La vie politique des Belges (2002) User Reviews

Funny documentary about Belgian attitudes.

[stevenlemahieu · 10/10 · 11 April 2002]

This movie reveals the struggle of two opposite parties, Tarte and Vivant for the votes of the most progressive part of the public. It is not a serious documentary about politics but it shows how some intellectuals or businessmen try to find solutions for the problems of poverty and injustice. You can listen to the rather technical explanations of Vivant with Roland Duchâtelet or one can also laugh with the approach of Noël Godin of Tarte who has a more detached posture towards politics. He acts as a clown and receives some sympathy from young people. The question is: must politics always be boring? The answer of the movie is: No !

Comedy about the struggle of two political parties with some funny ideas.

[silverauk · 9/10 · 10 February 2002]

In the Kingdom of Belgium, two parties are opposing each other. "Vivant" founded by a very rich man, wants to give a minimum wage for everybody and "Tarte" founded by Noël Godin who allows his adherents to throw pies at famous people like Bill Gates. We see their discussions and their pursuit of new ideas to construct an utopian and idealized society.

A documentary about political change?

[silverauk · 9/10 · 4 August 2002]

I must say that when I saw this movie for the first time I was surprised how much effort had been made to launch a new party like "Vivant". In the movie we see the members in classrooms listening to the explanations of their leader the billionaire Roland Duchâtelet who teaches like an university professor. Belgium needs this global approach while it is such a little country. The elections didn't change anything and the results for "Vivant" were very poor. The political life of the Belgians is a satire of the Belgians and their conservative politics where nothing ever changes. It is also universal because everywhere in the world you see that a global approach is more and more a must but some people tend to work against this fact. The world is becoming a village and local politicians should be more aware of this.

upcoming belgian parties are preparing for the elections

[loriyuki · 23 May 2003]

I was invited to a free screening of this film. In Belgium two upcoming parties are preparing for the elections of 1999. This is a quite well-done film showing the programs of Tarte and Vivant, two Belgian movements. The characters could not better be represented than by the persons themselves. The director did his best to show as much as possible of the main ideas of the two groups. I personnally think it was necessary to show everything, there's no bad scenes that seem forced or off place in the narrative. I just found myself losing interest at the point the debats between Tarte and Vivant became a bit long-winded. Beyond this point I find La vie politique des Belges to be a quite fine film.

Comedy about people inventing new parties of which some are very strange!

[silverauk · 9/10 · 10 February 2002]

We see the struggle about two opposing parties for recognition in the Kingdom of Belgium. One called "Vivant" by a very rich man against the founder of the "Tarte" movement, Noël Godin, which allows their adherents to throw pies in the face of famous people just like Bill Gates. We hear their funny discussions, about their would-be uprisings against authority, and their utopian statements about a better world.