Although I can't really write any kind of review without some memories of one of the main characters I'll try to write about the film a little, without telling too much.
Lepel is a film about a boy, a boy whose parents are on a trip around the world in a hot-air balloon. He lives at his grandmothers' house which is also a shop for buttons. She makes him do loads of work and he obviously dislikes it, although he has gotten used to it I guess. He asks about his parents sometimes and his grandmother tells him time-and-time again they will return. One day, while at a big warehouse his life turns upside down after receiving a balloon from a salesman. Then the ride actually begins, we see the little kid making friends, having personal troubles and desperately trying to do what he thinks is best. At one point he is told very bad news and there is where my hard part was. Until this point it was mostly about feeling good, but here it changed for me... This is where I really got connected to the little kid (played by Joep Truijen) whose acting was actually very nice. The grandmother is played by Loes Luca whose performance is really great; Neeltje de Vree plays Pleun and is not always up to par which is really too bad, although her role is quite difficult. Barry Atsma (playing Max) is a little bit too much of a softy for me, as for Juffrouw de Boer (Carice van Houten): I can't really comment on her, we used to be in high school together thus my vision of her work is quite blurred.
I would recommend this film for Sunday afternoons, preferably with kids from age 7 until 13-14.
Lepel is a film about a boy, a boy whose parents are on a trip around the world in a hot-air balloon. He lives at his grandmothers' house which is also a shop for buttons. She makes him do loads of work and he obviously dislikes it, although he has gotten used to it I guess. He asks about his parents sometimes and his grandmother tells him time-and-time again they will return. One day, while at a big warehouse his life turns upside down after receiving a balloon from a salesman. Then the ride actually begins, we see the little kid making friends, having personal troubles and desperately trying to do what he thinks is best. At one point he is told very bad news and there is where my hard part was. Until this point it was mostly about feeling good, but here it changed for me... This is where I really got connected to the little kid (played by Joep Truijen) whose acting was actually very nice. The grandmother is played by Loes Luca whose performance is really great; Neeltje de Vree plays Pleun and is not always up to par which is really too bad, although her role is quite difficult. Barry Atsma (playing Max) is a little bit too much of a softy for me, as for Juffrouw de Boer (Carice van Houten): I can't really comment on her, we used to be in high school together thus my vision of her work is quite blurred.
I would recommend this film for Sunday afternoons, preferably with kids from age 7 until 13-14.