A young cattle farmer is approached by an unscrupulous veterinarian to make a shady deal with a notorious beef trader.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.3/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Letterboxd: 3.73/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%
Metacritic: 68
TMDB: 7.1/10
Director
Michaël R. Roskam
Production
Waterland Film, Artémis Productions, Savage Film
Cast
Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy, Barbara Sarafian, Tibo Vandenborre, Frank Lammers, Sam Louwyck, Erico Salamone, Philip Grand'Henri, Kris Cuppens, Kristof Renson, Bill Barberis, David Murgia, Stefaan Degand, Hein van der Heijden, Mike Reus, Juda Goslinga, Gaël Maleux, Renaud Rutten, Circé Lethem
Curator Review
Verdict
A bleak, muscular crime drama that works best as a tragic character study. Its standout performance, rural underworld setting, and punishing emotional payoff make it memorable, though the violence and grimness are not for everyone.
Best for
Viewers who like crime stories with psychological depth
Fans of intense, physical lead performances
People drawn to bleak European dramas
Audiences comfortable with brutal violence and trauma
Skip if
You want a fast, plot-driven gangster movie
You are sensitive to graphic violence or child abuse implications
You prefer clear moral arcs or cathartic endings
You dislike grim, oppressive atmospheres
Overview
Bullhead is less interested in the mechanics of its hormone-trade crime plot than in the damaged man at its center. Michaël R. Roskam turns a rural Belgian underworld into a pressure cooker, where masculinity, shame, and childhood trauma harden into something almost feral.
Worth noting
Matthias Schoenaerts gives the film its force, playing Jacky as both physically imposing and emotionally trapped. The movie’s violence is not decorative; it lands as an extension of the character’s history and the world he inhabits, which makes it hard to shake even when the narrative takes familiar crime-thriller turns.
Bottom line
What lingers most is the film’s tragic mood: a sense that every relationship is already poisoned by history, and every attempt at connection arrives too late. It’s a harsh watch, but an impressive one, especially if you value atmosphere and performance over tidy plotting.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Simone (3.5★) · 78 likes
I have a pretty high tolerance for violence in films, sometimes I actually enjoy it! There's one scene in Bullhead that went too far for me. Because I want to avoid spoilers I can't say much more than it involves a child and it's graphic not only because of what's shown, but because of what's deliberately not shown. I became physically ill and had to stop the film. I came back and finished the rest after I calmed down a… more I have a pretty high tolerance for violence in films, sometimes I actually enjoy it! There's one scene in Bullhead that went too far for me. Because I want to avoid spoilers I can't say much more than it involves a child and it's graphic not only because of what's shown, but because of what's deliberately not shown. I became physically ill and had to stop the film. I came back and finished the rest after I calmed down a… more
Tim League (5★) · 64 likes
I like this film so much I bought it...
Lise (4★) · 61 likes
What an outstanding performance by Matthias Schoenaerts. It's a good thing too because he carries the picture. At first I thought it was going to be a gangster type film about the hormone drug trade, but it really is about Jacky Vanmarsenille and how a horrible event in his youth has informed every thing about him. He truly is outstanding as an embarrassed, lonely young man who wants what he thinks he can't have. There is nothing off about Schoenaerts… more What an outstanding performance by Matthias Schoenaerts. It's a good thing too because he carries the picture. At first I thought it was going to be a gangster type film about the hormone drug trade, but it really is about Jacky Vanmarsenille and how a horrible event in his youth has informed every thing about him. He truly is outstanding as an embarrassed, lonely young man who wants what he thinks he can't have. There is nothing off about Schoenaerts… more
Keith (3.5★) · 46 likes
Clearly from the neo-Flanders school of Flemish cattle mafia movies, hits all the familiar tropes of the subgenre hahahahaha jk this is the only Flemish cattle mafia movie.
williamfaeleith (4.5★) · 40 likes
An immense, powerful (in every sense of the word) performance from Matthias Schoenaerts lifts what could have been a fairly run-of-the-mill crime story into a psychological character study of a man haunted and trapped by a traumatic childhood experience.
Recommended.
2007 · Crime, Thriller, Western · 2h 2m · R · Curator 9.6/10 (3.1M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus, Philo
For its fatalistic mood, spare tension, and sense that violence is an inescapable force.