Draw (2017)

Directed by: Deben Van Dam | 15 minutes | short film, drama | Actors: Tibo Vandenborre, Wim Willaert, Merlijn Willems, François Beukelaers, Han Coucke, Bart Hollanders, Ellen Schoenaerts, Carlos Schram, Ves Trendafilov

Luc is Belgian chess boxing champion; a combination between the mind sport of chess and the martial art of boxing. His biggest fan, and perhaps his only one, is his son Kasper.​
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Luc’s son Kasper wants nothing more than to resemble his father. According to Luc, that’s the worst thing that could happen to you. It soon becomes clear why, when we meet Luc’s father: a blunt alcoholic, who makes statements like: “When I try to make something, it always fails. Whether it’s mashed potatoes or a child.”

Luc is not taken seriously at all and chessboxing is quickly confused with jazz ballet. His life feels melancholy and even during a lousy sex scene, Luc’s bed partner moans the wrong name. This sum of misery in combination with the solid camera work by Wim Vanswijgenhoven and the striking headline by Tibo Vandenborre (‘Rundskop’) set the tone.​ ‘Remise’ is dirty, gray and exciting, but has yet to prove itself.​
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Although the whole chess boxing is a bit curious in the beginning (does it really exist?), the rest of the story is solid. You get virtually no background information, but it’s clear enough that Luc’s sick relationship with his father also causes difficulties in the relationship with his own son. It is therefore very unfortunate that ‘Remise’ ends so abruptly. It’s almost like watching a movie trailer.​

Potentially ‘Remise’ could therefore be a very interesting film, were it not for the fact that it does not come into its own as a short film. It is as if you have tasted something delicious, but are not allowed to eat any further. All in all, it tastes like more and we can only hope that Deben van Dam will one day venture into a long version of ‘Remise’.​