Belgium filmmaker Michael Roskam’s first feature-length film, Bullhead, was nominated last year for best foreign language film, which is perhaps a surprise considering its subject – the Flemish underground hormone mafia.
The film's title, Bullhead, refers both to where cattle gather before slaughter and to the film’s protagonist, Jacky Vanmarsenille, a cattle farmer and illegal hormone seller for the meat trade. When a deal with buyers goes bad, Jacky’s story unfolds to reveal one of the most tragic characters seen on film. The film’s realism combined with Nicolas Karakatsanis’ cinematography makes this gritty movie somehow beautiful, and Jacky’s story, fated in its way toward ruin, leads viewers to unusual discoveries about innocence, friendship, desire and freedom.