Ja zuster, nee zuster (2002)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Pieter Kramer

Writers:

Harry Bannink (writer)
Frank Houtappels (writer)

Release Date:

23 October 2002 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

The film is a cheerful stylised musical comedy a la 8 femmes. The story happens in the guesthouse of sister Klivia in one of the Dutch towns...

Plot Keywords:

Grandpa | Dancing In The Rain | Pigeon | Police | Barbershop

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Loes Luca	...	Sister Klivia
Paul Kooij	...	Neighbour Boordevol
Tjitske Reidinga	...	Jet
Waldemar Torenstra	...	Gerrit
Paul de Leeuw	...	Wouter
Beppe Costa	...	Engineer
Edo Brunner	...	Bertus
Lennart Vader	...	Bobby
Frits Lambrechts	...	Opa
Olga Zuiderhoek	...	Rechter
Arjan Ederveen	...	Choreographer
Pierre van Duijl	...	Greek
Guus Dam	...	Agent 1
Joep Onderdelinden	...	Agent 2
Ad Knippels	...	SRV Boss

Also Known As:

Yes Nurse! No Nurse! (International: English title) (USA)

Runtime:

Germany:100 min (Berlin Film Festival) | USA:100 min

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:AL

Company:

Bos Bros. Film & TV Productions

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Although the movie is set in the '60s, you can see a present day cat food tin when Ingenieur feeds his pill to Boordevol's cat.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Goedemorgen Nederland: (2003-04-16)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Popocatepetl

I have never had as much fun watching a movie as this one

Not only did I have more fun watching this DVD than any film, but I did something I never did before--I ended up watching the movie again that very same night! I was utterly charmed by this wonderful Dutch musical-comedy and anticipate that I will probably see it again a few more times--it's THAT good! I think a lot of the reason I loved the movie so much was that while bits and pieces of the film reminded me of other films, overall it was so unique and quirky that it's got to be one of the most original films out there. In addition, when I heard the songs, I couldn't help but swing in rhythm to the bouncy and adorable music! Despite not knowing Dutch and relying on subtitles, I can't think of ANY musical that I enjoyed more because the songs are that catchy and kooky. They all have a charming old fashioned style with wonderfully funny lyrics.

The film itself has an early to mid-1960s look to it and although I noticed in one of the reviews that this movie was based on a TV series, the film looks even more like a film of a play in style. Plus, the sets look very fake, but I don't mean that in a bad way--more like an idealized and perfect world that you know can't exist but you really wish it did! Apart from great music, the film has a wonderful ensemble cast. The standout character is Mr. Boordevol who is a lot like a combination of Sam the Eagle (from The Muppets) and a crazed version of the AFLAC duck! He must have had a wonderful time playing such an outlandish character--and his voice was like something out of a cartoon! Other standout performers were Jet, an incredibly cute and shy young lady who is in love with Garrit, Garrit, a reformed burglar who has a wonderful voice, the Engineer (he has no name--and is just called "Engineer" throughout the film) as well as many, many others.

A word of note to parents--This movie was released by Wolfe Video--a Gay movie distributor. While there are two gay main characters, I really didn't see this as a gay film, per se, but a film about many people--just two of which are gay. And, unless you are ultraconservative, I doubt if you would be offended or mind if your kids watch the film. I am a pretty conservative person myself, but really liked ALL the characters and let my teenager see the film--in fact, I nagged her until she watched it with me!

By the way, it took me three viewings to realize that the plot of this film is a slight reworking of Seuss' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE Christmas! Seriously!!