We first reported about a week ago that Belgian director Koen Mortier - who blew our minds with his debut feature Ex Drummer at the 2007 TIFF - had a new project at the Rotterdam Cinemart but at the time we knew nothing more than the title. Well, no more! Production company CCCP have been kind enough to pass along the entire Cinemart application with details o' plenty. Really, there are probably details too many so I'll just give you a bit of a tease ... the full synopsis is far too spoiler heavy so I'm actually going to give you a chunk from the middle:
... While everything around him is burning, Sam tries his best to help. He drags a woman outside against her will. She is screaming, struggling to get back inside to save her child. But Sam is already back on the scene, trying to rescue other victims, all of them just as helpless as he is. They are strewn over the floor, covered in blood, their clothes shredded to pieces, feeling utterly lost. As their cries turn into screams, Sam is overpowered by fear and panic. First there was the shock, then the realization of what happened. Without thinking, he starts to run, turning his back to the apocalyptic scene. He flees, running along the streets of a city that once felt as familiar as a friend, but now seems more like a dark monster ...
One of the things that most impressed me about Ex Drummer - and an impression greatly reinforced by what I've managed to see of his commercial work - is his remarkable ability to balance style with substance. The man has stunning technical skills but is smart enough to break them out only when it serves the interests of his characters and the emotional requirements of his work and the subject matter of this one looks to be perfect for him. Also worth noting is that the Cinemart application states Mortier has yet another feature film in the works titled Killroy.
