Saint Hubert (2017)

Directed by: Jules Comes | 22 minutes | short film, action | Actors: Wim Opbrouck, Wouter Hendrickx, Michael Vergauwen

When a police team starts a large-scale investigation in a vast nature reserve in German-speaking Belgium, it soon has to deal with the local forester. It soon becomes clear that the police are not in charge of the forest.

‘Saint Hubert’ opens with hazy images of nature and bombastic music. We see the forest and some of its inhabitants: roe deer, wild boars, an eagle and a somewhat grubby forester. The atmosphere, the slow-motion images and the music are reminiscent of Lars von Trier’s ‘Antichrist’. The beginning seems like an idyllic picture of a forester collecting leaves and smoking a pipe in a rocking chair. Yet the atmosphere changes drastically with one gunshot. It soon becomes apparent that the authority of the police in the forest does not apply and the conflict with the forester goes from bad to worse.

‘Saint Hubert’ looks like a very professional production in which a lot of attention has been paid to the cinematography and the acting. The story is in doubt here and there, but you can see through it, partly because of the strong form. The danger, however, is that form will take over and then try again to arrive at a suitable conclusion. ‘Saint Hubert’ loses the bit of subtlety it had and breaks through in its excess towards the end.

Yet director Jules Comes shows that he has a lot to offer. He has turned out great in many respects, but in particular the cohesion that develops between the pedantic police commissioner (Wouter Hendrickx) and the indefinable forester (Wim Opbrouck) is a great asset to the film. Perhaps in a later production, because there will undoubtedly be, Comes will be ready to delve even deeper into the concept.