De inbreker (1972) User Reviews

I cannot remember this movie from the past.

[DVDkijker · 6/10 · 8 August 2005]

I cannot remember seeing this movie from television in the past, but now on DVD, not digitally remastered, only in Dutch language, no subtitles, for "The Burglar"(De Inbreker). It is nice to see Amsterdam in the late sixties and early seventies.

The story and acting is acceptable. A professional burglar is requested to find a missing girl, with all consequences of course. However I most liked the impressions from Amsterdam, without a parking problem, the people, and the fashion impressions from half a century ago. Anyway it is not the real live for the majority of the Dutch people.

This movie is obviously not promoted in the foreign countries, since the only comments are from the Netherlands, and only a few votes for a movie from 1972

a Dutch take on both the "noir" and the private eye genre

[myriamlenys · 8/10 · 28 October 2018]

A burglar with a prostitute mother, Willem "Sparkles" Burg moves easily and charmingly through the red lights district. He is also very handy with a knife, which he uses for party tricks rather than for mischief. One day he is hired, much to his own surprise, by an old man looking for a wayward step-daughter. When Burg's knife disappears, he begins to question the wisdom of his career change...

"De inbreker" is a clever, twisty thriller with lots of "couleur locale". Rijk de Gooyer gives a good lead performance, as a street-smart burglar who is tougher and more resilient than his enemies suspect. There are other memorable characters too, such as the fiery prostitute mother (whose advanced age does not keep her from wearing a variety of fetching miniskirts) and the loyal but slow sidekick. Lovely Willeke Van Ammelrooy gallantly bares her all - well, most of her all - which fact may not come as a surprise to people somewhat familiar with the history of Dutch and Flemish cinema.

The movie also contains a lot of humour, both of the black and the non-black kind. However, the fun does not always sit well with the deeper implications of some of the events told or depicted. The life story of the wayward step-daughter, for instance, is a bone-chilling human tragedy - at least if you take the trouble to think about it. By the same token it's unclear whether the future of the "Slofje" character is going to be all that happy ; she may be undergoing a Cinderella transformation, but she's being led astray, into a world of serious violence.

Still, well worth your time and interest.

Amsterdam in the early seventies

[mp.visser · 9/10 · 31 July 2003]

Great to see this movie again. I just bought the DVD for 6 euros and it is worth it. A nice one. *spoilers* Glimmy, played by one of the greatest Dutch actors, Rijk de Gooyer, is a burglar. He has a bit of bad luck in an empty safe. A guy in a bar offers him 3000 guilders to find his runaway daughter and that is always nice. But Glimmy and his mate, De Bonk (Jon Bluming) get the feeling something is wrong. It's a trap, and the body's start to drop. Murder, intrigue, and nice pictures from Amsterdam as it was. Directed by Franz Weisz, a great Dutch director.

Nice view of the Dutch movie-making in the 60-70's

[user-14351 · 3 November 2011]

Recently deceased Rijk de Gooyer is at his best in this movie. Like in real life, Rijk is humorous, tough and resourcefully. John Blooming, a Dutch martial arts expert and trainer of the Dutch Olympic Karate team a long time ago, plays the role of the big, strong but not too bright sidekick very convincing. His massive appearance says more than words. I saw this movie many years ago and it always stuck in my mind. Mostly because Mr. de Gooyer plays the role of burgles very convincing and the nice storyline for a Dutch movie. As my previous raters already mentioned, the view of Amsterdam is very nice but not very realistic. All in all, a movie worth seeing also for an international audience when subtitled.