Borgman (2013)

A vagrant enters the lives of an arrogant upper-class family, turning their lives into a psychological nightmare in the process.

Director:

Alex van Warmerdam

Writer:

Alex van Warmerdam

Stars:

Jan Bijvoet, Hadewych Minis, Jeroen Perceval

11 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jan Bijvoet	...	Camiel Borgman
Hadewych Minis	...	Marina
Jeroen Perceval	...	Richard
Alex van Warmerdam	...	Ludwig
Tom Dewispelaere	...	Pascal
Sara Hjort Ditlevsen	...	Stine
Elve Lijbaart	...	Isolde
Dirkje van der Pijl	...	Rebecca
Pieter-Bas de Waard	...	Leo
Eva van de Wijdeven	...	Ilonka
Annet Malherbe	...	Brenda
Gene Bervoets	...	Gardener
Mike Weerts	...	Arthur Stornebrink
Pierre Bokma	...	Priest
Benjamin Boe Rasmussen	...	Man with Dog

Storyline

A priest and his companion hunt silently through the fields, accompanied by a braying dog. They are armed and deadly. Their quarry is Camiel Borgman (Jan Bijvoet), living in military sparseness in an underground den, near companions Ludwig and Pascal. Camiel scrapes out with some difficulty, hitching a ride with a doomed truck driver on a relentless trip to the heart of suburbia. He passes by two odd women, Brenda and Ilonka, with whom he seems to share a history. When a dirty Camiel arrives at the door of artist Marina and media executive Richard's expansive, designer-chic home, the shifting perceptions of Van Warmerdam's screenplay begin to displace and disorient the audience. Hallucinogenic elements dot the consciousness as Camiel shifts between the roles of victim and aggressor. He asks for a bath. He toys with Richard's jealousy. He is viciously beaten up by his cruelly intolerant host and left wounded on the floor. Marina seeks to assuage her guilt by allowing him a space for ...

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Plot Keywords:

bare breasts | male rear nudity | male nudity | bedtime story | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

The perfect cross between Dogtooth and Michael Haneke.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Netherlands Belgium Denmark

Language:

Dutch English

Release Date:

20 November 2013 (France)

Also Known As:

Bela

Filming Locations:

Bloemendaal, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Box Office

Budget:

€3,100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

€77,448 (Netherlands), 1 September 2013, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,224, 20 June 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$56,474, 25 July 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Graniet Film BV, NTR, Epidemic

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (HD)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2013 this movie became the first Dutch movie in 38 years to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival.

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Goofs

When Marina is shown moving the glass of wine towards her daughter, she leans over just a bit. In the next shot, the glass is standing at the other side of the kitchen desk, way out of her reach.

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Crazy Credits

The film opens with the caption: And they descended upon the earth to strengthen their ranks.

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Connections

Features The Jungle Book (1942)

User Reviews

Metaphysical absurdism in a grippingly tense film

'Borgman' tells the story of a drifter (Jan Bijvoet) that slowly but suddenly takes control of the lives of a young, wealthy family living in a beautiful mansion somewhere in the Netherlands. The movie begins with a scene in a forest, where Borgman, i.e. the drifter, and some of his associates are chased from their underground hiding places by a group of holy workers (lead by the-always-inspiring Pierre Bokma). Soon after their escape, Borgman alone seemingly randomly knocks on the doors of the houses of very wealthy people, asking if he can use bathing facilities in their house. In attempt to do good after a brutal beating by her husband (Jeroen Perceval), Marina (Hadewijch Minis) helps Borgman by giving him temporary shelter in the garden shed. That was all that the intimidating but darkly intriguing character of Borgman needed to unfold his diabolical plans...

Although Borgman is a layered surrealistic film, and probably therefore sometimes slow and hard to understand, its message is clear and the story is continuously compelling. Especially intriguing are the biblical aspects, which are always subtly present in the background, and which give the film a dark, tense character. Not being a religious person, the movie does trigger an interest in the spiritual, or better, meta-ethics, which won't leave you alone for several days afyer having watched it. The excellent performances of Jan Bijvoet and Hadewijch Minis are crucial in delivering the very strong script.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who seeks a tense thriller. Because, aside from the absurdist aspects, from start to the end the movie is very exciting.

8/10