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Ralf Boumans

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Known For

The Conscript
5.3

In 1833, when the fledgling Belgian kingdom still fears a Dutch invasion, recruits were selected annually from an age cohort by a draw of lots in each locality. In this grim, then contemporary drama by the 'father of Flemish literature', Hendrik Conscience, Jan Braems, a poor and naive farmers-boy, accepts the not uncommon offer by a rich family to sell his lucky ticket (out) to their son for a hefty sum compared to the miserable labor wages at the time. Army life is even harsher then a farmhand's, especially for a Dutch-speaking an-alphabet who simply can't understand his francophone superiors, and Jan's nature is not complacent enough for military discipline even by todays standards, so he soon gets into all kinds of trouble, including gambling his capital away and a venereal disease. When his girlfriend back home goes looking for him, her life is doomed as well.

The Conscript

1974Movie
A Three-Day Weekend
7.0

The movie made after the hit series "De Kollega's" starring the same characters, but rather tragicomic. When November 11, an official holiday (Armistice), falls on a Tuesday, the public service often gets an extra day off on the preceding Monday, but only after a formal ministerial decision, and this time it gets all the way trough the hierarchy to the right office- and then isn't read, so all the colleagues turn up, only to be told they should have stayed at home. It gets worse: works in progress and clumsiness end up blocking the way out both by lift and staircase, so they are stuck on their floor, apparently without a phone, while there's nobody outside who can hear and rescue them. Forced to keep their conversation going, some secrets get unearthed, and it's not a very pretty picture they got of each-other.

A Three-Day Weekend

1988Movie