Het 14e kippetje (1998)

Director:

Hany Abu-Assad

Writers:

Hany Abu-Assad (scenario advice) and
Paul Ruven (scenario advice) ...

Release Date:

1 October 1998 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Niemand trouwt met zijn grote liefde (Nobody marries their true love)

Plot Keywords:

Number In Title

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Antonie Kamerling	...	Daniel Ackerman
Thekla Reuten	...	Francesca Moorman
Dirk Zeelenberg	...	Martin Teitel
Peter Paul Muller	...	Harold Cammer
Kasper van Kooten	...	Philip Berman
Michael Pas	...	Alfred Fener
Alice Reys	...	Catherine
Peer Mascini	...	Mr. Moorman
Cecile Heuer	...	Mrs. Moorman
Elsje de Wijn	...	Mrs. Ackerman
Victor Löw	...	Jean
Roos Ouwehand	...	Aafje
Rifka Lodeizen	...	Philip Berman's girlfriend
Fabienne de Vries	...	Waitress ('B-Power')
Frans van Deursen	...	Taxi driver

Also Known As:

Het veertiende kippetje (Netherlands) (alternative title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

IJswater Films

Soundtrack:

Wegen

A typical case of "Mwah"

This movie poses an interesting socio-philosophical question: Does 'successful integration' imply that filmmakers from an ethnic minority make the same mediocre stuff as the ethnic majority filmmakers? Hany Abu-Assad is completely integrated in Dutch society in this respect. Not that "Kippetje" is a really bad movie, but after "Zusje" we all expected (hoped) that the average Dutch movie would have been better. Not so.

The story itself has potential: Party guests are waiting for a young couple who are going to married the next day. While waiting they tell stories about the couple and we see flashbacks of how it all came about. However, the story is not developed properly, just hasn't got 'it'. While waiting, the party guests show boredom and general uneasiness with each other and the situation. Their despair has not the effect of amusing the audience. It makes the audience desperate as well. And their boredom makes us bored too. If a story is slow, like this one it should have good directing and acting. I'm afraid it lacks this, both are so-so. The movie disappoints severely on the technical aspects as well, actors who are not sync, strange editing, shaky image.

The dialogues are sometimes very funny and intelligent, but to hear the high-pitching, nails-on-the-blackboard screeching voice of Dirk Zeelenberg immediately at the start of the movie is not very pleasant, one thinks that this must be a joke. But alas, all hope disappears when we realise that he is not the narrator but one of the main characters which is horrifying. Either Abu-Assad has a staggeringly different ear than most people, or he didn't really understand the meaning of "Singing in the Rain".

The now-and-then brilliant dialogues cannot hide the fact that this a case of a job not so well done.