Bluebird (2004)

Merel, a talented young girl, is suddenly getting bullied at school.

Director:

Mijke de Jong

Writer:

Helena van der Meulen

Stars:

Elske Rotteveel, Kees Scholten, Elsie de Brauw

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elske Rotteveel	...	Merel de Leeuw
Kees Scholten	...	Kasper de Leeuw
Elsie de Brauw	...	Mrs. De Leeuw
Jaap Spijkers	...	Mr. De Leeuw
Bright O'Richards	...	Charles
Bente de Vries	...	Julie
Floris Heyne	...	Peer
Carmen Otten	...	Kim
Sharai Voet	...	Cindy
Samir Veen	...	Martijn
Ramon Lieshout	...	Freek
Bodine van Zalk	...	Blond meisje 1
Avalon Verbunt	...	Blond meisje 2
Florentijn van Meeuwen	...	Laila
Eline Hoorn	...	Cecilia

Storyline

Merel is a young girl with a lot of talent. She excels at school, is good on the springboard and is careful too. Her severely handicapped brother Kasper gets a lot of attention. Merel also has talent for singing. It is no surprise that she is asked for the school musical. But maybe Merel is a bit too convinced of herself. When people perform solos, she likes to sing along loudly. This doesn't fall on good ground though. People start ignoring her and she is getting bullied. All of the sudden Merel's life isn't that easy anymore, it will be hard to keep herself together.

---

Plot Keywords:

school | train | springboard | song | singer | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Music

---

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Baantjer: De Cock en de moord op het wrede lot (2003)

---

Soundtracks

The Man Who Sold the World
Written by David Bowie
Performed by Nirvana

User Reviews

A true picture of loving parents and a very mature young lady...

I happened to watch this movie by mistake while channel surfing on MHZnetworks programming on our local cable channel. I cannot tell you how much this movie moved me. This movie portrayed a very different "ethos" (exhibited by Merel and her adopted brother) from what I had in my mind about a young child like this from a European nation. The kind of love, attachment, care and a sense of responsibility to, that Merel showed to her adopted brother is commonly seen in Africa and other poorer parts of the world. She had a deep deep love, commitment and sense of obligation to her brother that is very uncommon in the western world where kids (like her classmates) are very selfish and have this sense of "entitlement" to their own toys, bedrooms, whatever.....

I especially love the scene where she wheels the little boy to the dock by the water to see the boats (She is wheeling him on his wheelchair, singing and they are both soooo happy!). That was a very "heavenly scene", it portrayed the carefree nature that EVERY child should have in this world, not worrying about bullying, family problems e.t.c, but just being a kid and seeing the beauty of nature and life. Unfortunately, Merel's life changes real fast and she starts getting bullied at school. I was especially touched with her somewhat "steel pulse" amidst all this. She is still able to read have the mental capacity to save enough money to buy Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina", not a typical 12yr old's choice, which I think portrays her indomitable spirit and maturity also.

Her friendship with the train passenger was especially refreshing. Many young girls like her usually end up being abused by strangers like the man she striked a relationship with in the train. But, this man was more like a guardian angel to her. Having a love of books, and noticing it in Merel (very unusual for a 12yr old to real Leo Tolstoy)...he embarks on this journey with her, eventually offering her a book that he discussed with her. We need to see more of these kind of relations in our world today - where a black man and a caucasian woman are not portrayed in such graphic and racial terms; but rather in a way that shows that not all black young men are rapists, nor all young caucasian girls are sluts either. What a refreshing thing!!! It is not by surprise that the little gift from the stranger in the train, is the very thing that gives her a break from the bullies. The very thing that she loves (books), is the very thing that redeems her from being bullied.

I loved very much the way her parents supported her. The scene where mom holds her, and she cries and she is babied....Awwwwwwh. Then daddy comes home, after mom has already done so much, and he gives her some more love, but with the wisdom and language that a dad is supposed to provide as a leader for the home. Every kid deserves this lovely home environment, when mom and dad are playing their roles perfectly with no compromise or resentment. It is no surprise that they adopted the dissabled boy, they can handle it, we see it by the way they already handle their own child. I also love the resolve and wisdom the dad portrays when Merel asks about getting a piercing - he is shocked, but wisely suggests starting with earings, such wit!!. He does not say absolutely not, he offers an alternative even if Merel did not particularly like it. A piercing to her was not so much to be a symbol of rebellion, but a symbol of toughness apparently to her bullies.

This movie would be a PERFECT tool to use to address the endemic bullying problems that our children are having to deal with on a daily basis in the schools today. I would love to see more movies like this - No vulgarity, No obscene sex scenes, just a perfect film with a Hugeeee message to convey to families about pain, suffering, resilience,fortitude and true love in our relations with others. A perfect film!! of the movie that were very

Details

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch English French

Release Date:

10 April 2004 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Pasarea albastra

Filming Locations:

Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Box Office

Budget:

EUR1,100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Egmond Film & Television, Nederlandse Christelijke Radio-Vereniging (NCRV), CoBo Fonds

Technical Specs

Color:

Color