Kommissar W. - Auf Flanderns Feldern

"Witse" is a popular TV crime series in Flanders, Belgium, not unlike, say, the "der Alte" TV series in Germany. Last year it was announced that "Witse" would move to the big screen. The production team mentioned that the movie version would allow the story to explore the 'darker' side of Witse. I was looking forward to it.

"W." (a/k/a "Witse de Film" or "Witse the Movie"; 2014 release from Belgium; 90 min.) finds our hero now retired from the police force. As the movie opens, we see the long-forgotten sister of Witse attempting to make contact with him. Apparently her 20 yr. old daughter has disappeared and is eventually found brutally murdered. Witse "volunteers" his services to the cops to help out his sister, and off we go to track what eventually becomes a serial murder case. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience.

Couple of comments: first, what's with the movie's official title? Rather than officially calling the movie "Witse the Movie" or something along those lines, it shows instead in the credits as "W.", making me immediately think of George W. Bush. Second, this movie sure does explore the 'darker' side of Witse as the plot involves gruesome scenes and pictures of the female victims, in fact I was surprised how dark this movie truly is. Third, the plot does cleverly build in references to the fact that this year marks the 100 anniversary of WWI, a big deal in Belgium (President Obama visited a cemetery of perished WWI American soldiers during his recent trip to Belgium). Last but not least, Hubert Damen dutifully reprises his TV role of Witse for the big screen.

The movie opened several weeks ago in Belgium, to lukewarm reviews at best. I nevertheless went to see it last weekend during a family visit in Belgium. The screening I saw this at was poorly attended, and by coincidence there was an article in a Belgian newspaper this week speculating as to why the movie has flopped so badly, both critically and commercially. It seems a rare misstep in what has been an incredible streak of wonderful and engaging Flemish movies recently. Check out "W." if you have a NEED to see Flemish movies. Otherwise I'd pass.

"Witse" was a crime/detective series that got aired on TV during prime-time on Sunday evenings and was enormously popular in Flanders; - the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. The title refers to the last name of a stubborn and conceited homicide detective in the wider Brussels' area. He never follows police protocol or procedures and continuously runs into conflict with his superiors, but evidently his unorthodox methods always result in successfully resolving the cases. In other words, "Witse" is a typical action series like probably every country in the world has one, but it definitely does rank as one of the better series ever produced in Belgium thanks to the variety & intellect of the episode screenplays and the inimitably embittered performance of lead actor Hubert Damen. The series ended at its peak in 2012, with the supposed retirement of Commissioner Witse, but cast and crew agreed to reunite one last time in 2014 for a long-feature film. To the fans it was announced that the film would be a lot darker than the series, and that it would reveal a couple of insights in Witse's complex persona. I usually don't write reviews for this type of films – only for horror and cult flicks – but this one deserve a user-comment, because it really is grim and disturbing for a movie produced by a government-funded TV-station. Perhaps this was the reason why the movie flopped tremendously at the box office; - too dark for the regular TV-fans?

Two years after his retirement, during which he lived as a loner, Witse reluctantly travels back to his birth region in West-Flanders because his sister begged him to look into the case of her daughter's murder. Witse interferes with the local police and quickly discovers that his niece was already the second victim of a serial killer and that another four girls are missing. The authorities keep the investigation secret for the media, as the region prepares for the memorial services linked to the 100th anniversary of World War I and expects many prominent guests from all over the world. The serial killer picks out voluptuous that are into bondage and sadistic fetishes and selects his victims via internet chat rooms. With the unenthusiastic help of the commissioner in charge, Witse sets up a trap to lure the culprit to a public area. But will he succumb this easily, or has he got another few surprises in store? Director Frank Van Mechelen and scriptwriter Ward Hulselmans really succeeded in making the film compelling and atmospheric from start to finish, and many scenes are also genuinely suspenseful. "Witse" is uncommonly brutal for a Flanders' film and contains a number of shocking moments; including a nasty incident with a child and a WWI explosive. Naturally there are a number of shortcomings that are also typical for Belgian cinema, but overall "Witse" is a surprisingly solid effort and it honestly didn't deserve to flop. The bleak and melancholic anti-climax is also unseen in Belgian cinema history.