Movie

Toto the Hero

1991 · 91 min

A playful, melancholy puzzle of memory and imagination that keeps you guessing what is real and what is invented.

Directed by: Jaco Van Dormael
Genres: Drama, Comedy, Fantasy
Starring: Michel Bouquet, Thomas Godet, Gisela Uhlen

Overview: 80-year-old Thomas recounts his childhood and middle age through a series of flashbacks and dream sequences. Thomas believes he’s been taken away from a better life at birth; following a hospital fire, he vividly recalls being swapped with another new-born, and subsequently grows up in a poorer neighbouring household.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.

Directed by: Jaco Van Dormael
Genres: Drama, Comedy, Fantasy
Starring: Michel Bouquet, Thomas Godet, Gisela Uhlen

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: melancholicstrength 2 of 3
whimsicalstrength 2 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
satiricalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: memory
identity
obsession
betrayal
family
Places: small town
home
Era: near-future
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
unreliable narrator
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	3
Horror	2
Humour	6
Realism	4
Romance	4
Tension	4
Darkness	6
Complexity	8
Emotional weight	7

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres: drama, comedy, fantasy
Directed by: Jaco Van Dormael
Written by: Didier De Neck, Jaco Van Dormael, Laurette Vankeerberghen, Pascal Lonhay
Starring: Michel Bouquet, Thomas Godet, Gisela Uhlen, Jo De Backer, Mireille Perrier, Sandrine Blancke, Peter Böhlke, Didier Ferney
Music: Pierre van Dormael
Cinematography: Walther van den Ende
Runtime: 91 min
Country: Belgium, France, Germany
Languages: French

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Toto the Hero

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Where to watch in the UK

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