Camping Cosmos is the second comedy in the film trilogy The Sexual Life of the Belgians (of which La Vie sexuelle des Belges 1950-78 is the first part), starring Claude Semal, Lolo Ferrari, Noël Godin. The movie's tagline is: Revolution, football (soccer), beer and frites (French Fries). It is an unconventional and non-conformist story of the sexual habits of Belgians. Cosmos refers to the eternity of heaven in full contrast with this little campsite where so many people live together with their problems and limited view of the world. It also refers to the Russian cosmonauts (national anthem of the Soviet Union) who explored space, but who as communists did not believe in an afterworld. Is there any hope for a better life on this planet at the camping? Jan Bucquoy (b. ... Francis De Smet, born Bruges December 3, 1963. ... Jan Bucquoy (b. ... Lolo Ferrari (March 4, 1962 - March 5, 2000) was a French dancer and actress billed as the woman with the largest breasts in the world. ... Noël Godin (born Liège, September 13, 1945) is a Belgian writer, critic, actor and notorious cream pie flinger or ‘entarteur’. Godin gained global attention in 1998 when his group ambushed Microsoft CEO Bill Gates in Brussels, pelting the software magnate with pies. ... Arno Hintjens (usually referred to as Arno) is a Belgian artist from Ostend. ... Jan Decleir (born February 14, 1946), is a prolific Belgian movie and stage actor born in Niel, Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium). ... Serge Gainsbourg (April 2, 1928 – March 2, 1991) was a French poet, singer-songwriter, actor and director. ... Dame Vera Lynn, DBE (born March 20, 1917) is an English singer whose career flourished during World War II, when she was nicknamed The Forces Sweetheart. She is best known for the popular songs Well Meet Again, written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles, and The White Cliffs of... George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer who wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his elder brother lyricist Ira Gershwin. ... This is a list of film-related events in 1996. ... Car camping is camping in a tent, but nearby the car for easier access and for supply storage. ... The Ancient and Medieval cosmos as depicted in Peter Apians Cosmographia (Antwerp, 1539). ... A trilogy is a set of three works of art, usually literature or film, that are connected and can generally be seen as a single work as well as three individual ones. ... Human sexuality is the expression of sexual feelings. ... Lolo Ferrari (March 4, 1962 - March 5, 2000) was a French dancer and actress billed as the woman with the largest breasts in the world. ... Noël Godin (born Liège, September 13, 1945) is a Belgian writer, critic, actor and notorious cream pie flinger or ‘entarteur’. Godin gained global attention in 1998 when his group ambushed Microsoft CEO Bill Gates in Brussels, pelting the software magnate with pies. ... The storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789 during the French Revolution. ... Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ... French fried potatoes, commonly known as French fries or fries (North America) or chips (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth) are pieces of potato that have been chopped into batons and deep fried. ... Human sexuality is the expression of sexual feelings. ... The Ancient and Medieval cosmos as depicted in Peter Apians Cosmographia (Antwerp, 1539). ... Campsites are often situated in or near forests. ... U.S. Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit. ... Flag of the Soviet Union The National Anthem of the Soviet Union (or Hymn, Russian Гимн Советского Союза, Gimn Sovetskovo Soyuza) replaced the Internationale as the national anthem on March 15, 1944. ... This article is about communism as a form of society, as an ideology advocating that form of society, and as a popular movement. ... Car camping is camping in a tent, but nearby the car for easier access and for supply storage. ...

Plot

We see Belgians on holiday in a caravan park at the beach in the year 1986 with the first warnings of Aids. The aim of the campsite entertainer is to bring culture to the common people but they are not interested when the play of Bertolt Brecht Mother Courage and Her Children is shown. Then he launches a beauty contest, a song contest and a boxing match between the challenger of Cassius Clay and the former European champion... The story goes in a fast tempo because the film editor was handling the first digital equipment at that time (so called clip-generation). The first kiss, the first sex goes very rapidly and the camera is harassing the secret life of the habitants of this colourful camping. Caravan parks are privately-owned locations which provide a stopping point - overnight or for weekly stays - for people traveling in a caravan, also known as a trailer or motorhome. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the syndrome. ... Campsites are often situated in or near forests. ... An entertainer is someone who is hired to entertain people. ... Culture (from the [[Latin)) cultura stemming from colere, meaning to cultivate), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mother Courage and Her Children (German: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder) was a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898 - 1956) with significant contributions from his mistress at the time, Margarete Steffin. ... A beauty contest, or beauty pageant, is a competition based mainly, though not always entirely, on the physical beauty of its contestants. ... Professional boxing bout featuring Ricardo Domínguez (left) versus Rafael Ortíz Boxing, also called pugilism, Western Boxing, prizefighting (when referring to professional boxing) or the sweet science (a common nickname among fans), is a sport and martial art in which two participants of similar weight fight each other with... Muhammad Ali-Haj (born January 17, 1942 as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Film editing. ... Car camping is camping in a tent, but nearby the car for easier access and for supply storage. ...

