The Misfortunates (Çölde Kutup Ayısı)

The Misfortunates (Dutch: De helaasheid der dingen) is a 2009 Belgian-Dutch comedy-drama directed by Felix van Groeningen, adapted from Belgian writer Dimitri Verhulst's semi-autobiographical 2006 novel of the same name.

The film follows the painful coming of age of Gunther, a thirteen-year-old boy who grows up in a small town under one roof with his poor father, three uncles and his grandmother. Life in the Strobbe household revolves around drinking, women, impropriety and idleness, and no one expects the boy to turn out any different from the men raising him. The narrative hinges on whether Gunther can escape this seemingly inherited destiny and carve out a future of his own.

Filming began in January 2008. The picture was selected for the Directors' Fortnight at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Prix Art et Essai, and it later took the Best Film prize in the International Competition at the Istanbul Film Festival. It was also submitted as Belgium's entry for the Academy Awards. The cast includes Kenneth Vanbaeden, Johan Heldenbergh, Koen De Graeve, Wouter Hendrickx, Valentijn Dhaenens, Bert Haelvoet and Gilda De Bal.