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Het woeden der gehele wereld (2006) Directed by Guido Pieters

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 5:48 PM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , , ,



(Review originally written at 4 May 2009)

It's hard to say what it is exactly what makes "Het woeden der gehele wereld" such a complete failure, due to the fact that it does so very many different things wrong.

The Dutch movie industry has quite a good reputation when it comes down to WW II productions. They never are really big or spectacular but always more humble and realistic with its story and emotions. Basically this movie also had everything in it to become just like any other good Dutch WW II-production. Yet the execution of it all is terribly lacking, in basically every department.

The story is based on a novel written by Maarten 't Hart. It feels as if they went through the book page by page and said lets shoot this page, let's forget about that one, lets shoot this one as well and skip that one! There really isn't a good flow to the story and the sequences just really don't blend in well with each other. The movie is filled with lots of loose sequences and it overall makes the movie feel very disjointed. Because of this you just really don't care about the story or whatever happens in it and the movie even tends to get a bit ridicules to watch at times due to this.

The movie also really feels like a rush job. Who knows, had they had given this movie and crew a few extra months, this movie might had perhaps been a much better one to watch. Guess they had to work with a tight schedule though due to the already quite high budget, for Dutch movie standards. The acting, the story, the directing, the post-production all feels terribly lacking because of this.

The movie also really features some horrible dialog, that often is being unintentionally funny. Not sure what they tried to achieve with it. Perhaps they thought that the old fashioned way of speech would provide the movie with a more authentic feeling? The actors also really don't seem to know how to handle it at times.

The movie is filled with some big name Dutch actors, also often in quite small roles but none of them really impress in the movie, with the exception perhaps of Frank Lammers and Joost Prinsen, who are a surprisingly good and fun cop-duo. I wish they had more moments together, for the truly uplifted the movie a bit when they entered the screen.

The overall production is just very poor. Sure, it's all quite acceptable enough looking in terms of its historic setting and costumes but the directing makes this movie just such a mess to watch. The production is really poor not just in terms of its directing but also with its editing, sound and musical score just to mention a few things. The music really doesn't seem to fit the movie its sequences and it seems to me like the musical score got completed before the movie even finished shooting. It just doesn't ever go together very well, which again, makes this movie really look and feel like a rushed done one.

A complete failure, at basically every department.

3/10

Simon (2004) Directed by Eddy Terstall

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 2:39 PM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , , ,

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(Review originally written at 4 October 2008)

This movie features all kinds of controversial subjects, such as homosexual themed elements, euthanasia, soft drugs and basically everything in between. The movie feels like a random slice of life however and it doesn't try to preach with its controversial themes or be a clear tearjerker. It's a very humane and realistic made movie and that is what makes "Simon" such an effective and great one.
All sequences within the movie are actually quite short and you often have the feeling that some, if not all of the sequences could had been twice as long since there is so much to tell, also since the movie features so many characters, perspectives and and small subplots. Any other movie would had been twice as long, since it also would had been more consistent with the usual style of film-making and storytelling but "Simon" picks an approach of its own. I really liked this movie its approach from director/writer Eddy Terstall. It doesn't stick to a time-line that moves from A to Z but instead it often more skips a few letters and also jumps back a few from time to time. It isn't a movie that explains everything and things just happen as they do within this movie, just like in real life.
For a movie about such heavy and serious subjects, "Simon" is for sure a movie that picks a surprisingly light approach of it all. It's a movie that is not without its comedy and humor and this is foremost the reason why "Simon" is such a great movie to watch and helps to make it an effective one as well.
The movie of course is also being made great and realistic by its natural acting performances. Cees Geel plays a great, strong and unique character with slowly declining health. He's getting more and more sick as the movie progresses and it is done in a very realistic looking way. Most of the actors also seem to be improvising a lot during filming I don't no whether or not this was the case but it all feels very natural. I especially like the way Rifka Lodeizen handles this. Also Marcel Hensema in a big and important role (perhaps he can be seen just as much as the movie its main character as Cees Geel can) is really good in the movie.
Even though the movie handles delicate and tough subjects you don't ever have the feeling you're watching a tough and heavy movie. The movie features homosexuals, a sick person and many anti-social characters but yet you don't feel as if it are purely homosexuals, a sick person and anti-social characters you are watching. They foremost feel like real persons, with real emotions and other strong characteristics of their own. Because of this this, no matter how you think and feel about homosexuals and/or euthanasia, you will be grabbed and touched by this movie.
8/10


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Vet hard (2005) Directed by Tim Oliehoek

Posted by: Frank Veenstra Posted date: 3:24 AM / comment : 0 , , , , , , , , ,





(Review originally written at 18 July 2006)

This movie is really a breath of fresh. After watching almost nothing else but heavy Dutch period drama's, drama's in particular and war productions, there finally now is a simple, spectacular and entertaining Dutch movie, in the form of "Vet Hard".

The humor in this movie is cruel and violent. Though it's far from subtle all, it still makes you laugh. To be honest, I think you have to be Dutch to fully understand and appreciate the humor of the movie. The movie however does goes a bit too far at times, even for my taste. I mean having one of the main characters being a necrophiliac serial killer just is not my idea of good taste and quality of humor.

The story is simple and almost non-existent. It's just a pile up of gangster movie clichés and over-the-top comical situations. You clearly shouldn't take this movie serious and watch it for what it is. This movie is a real no-brainer that certainly does entertain and give you a good 88 minutes.

As simple as the movie may be, the quality of it is certainly good. The movie is directed with lots of feeling for pace and handles the characters nicely as well. The action sequences are definitely the best elements of the movie. They are superbly choreographed and even brought better to the screen, also with the help of some excellent editing. It makes it obvious that Tom Oliehoek is a great new young action-movie director, who perhaps already is too big for the Netherlands. Of course the quality and size of it all doesn't hold a candle to an average overdone Hollywood blockbuster production. But this has nothing to do with the directing qualities and talent of Tim Oliehoek but more with the low budget, though for Dutch standards this still was a very expensive movie. At least the movie is no 'Hollywood wannabe'. It has quality and style of its own and it gives the movie its very own unique identity.

The acting to be honest surpassed expectations. You normally wouldn't expect quality acting in an action/comedy like this but his movie has some good actors in it, who all did a good job. Jack Wouterse normally doesn't play main characters and in some movies his role is even no more than just a bit part. I already liked him very much as an actor before this movie but I like him even more now. He shows that he can handle bigger roles and that he is capable of carrying an entire movie for most part on his own. Other fine Dutch and Belgian actors also portray some fine other roles. So, Tim Oliehoek is not just a great action director but also one fine actors director. Only thing is that the movie has a bit too many characters with as a result that not every characters works out as fine or comical as the other. The movie is also filled with lots of cameos of famous Dutch celebrities. I was afraid this was going to get an overkill of it but the did a good job at keeping it to a minimum and till a point were it doesn't get ridicules or distracting from the story.

The fact that I rate this movie only a 6 has nothing to do with its entertainment value. It's just as entertaining as some other movies which I rated a 8 in the past, it's just of lesser quality all. But seeing the circumstances (only 40 days of shooting, for many complicated action sequences included, a €3,700,000 budget.) you have to give credit to this movie and its entire cast & crew.

6/10

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