The life story of Walter Arfeuille is an odd and perhaps even tragic one. He is a man driven by a quest for recognition who once strived to stand atop the competitive strong-man world in Belgium. Now, well into his sixties and struggling with physical issues, he attempts to grab a final modest headline, all watched over by a film crew who he thinks can help him prove himself to the world one last time.
Nicknamed “The Beast” (Het Beest), he once lifted a weight of 281.5kg 17cm off the ground with his teeth, in the process breaking a Guinness World Record. Also using his mouth, he pulled trains and airplanes, and for nine years battled for supremity with his great Belgian strong-man rival John Massis who also specialised in such feats of strength, bending iron with his teeth, lifting cars and stopping motorbikes, even helicopters – all with his mouth.
Now aged 68, Walter’s bid for recognition is somewhat more modest. He plans to cycle the 280km distance (“and that’s without missing a turning,” he adds ruefully) from his home in Vlamertinge to Herbeumont and the grave of his hero, Belgian heavyweight weightlifter Serge Reding who died in 1975 of a heart attack. Walter says he aims to make the journey non-stop – though will sleep on a roadside bench if exhausted – accompanied by a camper van.
But Walter is overweight, out of condition and struggles to breath properly. Over the film’s opening credits we hear him call out “Goddammit,” before we are first introduced to him on screen as he tries to pick himself up from the side of a wet and busy road where he has fallen off his bike. Heavily-bearded and lumbering, he can’t get back on the bike, so he ends up pushing it along the road.
He appears something of a gentle giant, who encourages young men with their weight-lifting. He talks about Serge Reding, and says he “wants to restore some honour” and so devised the idea to cycle to the man’s grave, adding: “I’m 68 and not sure if I will succeed.” Walter lives in a small, messy, house overflowing with the detritus of his life and surrounded by a multitude of chickens and ducks. Watching old footage of his early strong-man days, he dyes his beard and hair, adding that he “wants to leave something behind.”
The film juggles footage of him telling his life story to a group of people, using archival material and interviews. He talks proudly about his achievements, but there is a darker twist to his story. Walter Arfeuille was sent to prison for two years in 2002 for dealing in drugs. He had used his fitness centre as a cover and sold drugs that he bought in Rotterdam.
So he boldly heads off on his pilgrimage/journey to Serge Reding’s grave, but soon has to stop the attempt. He is full of excuses and says it is not due to his physical condition. “I’m not giving up…it’s not my fault” he says… As to whether he eventually completes his Herculean task, you will have to watch the film. No spoilers here.
The film actually closes with footage of Walter writing a letter to his local mayor to ask if a statue of him that was carved just before he was arrested be placed “somewhere”…with the subtext that it be situated near to where he lives and he can therefore find another possible route back to fame. The film is a modest story of need for recognition in the face of physical decay.
Belgium, 2023, 80mins
Dirs: Joost Laperre, Jillis Schriel
Production: Lionheart Productions
Producer: Bram Versteyhe
Screenplay: Joost Laperre, Jillis Schriel
Cinematography: Niels van Koevorden
Editor: Joost Laperre
Music: Johannes Verschaeve
