''Steve + Sky'' is a 2004

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film written and directed by Felix Van Groeningen in his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. It stars Titus De Voogdt,

Delfine Bafort Delfine Bafort (born 22 May 1979) is a Belgian fashion model and actress. Biography Delfine Bafort completed her secondary studies in Free Visual Arts at the Sint-Lucas College in Ghent. At 17 she won a modeling contest, which led to an internati ...

and

Johan Heldenbergh Johan Heldenbergh (born 9 February 1967) is a Belgian actor, playwright, screenwriter, theatre director and film director. He gained international fame by starring in films, including ''A Day in a Life'' (2007), ''Moscow, Belgium'' (2008), ''The ...

. The film is set in Kortrijksesteenweg in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest i ...

, which is known for its many brothels, and follows two 22-year-olds whose lives crosses paths.

Cast

* Titus De Voogdt as Steve *

as Sky *

as Jean-Claude * Romy Bollion as Charlotte *

Wine Dierickx Wine Dierickx (born 1978) is a Flemish actress. She is a member of the 2001 founded independent Dutch-Flemish theatre group ''Wunderbaum'', that have performed shows in The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, United States, Iran, Scandinavia and Brazil. ...

as Nikita

Plot

Steve is a small-time drug runner, sentenced to time in prison when he is caught after his girlfriend accidentally rear-ends a police van. While in prison he meets Jean-Claude, a wheelchair user, and together they agree to start stealing motorcycles after they are both released. Sky is a drifter, employed in a series of part-time jobs including prostitute and factory worker. There are two encounters between the two, both while at a bowling alley, before they first meet formally, at a

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub p ...

that Jean-Claude has opened, as Sky is a friend of Jean-Claude's daughter Charlotte. The two start a casual relationship, but Sky seems to be genuinely in love whereas Steve if less committed. Steve plans to move to

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

with Jean-Claude to start a business, but it is ambiguous as to whether they actually make it. The film ends with Steve almost running over Sky while she is dancing across a pedestrian crossing and he is speeding in a stolen motorbike.

Release

The film was released on February 18, 2004 in Belgium by Kinepolis Film Distribution. It also received a limited release by Lifesize Entertainment on July 8, 2005 in the United States.

Critical reception

Dana Stevens of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the film a negative review, writing: "With its deliberately washed-out color palette, affectless dialogue and nearly event-free story line, "Steve + Sky" is a mere slip of a movie, a wan character study of people who add up to little more than a series of studied quirks" but praised the performances of the two lead actors. Eddie Cockrell of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote: "Promising frosh helmer Felix van Groeningen exhibits a fresh eye, though his script is full of too many self-consciously Tarantino-ish verbal digressions that serve to distract from the story". The film won Best Film and Best Composer at the 2004 Joseph Plateau Awards.

References

{{Felix Van Groeningen 2004 films Belgian comedy-drama films 2004 comedy-drama films 2000s Dutch-language films Films directed by Felix van Groeningen Films set in Belgium Films shot in Belgium Films shot in Ghent Ghent in fiction 2004 comedy films 2004 drama films