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Flying Home

Flying Home

Movie · 2014 · 12 people

Dominique Deruddere wrote and directed the 2014 romantic drama Flying Home, which came out on 2 April 2014. In Turkey it was released as Yarışan Kalpler, and it also goes by Racing Hearts. Made in English, it is catalogued as a Belgian-American co-production and runs roughly ninety-five minutes.

The story follows Colin, an ambitious businessman with a company in New York who is on the verge of a lucrative deal with a sheikh from Dubai. The sheikh has a single condition: he wants one very special racing pigeon so that he can enter a prestigious race. The bird belongs to Jos Pawels, who has no intention of selling. Colin travels to the Flemish countryside to win him over, but when he meets the man's beautiful granddaughter, his plans fall apart and an unexpected closeness begins.

Jamie Dornan plays Colin. Anthony Head appears as Colin's father, Charlotte De Bruyne as Pawels' granddaughter Isabelle, and Numan Acar as a character named Karadeniz. Jan Decleir, Josse De Pauw and Viviane De Muynck round out the cast, and Ali Süleyman is also listed. The story sets the Belgian countryside against the wealthy world of an Arab sheikh and leaves Colin caught between business ambition and the heart.

DirectorDominique Deruddere

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Ali Süleyman Ali Süleyman Actor · 49 years old Sheikh Numan Acar Numan Acar Film actor · 52 years old Karadeniz Anthony Head Charlotte De Bruyne Jamie Dornan Jan Decleir Josse De Pauw Max Pirkis Viviane De Muynck Sharon Maughan Piet Fuchs Eline van der Velden

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Deruddere, who both wrote and directed Flying Home, leans on one of romantic comedy's most familiar moulds: an ambitious city man goes to the countryside to get one thing and finds something else entirely. Don't expect structural surprises; the direction of the hero's change is clear from the first step. The one element that could lift it out of the ordinary is an unusual device, a racing pigeon, which gives the story an odd, likeable texture. Its main weakness, in my view, is that this original detail never becomes more than a pretext, and the rhythm of rural life is overshadowed by the familiar tug between the deal and the heart. A comfortable pick for fans of the formula, a too-safe one for anyone who wants more from the filmmaking.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film sets the plain life of the Flemish countryside against the wealthy world of a sheikh from Dubai, testing the assumption that global money can buy anything. The haggling over a pigeon really asks whether a traditional pastime and a family inheritance can have a price at all. Colin, with his company in New York, standing as the go-between of these two worlds adds an interesting balance. Still, the figure of the rich Arab sheikh risks leaning on the 'limitless wealth' shorthand Western cinema so often reaches for; whether that character remains a function rather than a person is worth keeping an eye on.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

Judging by its story, this is a calm romantic drama set in the Flemish countryside, more about matters of the heart than anything harsh. An unusual subject like pigeon racing may catch teenagers' interest too. For small children, though, business deals and a love story may not hold much appeal. With teens and grandparents, it can work as a light evening film.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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