The best beer and chocolate in the world, what’s not to like? I’ll always thank my friend Philippe for showing me to the ‘right’ way to drink Hoegaaden, and VSO colleagues Wim and Dom for bravely enduring jokes from friendly Dutch neighbours (I wrote a poem in their defense, but that’s for another day).
It’s not all good – King Leopold’s colonial legacy was worse than the Brits’, as I saw when volunteering in Rwanda. And I didn’t appreciate my previous (involuntary) visit, when the hapless national carrier dropped me in Kigali not Nairobi (SABENA: ‘such a bad experience never again’).
So how’s your list coming on?
If you’re struggling, sports stars include not only multi-Tour de France-winner Eddy Merckx and Wimbledon champ Kim Clijsters, but also Jean-Marc Bosman, even if he’s famous for his ruling not his running. I draw the line at unknown goalie Jean-Marie Pfaff, though such a silly name deserves fame.
I can’t mention le plat pays without Jacques Brel, and there’s a rich canvas of painters, from Breugel and Rubens through to Magritte. Even screen goddess Audrey Hepburn counts as Belgian (real name Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston).
But surely top of everyone’s list must be the incomparable Hergé?
And the good news is that his timeless creation Tintin is now back with us, in a fabulous film, easily the most enjoyable I’ve seen this year.
3d has transformed since the days of huge screens and bulky glasses, and the animators have a ball with soaring effects and clever set-pieces. The 'motion-capture' is incredibly lifelike, but still has a likeable comic-book simplicity.
All the favourite characters are there, brought to life just as I imagined them as a boy. The charmingly bumbling detectives Thompson and Thompson are consistently outsmarted in a tangental plot by a devilishly ingenious pickpocket. Meanwhile the main action pits Smarmy evil Englishman Sakharine against Haddock, the jovial boozy Scot, aided by the intrepid Tintin and fearless Snowy, the true hero.
It’s everything you could wish for – lovable characters, inventive cinematography, bundles of action and archives of Hitchcock references for the filmbuffs. Admittedly it has a flimsy plot, unnecessarily violence, and no female characters - this is glossy Spielberg not gritty Dardenne brothers. But even the blatant engineering for a sequel can be forgiven, just because it's so damned enjoyable.
Get on down to your local fleapit right now – just as soon as you’ve finished your list. Looking back I think have at least 9 – who did I miss out?
Good responses from Facebook:
ReplyDeleteFrom Martin: Obelix (surely Gaulish?)
From Emma: Poirot (well detected!)
From Dom: Peyo and his smurfs (annoyingly true)
From Chris W: Jackie Ickx and Plastic Bertrand (hmmm, an obscure driver and a half-Ukranian who came second last in Eurovision... representing Luxembourg)
From Si: Good film indeed. The burp into the plane engine had our boys laughing for days. NB where's Mr Van Rompuy in your list? (Yes of course Herman van Rompuy is President of er Europe or somewhere - not Belgium for sure, no government to lead).
From Mum: It's Magritte not Matisse (sorry, now corrected!)
From George: Marouanne Fellaini, Eden Hazard, Jean Marc Bosman (semi-famous footballers, Hazard will be known if he makes the dangerous move to London; maybe Fellaini and Bosman, though for hair / rulings not footy...)
From Paul: Cesar Franck - although he 'became' French and his mother was from Germany (so much for our famous Belgians!)
What a great site! - http://www.famousbelgians.net/
ReplyDeleteNow I know who was missing!