Why did they cast a non-native French speaker to be Sylvain, Jeanne's son? It seems strange to have a native French speaker as the mother and a son who spoke with a pretty thick Flemish accent (and Brussels is a predominately French-speaking city, so it's not that Sylvain picked up the accent of his peers). Any thoughts?
shareI call myself a "neo-Belgian" though some might say "pseudo-Belgian." :) My mother was born in Brussels of a Wallonian (French-speaking) father and Flemish mother. Mom always said she was "at war with herself." Grampa (Pépi) lived with us when I was little (Grandma already being deceased) so I grew up speaking French as well as English, and I have taken a lively interest in my Belgian heritage all my life. I am still in touch with cousins over there, and have traveled to Belgium four times on extended vacations, taking in Liège, Antwerp, Charleroi, and many other towns and cities as well as Brussels. I am 70 now and still cook delicious Belgian cuisine at home, have Belgian antiques (including myself) all over the house, etc. After all that, I will just say that I assume the choice had something to do with placating Flemish sensibilities. If there were no Flemish actors, the Flemings would boycott the movie and cause a giant stink. So probably more of a 'gesture' than anything, and the obvious accent would be to prove a point. Artistic license no worse than Hollywood casting white actors as Native Americans, or as Othello, etc. My theory anyway! It's the first thing I thought when I heard the accent and chuckled to myself.
shareThe son mentions that he goes to a Flemish school (to be with a friend), and had learned to speak with a Flemish accent there.
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