Summer Heat (2008)

14 months after loosing his partner while making a UNICEF documentary in Afghanistan, Dutch photographer Bob Griffioen's benefactor Federico Federici has landed him a National Geographic ... See full summary »

Director:

Monique van de Ven

Writers:

Jan Wolkers (novel), Edwin de Vries (screenplay)

Stars:

Sophie Hilbrand, Waldemar Torenstra, Jeroen Willems

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sophie Hilbrand	...	Kathleen
Waldemar Torenstra	...	Bob Griffioen
Jeroen Willems	...	Federico Federici
Johan Leysen	...	Mummie
Cees Geel	...	de Lange
Jelka van Houten	...	Jara
Jochum ten Haaf	...	Vogelwachter
Gijs Naber	...	Richard
Giam Kwee	...	Caron
André Arend van de Noord	...	Dennis (as André Arend van Noord)
Bert Luppes	...	Boer
Rik van de Westelaken	...	Nieuwslezer
Matteo van der Grijn	...	Chauffeur
Peter van Bokhorst	...	Klaas
Sarah Jonker	...	Barmeisje #1

Storyline

14 months after loosing his partner while making a UNICEF documentary in Afghanistan, Dutch photographer Bob Griffioen's benefactor Federico Federici has landed him a National Geographic assignment on the Wadden island Texel. Shooting wildlife there, Bob meets hedonistic waitress-student Kathleen, who practices nudism on the beach. Alas, her boss and sugar-daddy 'the Mummy' is involved in major drug trade. Both lovers are soon dragged into it, without knowing if they even can trust each-other.

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Plot Keywords:

photographer | island | beach | kiss | seal the animal | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Actors Sophie Hilbrand and Waldemar Torenstra are a couple in real life.

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Goofs

The bird of prey, which is being photographed in the dunes is not a native bird for the Netherlands, but a (trained, captive) American buzzard.

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Connections

Referenced in Spuiten en Slikken: Episode #6.1 (2008)

User Reviews

Worst book adaption I've ever seen

When Jan Wolkers, one of the best Dutch writers of Dutch literary history, was asked to write a 'boekenweekgeschenk', he wrote a beautiful story, which introduced young, novice readers to the literary world. The book had a fantastic plot, and really emphasized the power love can have. Above all, the story is told like it's a dream.

Then the movie rights were sold and the book got adapted. It's a good thing Jan Wolkers already passed away when this film was released, because I am sure this would've really disappointed him. The creators did exactly what Dutch films are notorious for: they tried to turn the book into a thriller with non stop action.

At the part where the book ends, the film continues for another 15 minutes. In these 15 minutes, the most unlikely things happen. I found it difficult to watch this film in the first place, but at the part where they started making up these unlikely things I actually turned it off, I didn't even want to watch the ending after the whole story got messed up so badly.

All I can say is that it's a pity that they adapted this book into a movie. That's one thing that should not be done to high quality literary masterpieces. The reason I rated this movie 6 stars is just because it is based on a book of Jan Wolkers. I hope that many people will read his book after (or before) watching this movie or after reading this review and that they will realise that the storyline in the book was way better than the one in the movie.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Release Date:

20 March 2008 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Nyári hőség

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,320,936

Company Credits

Production Co:

RTL Entertainment

Technical Specs

Color:

Color