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augustodunensis
Reviews
Die große Stille (2005)
an experience more than a movie
When you're going to see 'Into great Silence', do bear in mind that is is a nearly three hour documentary about a hermit order. Don't expect anything sensational. The life of these monks isn't sensational. It's quiet. It's about small things and a lot of prayer. Furthermore it is a good idea to read up a little, find some information about the Cartusians and their way of life. The film itself will not give much facts and figures about its subject matter - it's an experience more than a film. But when you do have the right frame of mind, an open and patient mind, you're in for something extraordinary.
Although the Cartusians have the reputation of being the most strickt and austere of religious orders, I was pleasantly surprised by the 'lightness' of the film. One one hand there is the silence and the long hours of prayer and labour. One the others hand there's the cats, the cows, the Sunday afternoon conversations and the snowy slopes ideal for sliding down on your bum. Both sides of the monks life are being presented with pleasant serenity.
These men are happy, you can tell. And I was happy when I left the cinema these afternoon.
Theo en Thea en de ontmaskering van het tenenkaasimperium (1989)
A beginners course in being Dutch
Theo and Thea are the very incarnations of typical Dutch humor. They started as two 'children' that commented on daily life and children's issues at their weekly show on TV. Later on, Arjan Ederveen and Tosca Niterink included several other characters in the show,like Ans Aarsema and Bea Hoffman. Their last Theo & Thea project was a movie, starring nearly all of their characters.
For an international audience it is hard to explain what makes this movie so brilliant. The story is extremely silly, the budget is probably zero, the scenery is operetta kitsch, the performance of the actors is over the top and yet I thought I was going to die with laughter the first time I saw it in the theater, as did the rest of the audience. My sister and I still quote this movie, seventeen years later.
The best scene is the one in the jazz-café in which our two heroes have to ensnare Marco Bakker to play the role of handsome prince in their film version of Snow White. Marco Bakker is an national operetta celebrity and the last person whom you would expect to see in this kind of movie. Their hilarious jazz version of 'slaap kindje slaap'(a lullaby)in the blue haze of the pipe smoking jazz audience is legendary. Also their trip to Austria with a very shabby and overcrowded trailer behind Bakker's sports car, while singing 400 couplets of 'een potje met vet' is unforgettable.
Still, you probably need to be Dutch (or Dutch-minded) and around 30 years of age (which would mean you grew up with the Theo & Thea TV show) to fully appreciate the movie. For the non-Dutch who have an interest in the Dutch psyche, this is excellent study material. Enjoy it.
Ja zuster, nee zuster (2002)
Annie M.G. Schmidt and the art of film making
'Yes sister, no sister' as well as 'Minoes' are film adaptations of books and plays by Annie M.G. Schmidt. She is to the Dutch what Astrid Lindgren is to the Swedish. Both 'yes sister' and 'Minoes' have really touched the atmosphere in Schmidts books. You have read them when you were young and life was good and simple, and so are the movies.
'Yes sister' was also a very famous show in the 1960's. Most of the Dutch of that generation know the songs by heart, while other songs like 'mijn opa' (My grandfather! No one like him in all of Europe!) belong to our national song culture. It's not just the actors that start singing in the movie, is is the audience as well.
Loes Luca, the leading actress in 'Yes sister' is the perfect choice to play the role of sister Klivia. She is from the city of Rotterdam and still has the Rotterdam accent. She's sharp, bossy, witty, weird and has a very personal charm about her. The other characters in 'yes sister' are also perfectly casted. Watching this movie is seeing some of the best actors we have in the Netherlands: Arjan Ederveen, Paul de Leeuw, Olga Zuiderhoek, Paul Kooij and others.