How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:54
Fresh:37
Rotten:17
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: Though Bruno Dumont recycles his typical themes and motifs, Flanders is also just as beautifully shot and convincingly acted as the director’s previous movies.
Theatrical Release:May 18, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: Flanders. Demester shares his time between his farm and walks with Barbe, his childhood friend. He loves her, secretly and painfully, accepting from her the little that she can give him. Along with... [More]
Starring: Samuel Boidin, Adelaide Leroux, Henri Cretel, Jean-Marie Bruveart
Director: Bruno Dumont
The opening scenes of hardscrabble farms in Northern France present an utterly bleak existence. It's not surprising, then, that the villages' men don't bat an eye when they are called to fight in a brutal North African conflict.
Only watch this if you fancy some serious cinema.
The dour message it delivers doesn’t so much suggest that war is hell, but that existence certainly is.
Brutal, in-your-face and frequently gory it’s challenging viewing but definitely more for the kind of people who prefer art house cinemas to multiplexes.
From the evidence of Flanders, Mr. Dumont’s career demands further study on my part should the opportunity arise.
Top CriticHis camera, whether focused upon acts of horrific brutality or humdrum routine, maintains a steady, unflinching gaze. This, it seems to say, is life and death and nothing else.
Flanders is relentlessly bleak, but as it works its way into your bloodstream, the aftertaste is somewhat akin to relief...For those who allow it, Flanders offers the comfort of recognition, and acceptance, of what it means to be human.
Flanders is an affecting slice of French miserabilism.
mont doesn’t hate his characters; he just thinks they’re stupid: no one thinks, no one learns, everyone acts. It’s the most Godless film you’ll see all year.
A soul also lurks underneath the shocks. When the director turns the most overused three-word phrase into a devastating reinstatement of humanity, you’re quickly reminded of why [director] Dumont was so lauded in the first place.
You come out of it gob-smacked, and moved in ways which film rarely does these days.
Harrowing and complex, this study in terror is not for the faint of heart.
A somber, beautifully acted reflection on the barbarity of war and the bestiality of man, which only enormous compassion can redeem.
A troubling war film that combines extraordinary, minimalist battle scenes with emotional meltdown at home. Grim, but compelling.
Flanders is a film you'll either admire or hate.
French filmmaker Bruno Dumont urges his audience to delve beneath the movie's melodramatic, often graphic surface and experience the film sensorially rather than intellectually.
Top CriticDumont is one of those rare directors who knows what it means to shoot the unspeakable truth. God knows, but we should be grateful. But God should also know about the shame.
For its depiction of (very) simple country folk coping with war, Flandres has some of the force that’s been missing from Dumont’s work since La Vie de Jésus.
Anything but comforting. With its depiction of bestial behavior and shocking wartime violence, it's the kind of film that polarizes viewers through the raw power of its imagery.
The idea of "home" as the root of all our desires exists in counterpoint to the war scenes, and Flanders seems to wonder about those desires.
November 14, 2007:
Sexual sneak peak at low IQ characters. 
More...
May 17, 2007:
Critical Consensus: Third Time's Not the Charm for "Shrek"
America is going green this week: "Shrek the Third" (featuring the voices of Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, and Antonio Banderas) is our single new wide release. Critics... More...
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.
Richard Corliss previews the season's best offerings and hottest tickets.
The AV Club's Mike D'Angelo airs his beefs with Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN.com |
GameSpy |
Comrade |
Arena |
FilePlanet |
GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox |
Planets |
Vaults |
VE3D |
CheatsCodesGuides |
GameStats |
GamerMetrics
AskMen.com |
Rotten Tomatoes |
Direct2Drive |
Green Pixels
IGN RSS Feeds
Comment
