The Barons

De Belgische comedy Les Barons (2009) follows a group of Moroccan-Brussels friends from Sint-Jans-Molenbeek who call themselves 'barons'. Their philosophy of life is simple: they waste as few steps as possible in their lives by doing nothing all day and lazing around as much as possible. The story focuses on Hassan, who dreams of a career as a stand-up comedian. However, he encounters resistance: his father demands that he becomes a bus driver and his lazy friends have no understanding of his ambitions. The situation only becomes really complicated when Hassan falls in love with Malika. She is, in fact, the sister of Mounir, the oldest and most dominant 'baron' of the friend group. Direction: Nabil Ben Yadir Met: Nader Boussandel, Mounir Ait Hamou, Mourade Zeguendi Speelduur: 96 minutes French spoken, Dutch subtitles De CinéClub chooses 'classics' and lesser-known quality films, with a short introduction beforehand.