(Elias of het gevecht met de nachtegalen)

Content: Set on the eve of World War I, this poetic coming-of-age drama follows Elias, a sensitive twelve-year-old dreamer living on an isolated country estate. Raised by an eccentric, overprotective family detached from reality, Elias finds refuge in nature and his vivid imagination to escape his internal struggles. His fragile childhood bubble is shattered when he learns he will soon be sent away to a strict boarding school. During his final summer at home, Elias experiences a bittersweet emotional awakening shaped by three relatives: his older cousin and close companion Aloysius, his young cousin Hermine, who harbors a subtle infatuation for him, and his beautiful, melancholic Aunt Henriette, who serves as a dramatic muse. Based on Maurice Gilliams’ modernist classic, the film is a nostalgic, melancholic portrait of a boy forced to leave his idyllic fantasies behind and face the adult world.

Countries:

Belgium,

Netherlands

Genres:

Drama

Runtime:

80 minutes

Year:

1991

Directors:

Klaas Rusticus

Production companies:

CinéTé bvba,

CinéTé Amsterdam,

Belgische Radio en Televisie,

NOS (Hilversum)

Actors:

Elias

Aloysius

Hermine

Tante Henriette

Tante Zenobie

Crews:

Director

Producer

Producer

Scenario Writer

Scenario Writer