Bullhead (2011)

Sometimes things happen in life that turn everybody silent. So silent that nobody dares to talk about it anymore. To no one. Not even themselves. Not in their own head, not aloud, not a fucking word. Because everything has been lingering. Deep in those woods, year after year. But out of the blue, it is all back. Just like that, from one day to another.....Whatever you do, whatever you think, one thing you can be sure of: You're always fucked. 

Michael Roskam's Bullhead (Rundskop) tells the tragic tale of Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts), a young cattle farmer with a troubled past for whom there is no redemption. He deals in illegal hormones through mafia connections to raise cattle in his farm. However, one shady deal that he enters into opens up a can of worms and things start falling apart. Again.

 The rage, the pain, the sadness, all simmering underneath the stoic face of Jacky is a treat to watch. As a love interest from his childhood resurfaces, his emotions and obsessions play out silently, yet intensely. The movie is a great character study where we are shown the current state of a man and flashes from his childhood that'd explain his current state.


All my life known nothing else than beasts. I've always felt like those bulls. I never knew what it was to protect someone.......I don't have what should have been my nature. 

Great performances overall by all the actors, though the closing scenes could have been better handled with a darker twist to the tale. But again, great piece of work for a first timer.

Rating - 7/10