Turks fruit (1973)

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writers:

Gerard Soeteman (writer)
Jan Wolkers (novel)

Release Date:

September 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Sort of a cross between "Love Story" and an earthy Rembrandt painting, this movie stars Rutger Hauer as a gifted Dutch sculptor who has a stormy...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Sculptor | Marriage | Jealousy | Sculpture

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Monique van de Ven	...	Olga Stapels
Rutger Hauer	...	Eric Vonk, the sculptor
Tonny Huurdeman	...	Olga's mother
Wim van den Brink	...	Olga's father
Hans Boskamp	...	Winkelchef
Dolf de Vries	...	Paul
Manfred de Graaf	...	Henny
Dick Scheffer	...	Accountant
Marjol Flore	...	Tineke
Bert Dijkstra	...	Civil servant
Bert André
Jon Bluming
Paul Brandenburg
Suze Broks		(as Suzie Broks)
David Conyers

Also Known As:

Eric and Olga (USA) (poster title)
The Sensualist (UK)
Turkish Delight (USA) (video title)
Wild Intent (UK) (video title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | Finland:K-18 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (uncut) | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Ireland:(Banned) | Argentina:18 | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:X (self applied) | Norway:(Banned) (1973-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Alkmaar, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Verenigde Nederlandsche Filmcompagnie (VNF)

Trivia:

'Paul Verhoeven''s father reportedly refused to see the movie after he learned it contained the line "Ik naai beter dan God." ("I screw better then God").

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the thunderstorm, when Eric is walking towards Olga who is standing outside in the rain, the reflection of a spotlight providing "lightning" can be seen on the surface of the door.

Quotes:

Eric Vonk: I screw better than God.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Allemaal film: De magie van het witte doek (#1.1)" (2007)

Love and drama.

"Turks fruit" has been voted best Dutch movie recently. I can see why, "Turks fruit" is a delicious treat and perfectly mixes an heavy love story with dramatic and realistic moments life is filled with.

"Turks fruit" is fine example of good storytelling. The movie is carried by the characters that are very realistically portrayed. Rutger Hauer, Monique van de Ven and Dolf de Vries really are some fine actors. Paul Verhoeven shows with this movie that he also is a great actor director. This movie marked the first real big movie-role breakthrough for both Hauer and van de Ven and also for Verhoeven himself.

The movie is filled with some typical and subtle Dutch humor which I really enjoyed in this movie. Some of the characters might seem a bit odd but I can assure you that all of the characters are very realistic and are nothing uncommon here in the Netherlands.

The movie is really daring, especially for its time and is not afraid to show some 'skin' and some explicit scene's. But all of it is done with lots of style so the movie never becomes offensive. The movie is also filled with what later become some typical trademark Verhoeven gore. But all of it serves a purpose in the movie, so it never feels forced like its deliberately put in the movie, to shock the viewers. Verhoeven is a master in this. This is the first Verhoeven movie were he uses the same style which he still puts in his movies these days. The first typically, recognizable Verhoeven movie you can say.

The nice little soundtrack is composed by Rogier van Otterloo who later also worked on "Soldaat van Oranje" and "Keetje Tippel", with Verhoeven again. The harmonica solo's are recognizably done by Toots Thielemans who might very well be the best harmonica player of all time. The cinematography is done by Jan de Bont and gives an at times nice and realistic view of the Netherlands in the '70's.

Not THE best Dutch movie of all time (in my opinion that still is "Soldaat van Oranje") but this movie absolutely, most certainly is a romantic/dramatic masterpiece with lots of symbolism and unforgettable and powerful moments in it, that perfectly shows the early talent of Verhoeven, Hauer and van de Ven.

10/10