Smuggler's Ball

Smuggler's Ball

1952 · 90 min · ★ 5.8 · Comedy, Drama

Smuggler's Ball is the English-language title for this French-Belgian seriocomedy. The action takes place along the borders separating Belgium, Holland and France. It is here that the worldly Pierre (J. P. Kieran) carries on a profitable smuggling operation, all the while romancing Siska (Christian Lenier), the daughter of a local customs official. Various subplots and secondary characters weave in and out as the plotline guides the viewer through the WW II years. Towards the end, the story shifts gears when the Benelux Frontier Agreement eliminates all government regulations. The film's screenplay is by Charles Spaak, himself the descendant of a Belgian political family, and thus well-versed in bureaucracy and red tape.

Directed by Henri Storck · Written by Charles Spaak

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Cast

Françoise Rosay Gabrielle Demeuse
Jean-Pierre Kérien Pierre
Christiane Lénier Siska van Moll
Daniel Ivernel Jef - le délégué syndical
Yves Deniaud Le brigadier Achille Van Moll
Eva Ingeborg Scholz Elsa Menzler
Karl John Hans
Käthe Haack Moeder van Elsa
Kurt Großkurth Dikke Charles
André Valmy Le douanier Louis
Arthur Devère Gus
Raymond Pellegrin Michel Demeuse

Make it a double feature

3h 21m together

Smuggler's Ball

Peasant Symphony

Both from Henri Storck.

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Henri Storck, ooggetuige

Henri Storck, ooggetuige · 1986

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Robbe de Hert’s Henri Storck, ooggetuige (1986) is a brilliant cinematic homage to the founding father of Belgian documentary cinema. Filmed around Storck’s 80th birthday, the film eschews standard biographical formulas. Instead, De Hert crafts an intelligent, vibrant collage that synthesizes rare archival footage with intimate anecdotes told by Storck himself.The documentary excels at tracing Storck’s evolution from an Ostend avant-garde poet to a fierce social activist. De Hert’s signature rebellious tone shines through in bold creative choices, such as overlaying John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" onto the silent, gritty footage of Misère au Borinage (1933). This creates a powerful bridge between 1930s labor struggles and modern social critique

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Peasant Symphony · 1944

Peasant Symphony

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Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles · 1976

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This trailer for the pleasures of living between La Panne and Le Zoute testifies to the post-1936 euphoria that came with paid holidays, with sun and rest for everybody.

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Zero for Conduct · 1933

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Henri Storck and Joris Ivens’ landmark of social documentary, blending staged scenes with locals and on-the-spot reportage to depict the 1932 miners’ strike in Belgium’s Borinage—evictions, hunger, and police repression—transforming outrage into a call for solidarity.

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