A satirical faux-documentary, King of the Belgians is a delightfully loopy comic road trip through Eastern Europe.
While visiting Istanbul, the King of Belgium receives word that Wallonia has seceded from his country, a national crisis that necessitates immediate return.
But when a sudden electrical storm makes flying impossible, he finds himself forced to make the journey by car. Joining a bus full of female folk singers, the king embarks on a wayward odyssey through the Balkans that will take him from a Bulgarian yogurt festival to a drunken night in Serbia, all captured on camera by a wry British documentarian along for the ride.
Played in deadpan style, King of the Belgians is a goofball geopolitical satire reflecting the current messy state of Europe.
The film world premiered at the 2016 Venice Film Fest.
Credits
Belgium/Netherlands/Bulgaria.
Directors: Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth.
Running time: 94 mins.
With: Peter van der Begin, Bruno Georis, Lucie Debay. In English, Flemish, French, Bulgarian with English subtitles. T
