Page 78 - Alternative Europe Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945

C H A P T E R 5
A L T E R N A T I V E B E L G I A N C I N E M A A N D C U L T U R A L IDENTITY:

S . A N D T H E A F F A I R E D U T R O U X

Ernest Mathijs

INTRODUCTION: 'NOBODY IS INNOCENT'

'Nobody is innocent' is the subtitle of S. (1998), Belgian director Guido Henderickx's most recent
film, his fourth in almost 25 years. The phrase not only reflects the motivations behind most of the
actions of the film's main character (a young woman called S.), but also the intentions of the makers.
Henderickx has more than once referred to S. as a film he was forced to make, as a reaction against a
degenerated Belgian society of the mid- to late 1990s, and the infamous Affaire Dutroux in particular.
As such, S. stands among several other artistic attempts representing and criticising the underlying
assumptions of contemporary Belgian cultural identity.
But, unlike many of these other attempts, S. not only comments upon several of the excesses
of that culture; it also is excessive. Its story literally shows what it wants to refute, and its formal
organisation constantly shifts between conscious artistry and exploitative trash.

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