458559
458559

Elias or the Fight with the Nightingales

1991-06-13
5.7
nl 80m
Drama
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.

Director

Klaas Rusticus

Producer

Hans Otten

Producer

Willem Thijssen

Scenario Writer

Fernand Auwera

Scenario Writer

Klaas Rusticus

Novel

Maurice Gilliams

Status

Released

Countries

  • Belgium
  • Netherlands

Companies

  • CinéTé bvba
  • CinéTé Amsterdam
  • Belgische Radio en Televisie
  • NOS (Hilversum)