Trivia

The movie is a rare surrealist cult movie which uses the technique of Verfremdungseffekt which means that the spectator is not supposed to feel sympathy for whatever feelings of the protagonists in the movie. Their sex life is of no interest, how peculiar it may be: sodomy, homosexuality, masturbation, rape, sado-masochism, sex with dogs and dolls, prostitution... The illusion is created that it is all far away and not related to us. The only artist never speaks (=the autistic painter). There is also the idea that common people on holiday do not care about what is happening in the "real life", they live on an island (something like an Utopia: De Optimo Republicae Statu deque Nova Insula Utopia or the island Laputa peopled with struldbrugs and Yahoos) at this time of the summer, isolated from everything and everybody. Their Paradise Regained (= free sex and entertainment, sport, beerdrinking (boozing) and frites in abundance, sea & sun, no working schedule; Eve (Bible) being the main character), only lasts for the four weeks of their holiday. After the summer the normal life and the daily working routine starts again, the monotony and suffering in the grey cities of Southern Belgium: (Charleroi, La Louvière, Borinage etc...). Surrealism is an artistic movement and an aesthetic philosophy that aims for the liberation of the mind by emphasizing the critical and imaginative powers of the subconscious. ... A cult film is a movie that attracts a small but devoted group of obsessive fans or one that has remained popular over successive years amongst a small group of followers. ... Bertolt Brecht (February 10, 1898 - August 14, 1956) was an influential German dramatist, stage director, and poet of the 20th century. ... Sexual behavior is a form of physical intimacy that may be directed to reproduction (one possible goal of sexual intercourse) and/or to the enjoyment of activity involving sexual gratification. ... François Elluin, Sodomites provoking the wrath of God, from Le pot pourri de Loth (1781). ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... Mulher sentada de coxas abertas, 1916 drawing by Gustav Klimt Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation, particularly of ones own genitals and often to the point of orgasm, which is performed manually, by other types of bodily contact (except for sexual intercourse), by use of objects or tools, or by... Flogging demonstration at Folsom Street Fair 2004. ... A sex worker in Germany. ... A boy with autism and his mother Autism refers to a spectrum of disorders, and lies somewhere under the umbrella of a greater encompassing spectrum, that of pervasive developmental disorders that involve the functioning of the brain. ... For other meanings of this phrase (book and album titles etc. ... Left panel (The Earthly Paradise, Garden of Eden), from Hieronymus Boschs The Garden of Earthly Delights. ... Laputa is a fictional place from the book Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift. ... In Jonathan Swifts novel Gullivers Travels, the name Struldbrug is given to those humans who are born seemingly normal, but are in fact immortal. ... In Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift, a Yahoo is a vile and savage creature, filthy and with unpleasant habits, resembling human beings far too closely for the liking of Lemuel Gulliver, who finds the calm and rational society of the Houyhnhnms far preferable. ... Paradise Regaind is a poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671. ... Free sex can refer to: A sexuality act that is gratis, as opposed to sex that is paid for, via prostitution. ... A stilt-walker entertaining shoppers at a shopping centre in Swindon, England Entertainment is an event, performance, or activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience (although, for example, in the case of a computer game the audience may be only one person). ... Quite simply, frites is the french word for french fries ... Michelangelos The Creation of Eve, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, shows God creating Eve from the side of Adam. ... Charleroi (Walloon: TchÃ¥lerwè) is the first city and municipality of Wallonia in population. ... La Louvière is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. ... Borinage was a poor mining region of Holland in the 1800s, and is now a successful community using tourism, farming, speciality foods and EU subsidies to survive. ...

