Toto le Héros (Toto the Hero)

1991

Toto le Héros (Toto the Hero) (1991)

TOMATOMETER

91%

——

Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.

AUDIENCE SCORE

92%

Want to See

Not Interested

Add Rating
My Rating    

Toto le Héros (Toto the Hero) Photos

View All Photos

Movie Info

Former circus performer Jaco Van Dormael made his feature-film directing bow with the Belgian/French/German coproduction Toto Le Héros. The title character is an fictional supersecret agent, idolized by a young boy named Thomas. The lad aspires to become Toto when he grows up; but thanks to a kaleidoscope of flashbacks and flashforwards, we know that he'll end up ordinary and unfulfilled. The film hopscotches between the Three Ages of Thomas: wide-eyed youngster, mediocrity-mired adult, bitter old man. The elder Thomas has never gotten over his childhood traumas and hatreds. He was always jealous of his wealthy boyhood friend Alfred, fantasizing that he and his chum were switched at birth. At the end, the aged Thomas escapes from a senior citizens' home -- an act which leads to Fate dealing its final ironic blow.

Cast

Michel Bouquet
as Thomas as an Old Man
Jo De Backer
as Thomas - As an Adult
Thomas Godet
as Thomas - As a Child
Gisela Uhlen
as Evelyne - As an Old Woman
Mireille Perrier
as Evelyne as an Adult
Sandrine Blancke
as Alice
Peter Böhlke
as Alfred - As an Old Man
Didier Ferney
as Alfred - As an Adult
Didier De Neck
as Mr. Kant
Michel Robin
as Alfred As an Old Man
Fabienne Loriaux
as Thomas's Mother
François Toumarkine
as Adult Celestin
Klaus Schindler
as Thomas's Father
Didier DeNeck
Christine Smeysters
as Mrs. Kant
Hugo Harold Harrisson
as Alfred - As a Child
Françoise Bette
as Nurse
Karim Moussati
as Celestin-As a Child
Pascal Duquenne
as Celestin-As an Adult
Patrick Waleffe
as Official
Harry Cleven
as Gangster
Robert Du Bois
as Official
Bernard Yerlès
as Man in the Train
Josse De Pauw
as Pilot
View All

Critic Reviews for Toto le Héros (Toto the Hero)

All Critics (11) | Top Critics (2)

Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael makes his dazzlingly inventive debut with this intricately constructed tale of an old man.

Feb 8, 2018 | Full Review…
Newsweek
Top Critic

Van Dormael emerges as one of the most original and inventive of contemporary European filmmakers, a deadpan director-writer full of kicks and tricks.

Apr 10, 2018 | Full Review…
Hartford Courant

An audacious Belgian film with a creative exploration of the primal role of fantasy in our lives

Jul 12, 2003 | Full Review…
Spirituality and Practice
View All Critic Reviews (11)

Audience Reviews for Toto le Héros (Toto the Hero)

Wonderful Belgian film from someone other than the Dardennes.

John Ballantine
John Ballantine

Super Reviewer

I suppose it's forgivable to boink your sister if your sister looks like Mireille Perrier, right?

Randy Tippy
Randy Tippy

Super Reviewer

½

Under the delusion that he was switched at birth with the kid who ends up being his next door neighbor, Thomas spends his life plotting revenge. He also falls in love with his sister. Strange little Belgian dramedy that jumps around in time and in reality (there are flashbacks inside of flashbacks, dream sequences, and so on) but ends up painting a poignant portrait of lifelong envy.

Greg S
Greg S

Super Reviewer

½

Since I really liked The Eighth Day I decided to check this one & I liked this even more than that, I just disliked the ending otherwise a wonderful movie

Arash Xak
Arash Xak

Super Reviewer

View All

Toto le Héros (Toto the Hero) Quotes

There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.

News & Features