Brussels Philharmonic | Press Play: pure imagination

Press Play: pure imagination

A fairground, three puppets, a tragic fate, and an orchestra that bubbles, skips, snaps, and sings: that's Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka—an explosion of creativity brimming with imagination and fantasy.
This masterpiece forms the starting point for film journalist Robin Broos, who dives into the history of cinema in search of kindred visions. For on the silver screen, too, fantasies and dreams are eagerly explored. From dolls coming to life to filmic worlds defying reality—discover it all in his personal selection.

The Red Shoes (1948)

Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

A ballerina is torn between her love for dance and her love for a composer. The Red Shoes, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, culminates in a hallucinatory 17-minute ballet sequence in which stage and imagination merge. Powell and Pressburger wield Technicolor as a palette of pure emotion, every frame a painting—cinema itself turned to dance.

watch on YouTube

Toy Story (1995)

Directed by John Lasseter

Toys that come to life once humans leave the room—the fantasy of countless children. With Toy Story, Pixar created the first fully computer-animated feature film. Cowboy Woody and astronaut Buzz Lightyear must learn to cooperate despite their rivalry. Like Petrushka in Stravinsky’s ballet, these toys inhabit their own world, full of drama and emotion. Now a classic, the film remains an evergreen with its fresh humour and heartfelt warmth.

watch on Disney+

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Amélie, a shy waitress in Montmartre, sets out to bring happiness to others while quietly struggling with loneliness herself. The film unfolds in a Paris that doesn’t quite exist, yet feels like it should. Every scene teems with imagination—garden gnomes going on journeys, X-rays revealing beating hearts, fantasies blending into reality. A film that views the world through the lens of wonder.

watch on Sooner

Spirited Away (2001)

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Chihiro gets lost with her parents in an abandoned amusement park that, at night, transforms into a bathhouse for spirits. When her parents turn into pigs, she must work to set them free. Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is a masterpiece of imagination, filled with exquisite detail—from giant babies to foul river spirits, a world as strange as it is enchanting. The film deservedly won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

watch on Netflix

Big Fish (2003)

Directed by Tim Burton

Edward Bloom recounts his life as a series of tales about giants, witches, and impossible adventures. His son, ever skeptical, searches for the truth behind the myths. Big Fish is Tim Burton’s most emotional film: less dark, yet rich in colour and imagination. It wonders whether a beautiful story might not be more valuable than plain truth. Danny Elfman’s score is as dreamlike as it is heartbreaking.

watch on Prime Video

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Directed by Spike Jonze

Young Max feels misunderstood at home and escapes into his imagination: to an island where he becomes king among enormous, emotional creatures. They mirror his own feelings: anger, sadness, joy, confusion. The music by Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Carter Burwell captures both vulnerability and adventure. With Where the Wild Things Are, Spike Jonze shows that imagination is not just an escape, but a way to face real emotions.

watch on Prime Video

Wicked (2024)

Directed by Jon M. Chu

Long before Dorothy arrives in Oz, the green-skinned Elphaba meets the popular Glinda at Shiz University. Their initial rivalry grows into an unlikely friendship, until Elphaba is branded the Wicked Witch of the West. Jon M. Chu brings the Broadway hit to the big screen: a visual spectacle bursting with colour, imagination, and theatrical splendour. Wicked reminds us that fantasy worlds are not mere escapism, but mirrors reflecting our own choices between good and evil.

watch on Netflix

PETROUSHKA optie C max2 MB

Stravinsky: Petrouchka · 24.04.2026 · Flagey

Joan Tower’s Sequoia opens with raw energy. Like the giant tree it’s named after, the music grows in strength and complexity — a pulsing current of rhythm and sound. In Camille Pépin’s Les Eaux célestes, the orchestra transforms into light and air. Sparkling, fluid, and full of nuance, her music evokes a world that feels both delicate and radiant. After the break, Stravinsky’s Petrouchka erupts: a vibrant ballet in four scenes. A fairground, three puppets, a tragic fate — and an orchestra that bubbles, skips, snaps, and sings.

PETROUSHKA optie C max2 MB

Stravinsky: Petrushka · 26.04.2026 · Flagey

Joan Tower’s Sequoia opens with raw energy. Like the giant tree it’s named after, the music grows in strength and complexity — a pulsing current of rhythm and sound. In Camille Pépin’s Les Eaux célestes, the orchestra transforms into light and air. Sparkling, fluid, and full of nuance, her music evokes a world that feels both delicate and radiant. After the break, Stravinsky’s Petrouchka erupts: a vibrant ballet in four scenes. A fairground, three puppets, a tragic fate — and an orchestra that bubbles, skips, snaps, and sings.

Press Play Robin Collage

Press Play: Must-See Films

Every concert starts with a theme—an idea that sparks the imagination. Inspired by those themes, film journalist Robin Broos compiles must-see film lists that dive deeper into the atmosphere and emotions behind the music.

Press Play and discover the top films that echo the spirit of each performance—sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes surprising, always worth watching.

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