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:

female nudity | dog | nanny | girl in bra | girl in underwear | 

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Taglines:

The perfect cross between Dogtooth and Michael Haneke.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Netherlands Belgium Denmark

Language:

Dutch English

Release Date:

29 August 2013 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Bela

Filming Locations:

Bloemendaal, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Box Office

Budget:

€3,100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,224, 20 June 2014

Gross USA:

$56,474

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

Official submission of the Netherlands to the Oscars 2014 best foreign language film category.

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Goofs

After Camiel Borgman starts the chainsaw to cut down a tree, the chainsaw is clearly not running.

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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

References Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007)

User Reviews

An incredible, surreal, funny allegory for social upheaval

One of the best films of the Philadelphia Film Festival, Borgman is a hilarious, darkly satirical, mysterious, sexy, fascinating, and surreal allegory for social upheaval.

In the beginning, there was armed men looking to kill underground hobos. We will never find out why they want to kill them or why the hobos are underground (or why the hobos have nice cellphones). One of them, Camiel Borgman, escapes and warns his friends. He washes himself at a gas station and begins wandering down an extremely affluent street with the intention of getting a proper bath in one of them, simply by asking at the front door. One house in particular strikes his fancy, and he begins a slow process of worming his way into the household and the lives of everyone who lives there.

But that's when things get REALLY strange.

This film is destined for hopefully a good deal of international attention in the art-house circuit due to its exceptional storytelling, unpredictability and very weird plot.

With the matter-of-fact way it presents absurd goings-on, it reminded me of Dogtooth a little.