Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Beautiful, moving film.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

There's a clever idea at the heart of 'Bullhead': in a story about the trade in illegal cattle hormones, the central character is, as a result of a painful childhood incident, himself dependent on exogenous testosterone. This is one of a number of Belgian films that paint a very harsh picture of the country: grey, gloomy, run-down, divided and rotten to the core: the focus of agribusiness (and its mechanical approach to life, and death) is unusual and makes for a distinctive subject. However, it's hard to warm to the pumped-up protagonist, and if there is a message here it's all negative: stay away from other people, don't live in Belgium, and perhaps even don't eat meat.

A great film to watch if you're used to watch films accepting the director's choices and criticizing only their effectiveness.Yes, the almost two and a half hours are filled with a lot of story and back-story that are at times difficult to follow; yes, some of the symbolism seems to have been thrown in just for the sake of it, and you'll have to wait for the very last scene for it to pay off; yes, a beef hormones mafia may sound an unappealing (even ridiculous? Well, think again…) topic to someone; yes, inevitably there are some misses among the hits.But this is all about losing something (your innocence, your future, your self…) and trying (or not) to regain it: in fact, the advantage of having such a wide amount of narrative is that you can make sense of the movie from different (and equally valid) points of view.Give it a try. In its sophistication, Rundskop has what it takes to appeal any kind of viewer, as long as he is willing to get hooked.

Rage, fiery burning rage and crippling insecurity. Two sides of a same coin. Like very often in life it's the opposites that rule our fate. Jacky Vanmarsenille, young, bulky addict on steroid shots, traumatized with the horrific childhood mutilation, is like an explosion waiting to happen. His entanglement with the illegal growth hormones for his livestock, sadly mirrors his own obsession with masculinity. He is a dangerous and pitiful man who never dealt with his own tragedy, and ultimately pays for it. This is a hard, unflinching look at the complexities of humanity. Corruption, violence, greed, in the same limited space with friendship, family and loyalty, fighting for supremacy. Dark, perhaps imperfect movie, but that is it's allure. Life is far from perfect itself.

There are plenty of unsettling features of this simple tragic film, but all are treated with equanimity. Unless you are familiar with the Belgian hormone mafia, the first 20 minutes or so of this film winds up slowly until it is released. There are themes that remind me of Almodovar, but with the light sucked out. The secret of storytelling is what to leave out, and the decisions about what to leave to the viewer seem perfect. Time is spent on the emotions of a man rendered incapable of a normal outlet, and how the few people around him compensate. Matthias Schoenaerts as the protagonist is excellent, but this film owes everything to it's tight direction. (Language plays quite an important part in the film, and the audience is required to recognise the difference between the two Belgian languages.)