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Swchwrm (2012)
Chaotic and uneven, but all in all charming Tellegen adaptation
It doesn't happy often, but I regretted this film's short running time. It only got good towards the ending! I guess they had to stick to children's movie length... Once again (as always in dutch movies) the voice-over is omnipresent. OK, it's kinda logical since the main character is a 10 year old boy who's trying to understand the world 'in words' (since he wants to become a writer) But still... Throughout the movie dialogues are only fragments in his self-created world of thinking. This hinders the movie to get some human to human interaction going, like with old depressed grandpa and the boy. The voice-over didn't bother me in the more fantasy-like segments where our main character (who lives in an surreal, beautiful and empty The Hague) gets to meet the Queen. This movie almost converted me from a republican to a monarchist. Not because of Georgina Verbaan (who plays the busty queen in a bathing suit). No, it's the addictiveness of the child's fantasy, to believe in fairy tales again, thus to believe in stuff like kings and queens. Ah! (By the way, did I mention the queen lives in a very oriental, if not Islamic kind of palace, take that Wilders!) Anyway, the queen orders for the boy to write her a novel. After many failed attempts the boy desperately sighs: 'Couldn't I just turn it into a play!' These kind of absurd jokes save the movie. There's some metaphors going on as well. The boy is trying to think of a 'first sentence' (for the book). This will get slightly complicated (and kinda wacky) but in dutch 'first sentence' is the same word for 'first desire/liking', so it might not be that weird that the boy figures out he will have to fall in love to get this book going! Just one example of the child logic meets modernism that are exactly the kinds of thing Toon Tellegen - a famous dutch writer - is known for, and guess what, this work is based on one of his books. And, of course, he makes a great cameo appearance.
La France (2007)
the strangest war movie you will ever see
I'd just finished reading J.D. Salinger's Nine Stories, when I watched this movie, and they seemed to make a good pair. This is one of the most unusual war movies I've ever seen. There's no war/battle action at all! Even more so, the soldiers seem to have been wandering around, aimlessly, for years and years, in a desperate attempt to deal with their experiences in The Great War. Trying to make sense of the horror, by telling each other stories of the mythical Atlantis and singing songs. It's hard forgetting the pain and horrors they endured though (and that's what made me think of Salinger's depressed post war heroes). The group of soldiers traveling through endless dark-green and misty blue woods (apparently without ever reaching a village) is joined by a woman, played by Sylvie Testud, posing as a young boy, Jean d'Arc-style. For a long time it seems her secret will never be revealed, which fits the mood of the movie. The others are too lifeless (spiritless even) to notice she's a woman, even when they are dressing her wounds. Another good example of the beautiful alienation of this movie already takes place in the first scene. We see Sylvie Testud, standing on a hill close to her home, staring in the distance, hoping to see the front line of the War probably hundreds of kilometers away. (as if such a thing was possible, like a miracle). The woman receives bad news in a letter, and starts her journey, eventually meeting the soldiers, who grumblingly let her join their group (even though the woman pays a 'handy' price). The soldiers almost immediately tell her she can never really become one of them, and never does she join the group in their musical intermezzos. Yes, there are a handful of sixties influenced psych-folk songs, played by the soldiers on self-built instruments (even a piano, God knows where that came from). And why not? Everything is possible. Every time they play a new song, the mood seems to gets even sadder and more beautiful. Fine movie.
TBS (2008)
Dutch Stockholm Syndrome drama
One of the strongest Dutch movies of the year 2008 (the other one being Dunya & Desie) TBS is like a quality American TV movie, without the sentimental ending. Beautiful cinematography, excellent dark music, at their best moments create a creepy feeling like 7even. (A victim in a chest freezer!?) Theo Maassen, mainly known for his theater shows as a comedian, does a fine job, though he does seem to lose some of his focus towards the ending. Maassen plays a convicted criminal, already having served 14 years in jail, who remains under the supervision of the state until the therapists decide he's ready to return to society. (This is called TBS) Which is unlikely to happen as his supervisors want to transfer him to the long-stay, a place where you're basically stuck for good. Maassen escapes with a fellow prisoner (is he a figment of his imagination?) and, when alone, kidnaps a girl, as a trade-off, while he tries to prove his innocence. The girl seems to have problems at home (is her step dad nice to her?) and starts showing signs of the Stockholm syndrome. Which is at times hard to believe when you're kidnapped by someone who murders before your own eyes. A beautiful David Lynchian moment occurs when the two reach their destination, a typical Belgian camping site, where a little girl is singing while rocking a swing. Unfortunately, we don't hear the footsteps on the gravel, as the music drowns out most of the scene. It sometimes drowns the dialogue as well, which is actually not a bad thing considering the notorious bad dialogue in most Dutch films! TBS is worth a watch if you're interested in Northern European cinema, as a Dutch film I would give it 8/10, in the grand scheme of things it's a 6.5/10.
Lucky Break (2001)
has its flaws, but generates a warm feeling in the end
Even though Toots and his Maytals do their best, this film is off to a weak start. The first fifteen minutes have crappy dialogue, bad jokes, the bad guy is a cliché and you realize you can already guess the ending. Hang in there though, cause this film improves while it's going. James Nesbitt plays Jimmy Hands, an amateurish bank robber. He and his mate (Lennie James) get caught and end up in jail. Obviously, there's going to be an escape attempt, as ALL prison-movies have escape attempts. The jail seems a rather cosy place, with tomato gardening and a director fond of musicals. Jimmy Hands realizes this might be his chance and convinces the director to put on a musical play about the great hero Nelson. Without female inmates the beautiful Olivia Williams (who works in jail as a rehabilitation counselor) has to play the part of the heroin. Here's where the fun starts: rehearsals, fights, and sweet off key singing, while romance is in the air.
Lucky Break is a charming little comedy, with a good cast, including the inmates Bill Nighy and Timothy Spall. 7/10 would be a bit too much for this, but it's well worth the time.
The Browning Version (1994)
The magic of simplicity
I don't think I have the gift of words to write something that makes brilliant sense. Some movies are good, some movies aren't. This movie is just a superb thing. Everything is done with class. The acting is fine and subtle and the scene where the old teacher gets the book and he starts crying is magnificent. The soundtrack satisfies all my needs with it's romantic melodies and perfect timing. This movie is a must-see.