Je suis fou, je suis sot, je suis méchant : James Ensor (1990) Luc de Heusch

From the young Ensor, brilliant artist, rebel and relatively unknown, to the esteemed Baron Ensor, who only painted scenes in which he plagiarized himself, Luc de Heusch provides an interpretation of a man and an oeuvre. A Sunday musician, out-and-out misogynist, talented utterer of curses, lover of the mermaid, seller of beach souvenirs, he left dazzling drawings and major 20th century paintings. At the centre of the film is the creative impotence he experienced halfway through his life. The setting is Ostend, queen of beaches, the city that he never wanted to leave, and the North Sea, beautifully photographed. The chronology bends with the story. The narration, sometimes just a few phrases, makes way for Ensor’s forceful texts. The music is not stuck on like a coat of sound painted on a building, it is more like additional information about Ensor.