The newly released film inspired by the Dutroux case challenges Belgium's darkest history;
✔ 'Maldoror' is the first film inspired by serial child rapist and murderer Marc Dutroux
✔ The Dutroux case led to a large demonstration, demanding police reforms in Belgium
✔ Critics argue the film could fuel false narratives, while supporters hope it sparks justice system reforms
First film about infamous Belgian child rapist Dutroux criticised for mixing fact and fiction
Credit: Film screenshot (left)/Belga
For the first time, a film ('Maldoror') inspired by the infamous Belgian serial child rapist and murderer Marc Dutroux has been made. But it was immediately criticised for blending fact and fiction.
The film was made by Belgian director Fabrice du Welz and tells the story of Paul Chartier, a 20-year-old policeman who had a difficult youth and hopes to find justice by working for the police. He takes part in ‘Operation Maldoror’, a secret mission to arrest Marcel Dedieu, a notorious sex offender and prime suspect in the abduction of two young girls.
However, Chartier is soon confronted with a corrupt justice system and grows increasingly obsessed with the case.
What was the Dutroux case about?
On 13 August 1996, Belgium was shocked by the arrest of Marc Dutroux, a handyman from Marcinelle (near Charleroi). He was held responsible for kidnapping, holding hostage and sexually abusing six young girls.
Julie Lejeune (8), Mélissa Russo (8), Sabine Dardenne (12), Laetitia Delhez (14), An Marchal (17), and Eefje Lambrecks (19). The police managed to free Sabine and Laetitia, the other four had been murdered.
Dutroux had previously been convicted of kidnapping and rape in 1989, for which he had spent three years in prison for this. The fact that he was still able to commit such horrific crimes afterwards led to anger and incomprehension among the Belgian population. A large demonstration – the White March – was organised on 20 October 1996 in Brussels; 300,000 people took to the streets to demand a change in how the police and justice system functioned.
In 2004, Dutroux was sentenced to life imprisonment. The case had far-reaching consequences for the Belgian legal system and led to major reforms in the police and the judiciary.
Demolition of Marc Dutroux's house in Marcinelle. Credit: Belga.
The director of 'Maldoror', now 52, was not much older than the main character in his film when Marc Dutroux was arrested in 1996, he told RTBF. Almost 30 years later, he wanted to deal with one of the darkest pages of Belgium's history.
"Collectively, we need to look back on the Dutroux case. It is a necessary evil," he told RTBF. "With this film, I neither want to divide nor provoke. It is true that this can open wounds but it is much needed: to function as a society you have to be able to face yourself. You have to be able to name the traumas so that you can also heal."
Additionally, Du Welz stressed that it is Belgians' collective duty not to forget this case. "My daughter, for example, has learned nothing about this time period in school. She knows nothing about the issues that used to take place between police forces."
He also wants to pay tribute to the people of Charleroi, Hainaut and Liège – "often a very vulnerable population" – with his film. "They have had more to endure than necessary. These people have been mocked, stigmatised and blamed."
Not a documentary
The blend of truth and fiction in the film is calculated, Du Welz explains. "Why shouldn't that be allowed? Art always draws inspiration from social events to create fiction. It was never my aim to be close to reality – in that case, I would have made a documentary. I made fiction because I am a man of fiction and because I believe cinema can heal."
The film revolves around two central themes: justice and evil. "What can an honest man do in a society where justice falters? And what is evil here? Is it only Dutroux who did terrible things in his basement? Or is it also the war between police forces, the withholding of information and widespread corruption?"
Du Welz does not hide the fact that he believes little of the official, judicial version of the facts, which states that Marc Dutroux was a serial killer acting alone. He believes in the existence of a larger paedophile network in which Dutroux was a pawn.
"If I had to make a film on the official theory, it would have been very bad. I respect the judicial decision but it is my belief that there was more to the case – and I am not alone. I think a lot of people would like this case to be reopened."
But critics have denounced how Du Welz blurs the line between truth and fiction, stating that this only feeds the conspiracy theories surrounding the case.
"The story starts realistically but quickly derails when conspiracy theories about high-ranking people in paedophilia networks emerge," said VRT justice reporter Caroline Van den Berghe, who followed the Dutroux case closely at the time.
"We know the facts, they have been investigated. The trial took months. There has been a thorough investigation into possible networks, but the facts are what they are. They are very bad, but the truth is that there was one man, a serial rapist and serial killer, who committed these acts with a number of accomplices. The investigation has not shown that there were any networks up there."
Van den Berghe is not in favour of creating a fictionalised account of this case, especially at a time when conspiracy theories are rife. "This only adds fuel to the fire." Instead, there should be a greater focus on the many documentaries that have been made recently, she believes. "Those deal with the facts. It is important that people know exactly what happened."
Jean-Denis Lejeune, the father of Julie, told RTBF that they have tried many things to open the eyes of those who were politically responsible for the police handling of the case. "If this film succeeded in reawakening a certain awareness that would bring further improvements to our justice system, it would be a very good thing."
