies...
and Yolande Moreau
Yolande Moreau
Yolande Moreau is a Belgian comedienne, actress and film director.-Biography:She has won two César Awards for Best Actress, in 2005 for When the Sea Rises and in 2009 for Séraphine....
(2005) etc...
Influences
His movies are a mixture of French avant-garde cinemaFrench New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
in the manner of Jean-Luc Godard
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"....
(La Chinoise
La Chinoise
La Chinoise is a 1967 French political film directed by Jean-Luc Godard about young revolutionaries in Paris.-Plot summary:La Chinoise is a loose adaptation, if not parody, of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 1872 novel, The Possessed...
(1967), Tout va bien
Tout va bien
Tout va bien is a 1972 film directed by Jean-Luc Godard and collaborator Jean-Pierre Gorin and starring Jane Fonda and Yves Montand.-Overview:...
(1972), Italian neo-realism (Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Rossellini was one of the directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing films such as Roma città aperta to the movement.-Early life:Born in Rome, Roberto Rossellini lived on the Via Ludovisi, where Benito Mussolini had...
) and the humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
of Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...
(Satansbraten (1976), The Marriage of Maria Braun
The Marriage of Maria Braun
The Marriage of Maria Braun is a 1979 West German film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The film stars Hanna Schygulla as Maria, whose marriage with the soldier Hermann remained unfulfilled due to World War II and his post-war imprisonment...
(1979); Bucquoy directed some theatrical plays by Fassbinder during his university studies at Strassburg (The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant is a 1972 German film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, based on his own play. This film has an all female cast and is set in the home of the protagonist, Petra von Kant. It follows the changing dynamics in her relationships with the other women...
). Influenced by the Situationist book Society of the Spectacle (1967) by Guy Debord
Guy Debord
Guy Ernest Debord was a French Marxist theorist, writer, filmmaker, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationist International . He was also briefly a member of Socialisme ou Barbarie.-Early Life:Guy Debord was born in Paris in 1931...
, Bucquoy considers life in the 21st century to be a permanent theatrical performance. His films contain many references to the psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
of Jacques Lacan
Jacques Lacan
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy, and has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's...
and one of his movies has even taken a title by one of the books of the pupils of Lacan: La jouissance des hystériques by the psychiatrist Lucien Israël. He was also influenced by the artist Marcel Mariën
Marcel Mariën
Marcel Mariën was a Belgian surrealist , poet, essayist, photographer, collagist, filmmaker, and maker of objects....
and the writer Raoul Vaneigem
Raoul Vaneigem
Raoul Vaneigem is a Belgian writer and philosopher. He was born in Lessines . After studying romance philology at the Free University of Brussels from 1952 to 1956, he participated in the Situationist International from 1961 to 1970...
(The Book of Pleasures).
Protagonists
His protagonists include celebrities looking for love, having reminiscences of their lost mother. The term "sexual" in his first movie La vie sexuelle des Belges 1950-78 means affectionate. His work renders ridiculous the false seriousness of the media and its 'stars' who act as collaborators of this system of massive distractionDistraction
Distraction is the divided attention of an individual or group from the chosen object of attention onto the source of distraction. Distraction is caused by: the lack of ability to pay attention; lack of interest in the object of attention; or the great intensity, novelty or attractiveness of...
. This is the reason why he is an accomplice
Accomplice
At law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offense. For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller and asks for the money is guilty of armed robbery...
of the entarteur Noël Godin
Noël Godin
Noël Godin is a Belgian writer, critic, actor and notorious cream pie flinger or entarteur. Godin gained global attention in 1998 when his group ambushed Microsoft CEO Bill Gates in Brussels, pelting the software magnate with cream pies...
who threw pies at major figures of business as Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, culture: Bernard-Henri Lévy
Bernard-Henri Lévy
Bernard-Henri Lévy is a French public intellectual, philosopher and journalist. Often referred to today, in France, simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the "Nouveaux Philosophes" movement in 1976.-Early life:...
and politics: Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
and that he celebrates his yearly coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of 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...
as an art performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
or happening
Happening
A happening is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. Happenings take place anywhere , are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience...
just like his musée du slip. This does not mean that he takes politics seriously: his movie La vie politique des Belges (2002) with Benoit Poelvoorde
Benoît Poelvoorde
Benoît Poelvoorde is a Belgian actor and comedian who often associates cynicism, humour and drama in his movies.His mother was a grocer and his father a driver, who died when Poelvoorde was still young...
for instance, makes fun of the two minuscule opposing political parties in the race for votes: Tarte, and Vivant
Vivant
Vivant is a small Belgian social liberal party founded by millionaire Roland Duchâtelet. In the regional elections in June 2004, the party formed a strategic alliance with the Flemish Liberals and Democrats . Both parties are founded on the principle of individualism and can be called liberal...
with the Belgian millionaire Roland Duchâtelet
Roland Duchâtelet
Roland Duchâtelet is a Belgian businessman who turned his progressive liberal ideology into a political movement that he called Vivant. He also chairs a notable soccer club K. Sint-Truidense V.V....
.
Films
- La Vie sexuelle des Belges 1950-1978 (1994)
- Camping CosmosCamping CosmosCamping Cosmos is a Belgian 1996 film, sequel to La Vie sexuelle des Belges 1950-1978, directed by Jan Bucquoy. It stars Claude Semal, Lolo Ferrari , Noël Godin , Herman Brusselmans and Arno ....
(La vie sexuelle des Belges II) (1996) - Crème et châtiment aka Entartement de Toscan du Plantier au festival de Cannes 1996 / Cream and Punishment (short film) (1997)
- Fermeture de l'usine Renault à Vilvoorde (1998)
- La Jouissance des hystériques (La vie sexuelle des Belges IV) (2000)
- Vrijdag Visdag / Friday Fishday (La vie sexuelle des Belges V) (2000)
- La vie politique des Belges: Tarte ou Vivant (2002)
- La société du spectacle et ses commentaires (La vie sexuelle des Belges VI) (2003)
- Les Vacances de Noël (2005)
External links
- Transatlantic Films Belgium
- September 1998 Reuters article
- The Closing down of the Renault Factory at Vilvoorde Belgium
- Bibliography Le Bal du rat mort Les chemins de la gloire