Steve + Sky (2005)
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Theatrical Release: Jul 8, 2005 Limited
Synopsis: Flemish filmmaker Felix Van Groeningen's debut feature STEVE + SKY, a gritty romantic drama about a struggling petty criminal and his shockingly beautiful stripper lover, takes place amidst a backdrop of crime and shady goings-on in the red light district of Ghent. Recently released from a... Flemish filmmaker Felix Van Groeningen's debut feature STEVE + SKY, a gritty romantic drama about a struggling petty criminal and his shockingly beautiful stripper lover, takes place amidst a backdrop of crime and shady goings-on in the red light district of Ghent. Recently released from a prison stint for a drug violation, scrawny Steve (Titus De Voogdt) looks up his cell-mate Jean-Claude (Johan Heldenbergh) and immediately joins him in a motorcycle-stealing racket and the reopening of his exotic dance club. Along the way, he meets the gorgeous Sky (Van Groeningen's girlfriend and fashion model Delfine Bafort), a wounded soul looking for her place in the world. As their unlikely romance develops and Sky grows dependent on Steve's affections, he rejects her love and his alienation places a nearly fatal strain on Sky's fragile psyche. Influenced by films like PULP FICTION and ALL THE REAL GIRLS, Van Groeningen has created a whirlwind of a story, with a constantly thumping soundtrack by Belgian DJs Soulwax (aka 2 Many DJs) setting off the action. In Flemish Dutch language, STEVE + SKY is the first feature film to use the Ghent dialect of the language rather than the usual Antwerp dialect. Additionally, there is a brief cameo as a bouncer from former Belgian boxer Jean-Pierre Coopman, famous for a 1976 fight with Muhammad Ali. An admirable mix of action and intense character drama, STEVE + SKY is a fast-paced and touching drama about real people trying to fulfill their hopes and dreams as they dodge both the law and social conformity. [More]
Genre: Foreign Films
Starring: Titus De Voogdt, Delfine Bafort, Johan Heldenbergh
DVD Info
Release:
Nov 22, 2005
DVD Features:
- Region (unknown)
- Keep Case
- Widescreen - 1.85
Additional Release Material:
- Trailer
Interactive Features:
- Scene Access
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
1 + 1 may equal two, but Steve + Sky doesn't add up quite as well.
With its deliberately washed-out color palette, affectless dialogue and nearly event-free story line, Steve + Sky is a mere slip of a movie, a wan character study of people who add up to little more than a series of studied quirks.
Though undeniably gorgeous, there's considerably less to Van Groeningen's film than meets the eye.
Felix Van Groeningen's low-budget romance is also sly -- if utterly superficial -- fun.
Hugely tedious and mostly incomprehensible, Quentin Tarantino-wannabe Dutch director Felix van Groeningen's Steve + Sky is the kind of foreign movie that gives subtitles a bad name.
The sense of midnight-movie déja vu carries into the herky-jerk, non-linear screenplay and the fluorescent, life-is-a-sex-club-at-two-a.m. art design.
As aimless as its protagonists, Steve + Sky proves equally inept at irreverence and profundity.
The completely random Steve + Sky competes with The Bridge of San Luis Rey for The Most Torturously Banal Cinematic Experience of 2005.

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