The Over the Hill Band 2009

Claire, Marilou Mermans, a 70-year-old woman, survives a car crash that claims her husband. On the day of his funeral, she is rejoined by Lut and Magda, two women who in their late teens were part of a famous music group that sang covers of Jacques Brel and other classics. The group had split when Claire became pregnant. Claire also reconnects with her youngest son Sid, Jan Van Looveren, who had disappeared years earlier as his parents favored their other son Michel, Lucas Van den Eynde, a man whose anxiety grows with time. Over the years, Sid has tried to break through as an R&B artist, but no recording company has shown interest in his work.

Claire feels time is running out and longs to return to the stage. She defies her doctor’s warnings, pushing herself to recover from a sprained leg and a concussion. She persuades Lut and Magda to back the idea, and even asks Sid to step in as their producer, with the condition that he remixes the songs in his own style and renames the group The Over the Hill Band. Since Lut and Magda won’t risk money, Claire finances the equipment and rents a room, turning it into a makeshift studio. Sid hires two musicians, and Artuur, Michel Israël on the synthesizer, joins them to complete the lineup.

As the rehearsals begin to take shape, Claire falls in love with Artuur, a romance that puts her at odds with Lut and Michel, who disapprove of the union and the revived project. Michel, in particular, remains skeptical about the venture: he questions the high costs Claire is willing to incur and worries about her mental state, especially after he discovers Claire sold the family wine cellar at a suspiciously low price and notices her housekeeping slipping and missed doctor appointments. The concern intensifies when Claire claims to have visited her own mother—who, according to family history, died years ago—prompting the need for a formal mental assessment.

The rehearsals gradually bring the old music back to life, and the trio starts to feel their new style taking hold. Sid believes they have a real chance and sends a demo to a talent show. They are initially thrilled to be selected, but Lut and Magda contemplate quitting for personal reasons. Claire remains determined, insisting that the contest could be a one-time performance if it truly proves viable. Michel keeps boycotting the project, convinced that his mother’s mind is deteriorating and that the whole revival is a delicate risk.

Just before the performance, Claire discovers Artuur’s infidelity, a blow that shatters her already fragile grip on reality. In that instant, her Alzheimer’s symptoms surge forward, and she slips into a past where she is twenty years old, with her mother and future husband in the public eye as she prepares to sing with her former band. The lights fade, and the film shifts to a rest home a while later. It’s clear Claire no longer recognizes her sons.

The finale shows the act at the talent contest, which is a resounding success. After the performance, the story returns to the rest home where Claire sits in her chair, seemingly tranquil yet distant from the people she once knew. Sid claims his music career received a substantial boost thanks to his mother, but the film leaves open whether the entire act happened in reality or existed solely within Claire’s mind. The ending lingers on the question of memory, fame, and the costs of chasing a stage dream in the twilight years.