Beautiful Men
2023 · 19m · Belgium
Directed by Nicolas Keppens
Genres: animation, comedy, drama
Tones: darkly comic, melancholic, tender
Three balding Belgian brothers travel to Istanbul for hair transplant procedures, but only one surgery has been booked. Confined together in a hotel shrouded in fog, their insecurities and vulnerabilities can no longer be concealed.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Three balding Belgian brothers stuck together in an Istanbul hotel for hair transplants is a perfect premise, and Keppens' stop-motion always carries more melancholy than the puppets imply. Fog as fourth character is the kind of small craft choice I love.
Three balding Belgian brothers in Istanbul hair-transplant purgatory, in claymation with fog as metaphor — Keppens has a real feel for Easter Eggs-style male vulnerability, and the I Vitelloni comparison is well earned. Age-gated on YouTube, which is its own small badge.
Stop-motion claymation about three balding brothers stuck in an Istanbul hair-transplant hotel, with fog as the fourth character — Keppens has the patience to let male vanity sit in a room until it cracks. Nineteen minutes, age-restricted on YouTube, which usually tracks for honest stop-motion adult work.
Reviews
Nicolas Keppens switches from his traditional 2D animation for stop-motion with Beautiful Men, a tender look at masculinity and brotherhood, with a dash of humor.
Laying bare its characters, the film is about digging deeper into their anxieties.
Festivals
- Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2024, Alexeieff-Parker Award
- Academy Awards 2025, Nominated
- Ottawa International Animation Festival 2024, Best Narrative