Peasant Psalm (1989)

Directed by: Roland Verhavert | 100 minutes | drama | Actors: Bert André, Jef Burm, Ludo Busschots, Sabine De Volder, Rudi Delhem, Christel Domen, Erik Goossens, Jos van Gorp, Magda Lesage, Gerda Marchand, Jacky Morel, Ugo Prinsen, Jeanine Schevernels, Jan Steen, Alice Toen, Jan Van Dijck, Karen van Parijs, Yvonne Verbeeck, Ronny Waterschoot

Felix Timmermans (1886-1947) was one of Flanders’ most translated and prolific authors. He also wrote under the pseudonym Polleke van Mher. Timmermans was a self-taught artist and wrote plays, novels with a historical character, novellas, religiously oriented works and poems. In 1916, after a serious illness, he wrote his best-known book ‘Pallieter’, a poem in praise of the life he had rediscovered. His work typifies the typical Flemish outdoor life of the early twentieth century: jovial and religious. He would produce an extensive body of work. ‘Peasant psalm’ from 1935 was regarded as one of his best works alongside ‘Pallieter’. In that novel Timmermans created the figure of Boer Wortel, in his eyes the personification of the Flemish peasant mentality. Roland Verhavert filmed ‘Boerenpsalm’ in 1989, with Ronny Waterschoot – known from the Flemish soap series ‘Thuis’ – in the role of farmer Wortel.

After his father dies, he takes over the family farm. He is expected to soon marry a girl from the same background. His eye falls on Fien (Magda Lesage), a real farmer’s daughter. Life isn’t always a bed of roses for Carrot. His first child dies before it is one year old and daughter Amelieke (Sabine De Volder) is born blind. His eldest son Fons (Erik Goossens) also appears to lead a dissolute life and when Wortel confronts him, he leaves with the northern sun. When the news comes that Fons has committed suicide, Carrot has the greatest difficulty telling his wife. When she discovers his secret, she cannot recover from the blow: she dies of a broken heart. The years pass and Wortel hooks up with the much younger Frisine (Christine Domen), who has a child by Fons and is therefore actually his daughter-in-law. But every time Carrot seems to have found happiness, disaster strikes. Fortunately, Carrot is good friends with the village pastor (Jef Burm), who urges him to seek solace in his faith.

Nostalgia reigns supreme in ‘Peasant Psalm’. The outdoors is heavily romanticized. The picture that is painted of Wortel and his fellow villagers is that they are hard-working people who pursue the grace of God. The film thus fits into the tradition of Flemish films that were often made in the period between 1970 and 1990. The problem with many of these types of movies is that the story and characters come second. Decades are rushed through in an hour and a half. For example, Fien has not yet buried her first child or the next one is already born (nota bene just outside the walls of the cemetery!). And in a sigh and a sigh the job is done. Not all that believable. The characters are also very one-dimensional; actually only Root itself undergoes any development. Although the life of the farmer has quite a few tragedies, the film often looks like a farce. Carrot rolls around in the hay with the neighbor’s maid, Frisine, who seduces her father-in-law with her provocative clothes and mischievous look. Just as if Verhavert wants to say: that life on the farm is – apart from a death here or there, not that hard. Not a word is spoken about the eternal battle with the weather gods and the unequal distribution of wealth at that time.

The film is beautifully shot, with an eye for the farmland. But the drama and characters are not strong. The cast is also failing. Only Jef Burm knows how to give his role something extra. Waterschoot flies out of the bend here and there. The women are beautiful but lifeless. Empty shells. The biggest miss of ‘Peasant Psalm’, however, is the incredible jump in time. Root makes a Christ figure from a piece of wood. He seems to spend every spare hour on it. Because he scrapes and sands almost the entire film, he should have been working on it for almost thirty years. The high ‘hack-on-the-branch’ content does not make the already outdated story more compelling. Some films are timeless, but ‘Peasant Psalm’ certainly does not fall into that category. You have to be a very big fan of Felix Timmermans or Roland Verhavert to get excited about this.