HET KWADE OOG

by Charles DEKEUKELEIRE
1937 / 35mm / b&w / sound / 76' 00

A vagabond is accused by villagers of casting spells and gradually begins to identify with the sorcerer they suspect him of being. In this first feature film, Dekeukeleire blends rural mysticism and avant-garde camera techniques into a strange love story.

In 1937, Charles Dekeukeleire embarked on his first feature film, based on an ambitious script by novelist Herman Teirlinck. Shot in Flanders with non-professional actors from the countryside, the film delves into rural fantasy: a vagabond throws a village into panic by triggering a series of bizarre events, leading the community to fear him as an evil spirit. His tragic past and cursed secret are eventually revealed—having attempted to drown himself with a beloved woman but surviving, he now wanders in search of her.

To tell this story, Dekeukeleire merges realism with purely formal experimentation, reminiscent of silent films. The use of superimpositions, slow-motion shots, and the dreamlike drowning sequence (supervised by Jean Painlevé)—filled with mental images and sound effects—transforms the film into a rare work. It blends folklore and fantasy, bucolic lyricism, and experimental refinement, straddling the boundary between silent and sound cinema.

"After asserting the autonomy and specificity of cinematic material, Dekeukeleire declared: ‘We stand before our camera with an absolutely virgin spirit.’ What interested him was making films resolutely opposed to studio productions, whose perfection he acknowledged but sought to surpass. He wanted to go further—to create a cinematic poetry with its own particular form, greater spontaneity, flexibility, and depth.» - Henri Storck

2 PRINTS IN DISTRIBUTION


distribution format Digital file on server (FHD)
screen 1,33
speed 24 fps
sound sound
rental fee 246,00 €

distribution format DCP on server (SMPTE 2K)
screen 1,33
speed 24 fps
sound sound
rental fee 246,00 €