Overview
A gripping tale of fate and lost innocence unfolds in the world of cattle farming and crime.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- grim
- brooding
- harrowing
- serious movie night
- european cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a grim, gripping crime thriller anchored by Matthias Schoenaerts’s searing performance and forceful physical cinema.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jacky’s cattle farm, veterinary dealings, beef trading, and mafia connections make the countryside itself the infrastructure of crime.
Jacky’s imposing, hormone-altered physique contrasts with the buried childhood wound that governs his rage and vulnerability.
Flashbacks and the resurfacing of Jacky’s secret connect childhood trauma to the assassination and its consequences.
The Limburg farming environment is presented as a harsh landscape of cattle, chemicals, criminal deals, and suppressed violence.
Films like Bullhead, and why
Animal Kingdom
grim rural crime drama shaped by trauma, masculine repression, and fatalistic violence
The Place Beyond the Pines
brooding neo-noir crime story with damaged men, escalating vengeance, and moral entrapment
The Secret in Their Eyes
bleak, psychologically intense European crime drama centered on fate and buried violence
Eastern Promises
hard-edged character study combining criminal economies, trauma, and inexorable tragedy
Movie Details
- Director
- Michaël R. Roskam
- Release Date
- 2011-02-02
- Runtime
- 129 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (404)
Cast
- Matthias Schoenaerts
- Jeroen Perceval
- Jeanne Dandoy
- Barbara Sarafian
- Tibo Vandenborre
- Frank Lammers
- Sam Louwyck
- Erico Salamone
- Philip Grand'Henri
- Kris Cuppens
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Bullhead about?
- A physically imposing Flemish cattle farmer is pulled into a criminal beef-trading scheme while childhood trauma and buried loyalties drive him toward irreversible tragedy.
- What is Bullhead like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Bullhead as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Bullhead violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Bullhead as brutal.
- What did critics think of Bullhead?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a grim, gripping crime thriller anchored by Matthias Schoenaerts’s searing performance and forceful physical cinema.
- Which films are like Bullhead?
- Films with a similar feel include Animal Kingdom, The Place Beyond the Pines, The Secret in Their Eyes, and Eastern Promises.
- How long is Bullhead?
- Bullhead runs 129 minutes.
- Where can I watch Bullhead?
- In United States, Bullhead is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
