Nothing to Lose (2008)
"TBS" (original title)

Johan, convicted for killing his own father and sister, escapes from a TBS clinic (a criminal hospital in the Netherlands) and tracks down his mother in order to prove his innocence.

Director:

Pieter Kuijpers

Writers:

Pieter Kuijpers, Paul Jan Nelissen

Stars:

Theo Maassen, Lisa Smit, Bob Schwarze

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Theo Maassen	...	Johan
Lisa Smit	...	Tessa
Bob Schwarze	...	Joska
Ria Marks	...	Therapeute 1
Karst Woudstra	...	Psychiater
Flip Filz	...	Advocaat Johan
Romana Vrede	...	Begeleidster kliniek
Martijn de Rijk	...	Bewaarder kliniek
Menno Van Beekum	...	Rechter
Roos Ouwehand	...	Therapeute 2
Kevin Llewellyn	...	Patiënt 1
Bing Wiersma	...	Patiënt 2
Peter van Bokhorst	...	Autoverkoper
Yale Sackman	...	Vriendin Tessa
Pim Lambeau	...	Oma

Storyline

Johan, convicted for the murder of his father and sister, has been locked up in a TBS clinic (a hospital for criminals with a psychical disorder) for years. When he hears he will be transfered to a Long Stay ward - where nobody has ever been released from - he hopes his mother, who he hasn't spoken for years, will come to his hearing so she can tell the judge he didn't murder his sister, that his father abused him and was about to abuse his sister and that Johan therefore killed his father. However, his mother doesn't turn up. Realizing he's out of options, he escapes, determined to find his mother, so she can write a statement saying what really happened. Pretty soon however, he gets pursued by the police and in a rather desperate attempt to stay out of their hands, he kidnaps a 13-year old girl, Tessa. Together they drive through the Netherlands and Belgium to find his mother.

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Plot Keywords:

mother | murder | police | gun | road movie | 

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Taglines:

Not everything is love

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Release Date:

31 January 2008 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Nothing to Lose

Filming Locations:

Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

€1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

BNN TV, Pupkin Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the beginning of the movie, the Court decides that Johan has to go to the longstay-setting. In reality, it is not the court that takes that decision. It is the Minister of Justice (Minister van Justitie).

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Connections

Referenced in Spuiten en slikken: Episode #5.10 (2007)

User Reviews

Great acting and good plot, fantastic movie

I love this movie! The acting is great and the plot is very good. Theo Maassen plays a strong main character which draws you in. You begin to like him, but he plays is very subtle and you feel his edges from the beginning. It's a guy you're not sure if you can trust him or not. Was he wrongfully convicted or is he the beast that others perceive him to be. It gives the movie a strong foundation and he maintains a great performance throughout. A couple of others in the theater weren't able to totally separate his movie character from his career as a comic, resulting in some laughs in the audience in some strange places in the movie. Nothing to blame on Maassen though, he did great. The girl in this movie is brilliant. It's the first role of Lisa Smit (only 13 or 14 herself) and she plays her character very well. She is a typical teenager, with all the problems and issues that girls have at that time in their lives. The plot of the movie had a nice pace and the tension is built up nicely. There is never a dull moment and almost all plot twists are believable. Only problem I had was a strange scene involving a group of journalists. The way they behaved seemed a bit contrived and purely there to help the story forward. They didn't fall in the current Hollywood trap of making a movie too long, it's perfect as it is, an hour and a half of pure entertainment.