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 | 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:

€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

Although never stated in the film, the behavior of Borgman closely resembles that of an "alp", a nightmare demon from German folklore.

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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

Featured in At the Movies: Cannes Film Festival 2013 (2013)

User Reviews

Very well made

This film seemed to come out of nowhere, similar to the way Camille Borgman did. I am a long time fan of the horror/dark drama genre but a new member to IMDb. with that being said, I absolutely loved this film. I loved the darkness to Camille. What was with him living in the ground though? The movie never fell back on that fact nor did it have an explanation for it. I wouldn't say the viewing nature of this film is horror, but the concepts that the film holds are horror. The ideas are extremely dark and the violence is extreme. This is an atmospheric movie that sets quite the mood. It had me thinking about it for a few days after seeing it. It's one of the better movies I've seen this past year