Belgian cinema is at his peek at the moment. Never have there been so many professionals working in the film business and creating content. However Belgian cinema doesn’t have the same cinematic history as Italy, France and even Germany. But today we remember the work of Gaston Schoukens, a pioneer in the world of cinema.
Set during the Second World War and based on a true story. The Resistance manages to publish a fake edition of the pro-German newspaper ‘Le Soir’, put on sale by surprise in the newsstands and stuffed full of parodic articles pouring ridicule upon occupying forces.
Gaston Schoukens was the first Belgian director the direct a film with sound, “La Famille Klepken” in 1930. But it’s with his partnership with actor Marcel Roels that he really achieved his full potential. Together they worked on different protects with “Bossemans et Coppenolle” as the most famous of them all.
In “Un Soir de Joie” Schoukens combines his cabaret humor with real historical facts and action in this thrilling adventure of Belgian history. Schoukens knows exactly how to use this extraordinary tale to his advantage and the film is a hilarious story of bravery. His cast, all trained theater actors are delivering their best performances of their careers showing there was real cinematic talent at the time in Belgium, with Marcel Rouls standing out with his performance.
The film was a huge success when it came out and has the merit to achieve the same quality as the French comedies of the time. A great achievement knowing the difference in budgets between a French and Belgian production.
