Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet (2012)

Adaptation of one of Benelux most famous children's novels. Tough prime school girl Akkie loves soccer and can be a real bully. Love is the only thing she's scared of. When Akkie is ... See full summary »

Director:

Dennis Bots

Writers:

Karin van Holst Pellekaan, Jacques Vriens

Stars:

Hanna Obbeek, Nils Verkooijen, Fiona Livingston

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hanna Obbeek	...	Akkie
Nils Verkooijen	...	Joep
Fiona Livingston	...	Elise
Bram Flick	...	Laurens
Amin Belyandouz	...	Brammetje
Eva van der Gucht	...	Juf Ina
Loek Peters	...	Dokter Snor
Johanna ter Steege	...	Moeder Akkie
Reinout Bussemaker	...	Vader Akkie
Chris Comvalius	...	Afida (as Chrisje Comvalius)
Xander Straat	...	Meester Henk
Bram van der Hooven	...	Frenklin
Lea Vlastra	...	Tamara
Renee de Graaff	...	Christel
Lucas Dijker	...	Rico

Storyline

Adaptation of one of Benelux most famous children's novels. Tough prime school girl Akkie loves soccer and can be a real bully. Love is the only thing she's scared of. When Akkie is diagnosed with Leukemia, she has to fight for her life. On the verge of going to high school, Akkie has to allow love to enter her life, and thus gain courage to accept the inevitable.

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Plot Keywords:

school | soccer | leukemia | cancer | first kiss | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [nl]

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Release Date:

15 February 2012 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

8-klasisci nie placza

Filming Locations:

Bloemendaal, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bijker Productions, Rinkel Film, Evangelische Omroep (EO)

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jacques Vriens:  The writer of the novel appears as a man that tries to overrun Akkie on his bike.

User Reviews

Emotional, but in a believable way

Many children's films, when dealing with a difficult subject, tend to become a little preachy, or try to put some sort of message of hope or purpose into it. Not this film. I watched it with my daughter this afternoon, and was pleasantly surprised by its sincere approach. Akkie is a popular girl in class. She's a rough 12 year old who likes playing football and gets into fights. When she is diagnosed with leukaemia, she is admitted to the hospital. Determined to get better before the school football tournament, she puts on a brave face and tries her best to get better. We follow Akkie as she's in and out of treatment, and we watch how this affects her relationship with her friends and her parents.

Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet (Eighth Graders Don't Cry) doesn't hide the truth when it comes to dealing with such an awful disease as leukaemia. Akkie, her parents and her friends all have to deal with the uncertainty of whether or not she will pull through. Though initially brave-faced, the seriously weakening and drawn-out nature of the disease cause her to feel anger, sadness, despair and resign, all quite believably played by Hanna Obbeek.

This is not a happy children's film, because it is not a happy subject. It doesn't use movie magic to give you a warm fuzzy feeling. It's a story about a girl who gets leukaemia. Of course it's gonna get ugly. What'd you expect?