Judgement

Camping Cosmos is a parody on the classical Beach Party films. The movie starts with the evergreen song Maria Elena and the view of a bird overlooking the campsite. Is this not a signal for the upcoming paradise? Lolo Ferrari coming out of the sea as an Aphrodite with the song of Vera Lynn (Land of Hope and Glory: Belgium?) and having her first orgasm with the comic strip Tintin in the Congo, is focused on as a central figure, but the movie treats all characters with the same interest (in this movie Lolo Ferrari has the looks of Brigitte Bardot). Camping Cosmos has a correct balance between an astonishing script and the development of the psychology of the different caravan (travel trailer) owners. The influence of Jacques Lacan is imminent: Sex is the little Death. Arno Hintjens and Jan Decleir as a homosexual couple are really funny. Noël Godin as the eternal pieing-pope plays a convincing Pierre Mertens. The protest of the younger generation (Eve and her boyfriend, Antje de Boeck, Ulrique the terrorist) refers to Traité du savoir-vivre à l'usage des jeunes générations(The Revolution of Everyday Life) by Raoul Vaneigem. The citations of Louis Scutenaire and the détournement publicitaire refer to surrealism (Marcel Mariën). Parody of Back to the Future In contemporary usage, a parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... Beach Party movies were an American 1960s genre of feature films which often starred Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. ... Maria Elena is a popular song. ... Paradise, by Jan Bruegel The word paradise is derived from the Avestan word pairidaeza (a walled enclosure), which is a compound of pairi- (around), a cognate of the Greek peri-, and -diz (to create, make), a cognate of the English dough. ... Lolo Ferrari (March 4, 1962 - March 5, 2000) was a French dancer and actress billed as the woman with the largest breasts in the world. ... The Birth of Venus, (detail) by Sandro Botticelli, 1485 Aphrodite (Greek: Ἀφροδίτη, pronounced in English as and in Ancient Greek as ) was the Greek goddess of love, lust, beauty, and sexuality. ... Dame Vera Lynn, DBE (born March 20, 1917) is an English singer whose career flourished during World War II, when she was nicknamed The Forces Sweetheart. She is best known for the popular songs Well Meet Again, written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles, and The White Cliffs of... Land of Hope and Glory is an English patriotic song. ... Orgasm is the conclusion of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle, shared by both men and women. ... English-edition cover Tintin in the Congo (Tintin au Congo) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... Lolo Ferrari (March 4, 1962 - March 5, 2000) was a French dancer and actress billed as the woman with the largest breasts in the world. ... Brigitte Bardot (born September 28, 1934) is a French actress, former fashion model, nationalist, singer, animal rights activist, and considered the embodiment of the 1950s and 1960s sex kitten. ... A travel trailer or caravan is a small trailer in which people can live and travel simultaneously. ... Jacques Lacan Jacques-Marie-Émile Lacan (April 13, 1901 – September 9, 1981) was a French psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, and doctor. ... Arno Hintjens (usually referred to as Arno) is a Belgian artist from Ostend. ... Jan Decleir (born February 14, 1946), is a prolific Belgian movie and stage actor born in Niel, Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium). ... Noël Godin (born Liège, September 13, 1945) is a Belgian writer, critic, actor and notorious cream pie flinger or ‘entarteur’. Godin gained global attention in 1998 when his group ambushed Microsoft CEO Bill Gates in Brussels, pelting the software magnate with pies. ... Pieing is the act of throwing a pie at someone. ... Pierre Mertens (born October 9, 1939) is a Belgian French-speaking writer and lawyer who specializes in international law, director of the Centre de sociologie de la littérature at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and literary critic with the newspaper Le Soir. ... Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Raoul Vaneigem (born 1934) is a Belgian writer and philosopher. ... Louis Scutenaire was a poet, anarchist, surrealist and civil servant. ... In detournement, an artist reuses elements of well-known media to create a new work with a different message, often one opposed to the original. ... Yves Tanguy Indefinite Divisibility 1942 Surrealism[1] is a movement stating that the liberation of our mind, and subsequently the liberation of the individual self and society, can be achieved by exercising the imaginative faculties of the unconscious mind to the attainment of a dream-like state different from, or... Marcel Mariën (1920 - 1993) was a Belgian surrealist, (later situationist), poet, essayist, photographer, filmmaker*, and maker of objects. ...

External links

• Camping Cosmos at the Internet Movie Database
• Transatlantic Films Official Site
• Lycos
• moviefone
• NY Times
• yahoo movies
• xploitedcinema
• answers.com