If there is one film after Citizen Kane based on a man's whole life, it has to be the Belgian film Toto le Heros. This film about fate, love, and childhood fantasies which are very hard to describe. Take a kids film of Von Trier, add a spoon-full of Amelie, an essence of Donnie Darko, a sprinkle of Lynchian strangeness and Terry Gilliam's wackiness, garnish it with Citizen Kane and The Third Man, and you'll meet Toto! Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes funny, sometimes weird, always captivating; this is a film for people who enjoy non-linear and creative story-telling. Also, that much talked about floating plastic bag scene from "American Beauty" is taken straight from this film's unforgettable final scenes! Students interested in editing should learn from this film. This film sets the standards of modern editing, which can be compared with likes of Saving private Ryan, Requiem for a dream, The Conversation and City of Gods. The narration may seem complicated but the story-line is as simple as that- an unpredictable tale about a man who always thought he was nobody, and found at the very end of his life, that he was, in fact, a hero!

My God! You people actually gave this movie something higher than 3? This was a disgusting and queer piece of work. You can't even find what the storyline for this movie was in the first place! If you see yourself as an idiot, then go to Blockbuster and wow yourself with a film that could be shot in the 60s. Yes, you heard me- the 60s! You have a little perverted brother sleeping and washing his older sister, you have a nut for a dad saying, "Boom, Chick-a-Chick-a-Chick-a-Boom! Blah-dad-de-de-da-de!" Plus, when Toto's all grown up, he starts seeing another woman just because she's a lot like his sister who blew up! The weirdest scene by far was the Conclusion. It had Toto laughing and giggling as a pile of ash, it showed a chicken, a ship and a whole lotta things that are played in the song.I suggest that if you find this description amusing, you should watch the movie and decide for yourself.

A most unusual cinematic treat. I happened on this film in the middle. I was so intrigued by it I scanned the TV guide for a month until I could see it from beginning to end. There are more than many comments one can make on his own life. In this film we can make our own judgment on the life of Thomas the Hero. We know from the outset that he feels he has been cheated from his birthright. Can he regain what has been taken from him? Or has he been unable to comprehend the quality of his own life? These issues are dealt with in four stories told almost simultaneously.The resolution is at once redeeming and thought-provoking.

Thomas, an elderly man lives in an old people's home. He's always been persuaded that he has been inverted with another baby called Alfred, during a fire at the maternity hospital. It means that he should have been Alfred, a wealthy and rough boy, cherished by his parents who fell in love with Thomas' sister, Alice. When he's a grown-up, he'll become a brilliant businessman whereas Thomas, him, will only live a dull and mournful life: his father will die early, he'll become a poor surveyor and when he feels love for a woman called Evelyne who looks like his late sister, Alice, he'll feel betrayed because Evelyne is Alfred's wife! His only way to escape from a destiny that is not the right one is to fancy himself as a secret agent (Toto le héros). So, in the old people's home, Thomas's got a sole idea: killing the "usurpator". Will he succeed in? For his first film, Jaco Van Doarmel showed cleverness, originality and talent. The movie is very close to Etienne Chatiliez's movie: "life is a long quiet river" but in this movie, everybody knew that the two babies had been voluntarily inverted and in Doarmel's film, Thomas remains the only one to be persuaed of being inverted. One of the feats of the film is that it never asserts this hypothesis. We see the fire but we don't know if the intervertion really happened... The movie works like a puzzle as Thomas's thoughts and memories pass by and it links several characters, in different places, at different times. It enables to reconstruct Thomas' bitter life. In parallel, you never lose the thread of the plot (Thomas aims at avenging himself against the one who stole his life). The film abounds in visual brainwaves and is very well served by a watertight screenplay. Moreover, there's an amazing contrast between Thomas's bitter life and Alfred's one (which would be Thomas's real life) that is cherished and successful. But, in the end, Alfred isn't as dreadful as he seems, because I noticed that when he was old, he seemed upset. He's probably marked by Evelyne's departure and don't forget that he's tracked down by terrorists. Always right and agile, the movie, sometimes, succeeds in creating touching moments( when Thomas discovers that Thomas's wife is Evelyne, the woman he loves). At last, Michel Bouquet is excellent in his role of tormented and disillusioned man. Like "eraserhead" by David Lynch, in another register, "Toto le héros" rank among the movies that you must see rather than telling it because it can be seen on several levels.