JCVD (2008)

Directed by: Mabrouk El Mechri | 97 minutes | action, drama, comedy, crime | Actors: Jean-Claude Van Damme, François Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-François Wolff, Anne Paulicevich, Liliane Becker, François Beukelaers, John Flanders, Saskia Flanders, Dean Gregory, Kim Hermans, Janine Horsburgh, Vincent Lecuyer, Raphaëlle Lubansu, Steve Preston, Paul Rockenbrod, Alan Rossett, Norbert Rutili, Jesse Joe Walsh, Leslie Woodhall, Mourade Zeguendi

Few would have thought it possible that the name “Jean-Claude van Damme” and the words “arthouse film” and “good acting” could appear in the same sentence, but the introspective comedy-drama ‘JCVD’ proves this to be true. This film by the young French director Mabrouk El Mechri is a meta-film about Jean-Claude van Damme’s stardom, or rather, about aging, his dwindling career, and the personal problems he experiences (partly because of this). At the same time, it is a (bank) hostage drama in the style of ‘Dog Day Afternoon’, although this is little more than a context or a peg for parodying and seriously discussing Jean-Claude Van Damme’s person and career. In a remarkable minute-long monologue, the muscle bundle even addresses the viewer directly to make a kind of public confession. In short, the Van Damme fans who expect the better hammering and kicking, better skip this film (or turn it off after 5 minutes). However, those who are interested in a fascinating satire about the film industry and the curse of aging or want to see Van Damme from a different side, ‘JCVD’ is a great film.

‘JCVD’ starts with one virtuoso long take, in which Van Damme kicks, punches and shoots his way out of a tall building, which for a moment seems to give the film the shape of a greatest hits compilation of Van Damme’s “best” films. . But it soon becomes apparent that something is “wrong”. For example, the timing of the falling victims of Van Damme is not always perfect and in one case it is very clear that a blow from the “Muscles from Brussels” misses the face of his attacker by a considerable margin, but he still hits the ground. goes. Moments later, it can be seen that it is a movie within a movie. A young lad in sunglasses in the director’s chair yells “cut” and Jean-Claude approaches him, panting, complaining that he can’t do such a long take in one go at age 47. The child is not impressed, even when he hears that Van Damme introduced John Woo to America with ‘Hard Target’.

It is a discussion in which he later gets involved again with one of his captors named Arthur – a fan. “Without you he would still be shooting pigeons in Hong Kong” supports the man Van Damme, who has expressed his displeasure a little earlier that Steven Seagal has stolen his last film role… because he was willing to cut off his characteristic tail. Van Damme has a good ally in Arthur, even to the point of embarrassment. For example, a hostage has to stand with a cigarette in his mouth so that Van Damme can kick it out with a high kick. After much insistence, he finally does, receiving a standing ovation from Arthur. But not everyone is equally enthusiastic about Jean-Claude in the film. A whiny taxi driver finds him better and more likable in his movies than in real life, and his wife’s lawyer tries to smear his integrity and moral values ​​by putting a stack of DVDs on the court during a painful custody case for his daughter. in which he renders people harmless in all kinds of brutal ways (resulting in a shattered head, bruised ribs, broken arms, et cetera). When he seems to have robbed the bank and gets a lot of media coverage, he is a big star all over Belgium and his name is continuously chanted by the people on the street, outside the bank, just like with Sonny (Al Pacino) happened in Sidney Lumet’s ‘Dog Day Afternoon’.

Van Damme really shows that he can act. Maybe it’s because he’s basically playing himself, because he speaks his own language, or because he can say what’s bothering him, but he actually comes across as convincing. He’s even funny here and there. In his impressive, evocative and touching monologue, he talks about his missteps, his dreams and his fears. About the way he ended up in Hollywood, as a little boy who thought anything was possible, about his drug addiction when things went down, about his different women, all of whom he still loves, no matter what the magazines may write, and about his ultimate achievements in this world. He feels that he has not yet done anything of real value, and furthermore he finds it difficult that many more talented than himself have not achieved or will not achieve such success as Van Damme in his younger years.

The monologue is separate from the plot of the film and Van Damme spontaneously breaks through the “fourth wall” by addressing the audience directly, but the talk doesn’t feel very strange, strangely enough. Perhaps because the entire film was already reflective and winking and in fact formed a mirror to Van Damme’s soul the whole time. Whatever the actor is going to do next – a real comeback would be nice – at least he doesn’t have to worry about whether he has left anything of value. Perhaps he can return in a (semi-)dramatic role as a bona fide action hero. Because, even though we can be happy that an actor has been (re)born with ‘JCVD’, it would be a shame if we had to miss his deadly high kicks.