The Stockholm International Film Festival is nearly upon us again. This year there is a Belgian film showing, Any Way the Wind Blows, about nothing much happening in Antwerp. Sound less than thrilling, but before nixing it I checked it out on IMDB. It rates about as high there (7.4) as the best Belgian films I knowC’est arrivé près de chez vous (Man bites dog), a mockumentary masterpiece, gets 7.5. The Dardennes’ La Promesse manages 7.4 and their Cannes winner Rosetta but 6.9. I honestly can’t think of many more Belgian movies with arthouse appeal., and it is being praised for its visual acuity.
I immediately knew what the reviewers meant when I saw this still:
It reminded me of this near neighbor, working in the 17th century:
Antwerp is an immensely creative city, probably the best in its class, and yet one third of the population votes for the anti-immigrant Vlaams Blok. So I have a love/hate relationship with the place; my Antwerp dialect — my mother tongue — is a passport to acceptance by the locals; it’s probably the only place in the world where I can manage that trick. But because this accent is the kind of ethnic marker Vlaams Blok uses to define outsiders, and because in my case I too am an outsider, having lived there just one year as a child, I am acutely aware of the fallibility, and hence silliness, of such tests, and policies based on them.
All this implies I care about the place. I will go see the film.
It has a lovely train station (I’m rather a connisseur of train stations, an amateur of course, but I love them)… that’s about all I know about Antwerp.
My favorite city in Belgium. Only spent a weekend there but I thought Antwerp rocked. Lots of young people, plenty of energy in the central area – not quite Asian levels but respectable for a small European city. Brugge? You can keep it, I’ll just buy the calendar. Brussels? Great food and beer, pity about the people. Stefan, good pedigree.
There is a certain affinity for one’s own belongingness to certain places no matter how awful those racist bastards from our own part of the world express themselves, in the end, it is a uniqueness that revolves all over which they defend, and in the whirl we seem to stand amiss.
You can all go and see the print in the background of the still in ‘Saved!’ the centenary exhibition of tha National Art Collections Fund at the Hayward Gallery in London. Its Jeff Wall’s ‘A Sudden Gust of Wind (After Hokusai)’which is normally at Tate and which the Art Fund helped them buy.
Antwerpen, dat is een luik staadt!
When I lived in Brussels in the mid-’80s, I always thought of Antwerp as a very hopping kind of place, with, yes indeed, a beautiful, whimsical guilded train station, great restaurants, and a happening nighttime scene. A great place to visit; I was only frustrated that I didn’t speak the language, although, in light of your comments about current political developments, that may not be such a bad thing.
As an Sinjoor (=inhabitant of Antwerp) I have to add something. Sadly it is true that a third of the population in Antwerp loose their mind every time they have to vote (voting is compulsory in Belgium). But it still means that 2 out of 3 people have another opinion and arent extremist.
A majority of the people not voting for this extremist party are kind of emberassed by their score in Antwerp. My point is something like: please dont judge a city because a third of its inhabitants vote in a more than stupid manner.
Maybe it is interesting to know that the guy who made Anywhere the wind blows is a singer from an alternative band called dEUS.
If you want another arty belgian movie take a look at Toto le héro.
John: almost all the people in Antwerp I now of speak English so not speaking dutch shouldn’t be a problem.
I have had the opportunity to live in Antwerp for the past few months and would like to throw in my 2 cents.
If you are not white, doesnt matter who you are asian/spanish/indian/brazillian….Dont Go to Antwerp !!
I have lived in many places around the world, and I have to say Atnwerp is one of the most rasict cities on the planet…Not only will you be refused admittance in certain places, others might let you in and treat you badly…the worst, the absolute worst.. is the look of disgust people will give you when you are walking down the street….
It may be a nice city, a creative city, but dont venture there if you are not white…plain and simple …one of the most rasict places on earth!!