Torpedo (2012)
Directed by Matthieu Donck

Film Review

You wouldn't know it unless you were a keen fan of francophone cinema, but Belgian cinema has been enjoying something of a renaissance over the past decade, with an influx of talented young filmmakers (Lucas Belvaux, Joachim Lafosse, Bouli Lanners, François Pirot, etc.) all doing their utmost to revitalise Belgium's once stagnant film industry and raise its international profile.  Amidst this mini-New Wave of directing hopefuls is Matthieu Donck, who shows great promise with his debut feature, an engaging feel-good road movie that gives a surreal spin to the increasingly popular social comedy genre.

Torpédo derives its title from a braking system used on Belgian bicycles, an allusion to the main character, Michel (enjoyably played by rising star François Damiens), who, like a small child on a bike, must keep peddling to avoid falling off.  Michel's hastily manufactured family (which includes a jaded ex-girlfriend and an abducted child) looks suspiciously like a none-to-veiled allusion to that longheld dream of a united Belgium, although judging by the lack of subtlety in the writing this may be just a happy coincidence.  Whilst it is not exactly bursting at the seams with original ideas, Torpédo is directed and performed with gusto and has an infectious sense of fun.  Beneath the glib comedy froth there is a pretty astute critique on how ordinary people are milked and deluded by a cynically motivated consumer society.

Film Synopsis

At 35, Michel Ressac feels that he is coasting through life, with no clear aim or achievements to reassure him.  All that changes when, one morning, he receives a phone call notifying him, that he has won a meal with his idol Eddy Merckx, the world famous cyclist.  This provides him with the perfect excuse to patch things up with his father, since their only shared interest is a passion for cycling.  However, to qualify for the prize, Michel must present himself with his family, and a family is the one thing he doesn't yet have...