A very pretty and well casted film. A fairytale told in high quality regarding its Belgian/Dutch production. Mariken is found as a baby by a monk who is banned from town. The lot of Mariken's questions about life and religion make this an exciting quest. Mariken searches her unknown mother and meets up with fantastic characters of whom some help her and some betray her during her search for answers. A very sweet and pleasant film, especially because of the wonderful casting and careful detail.
6 Reviews
Well done!
OzMan987 April 2004
The name of this movie, Mariken, resembling that of my wife, and the fact it is Dutch spoken made us watch it last night. We were not disappointed. Sure, it is not a fast moving story, but it very much reflects the pace of the era: people were not in the great hurry our society apparently cannot do without. Laurien van den Broeck played her role of Mariken admirably and with gusto - she was a delight to watch and listen to. The unashamed frankness of her questions to and opinions of the adults around her were a real joy and reminded me of my own childhood. Unfortunately, these days such an attitude is often accompanied by lack of respect - there was no trace of that in this movie's script. I'm afraid though that some of the crispness of the dialog was `lost in translation' to English.
Slow...
foxhusky8 May 2002
I'm sorry, but I did not really like this film. It's so very slow, I almost fell asleep. I do like fairy tales and films with castles and knights. But this film a very boring. The main character Mariken (Laurien van den Broeck) is good, her eyes are beautiful. The story is about a little girl in the middle ages. In seven days she learns about the world. The costumes and settings are beautiful. But only the story is is told too slow...
a little gem
fabsmags11 June 2013
A movie that's in my Top 2 of Dutch movies ever. It's funny, wise, layered, creative, playful and the dialog amazingly fluent and refreshing. A feel good movie disguised as a kids' fairytale - especially since its setting is the Middle Ages - but utterly capable of catching the minds and hearts of an adult audience. It illustrates the evolution of the mindset of the Dark Ages into a Humanistic way of thinking with more room for psychological, physical and spiritual autonomy. The cast delivers a solid performance and includes some of the best Dutch speaking actors you can find. A little gem, reminding us of the freedom of thought, speech and imagination that so often gets shackled as one grows "wiser".
Sweet and Humoristic
dj_konnie1 December 2004
This movie s a absolute classic!! Because it contains a complete image of how life was in the time Mariken lived. The cast was really good, the little girl really was a star. The city was really well rebuilt and the DOP did a really good job. The Only thing that bothers me though is that i've seen it 4 years ago and i can't quite remember it. Normally when a movie really impresses me i can remember it for over 5 years. So thats why i didn't gave it a higher grade. The Humor in this movie is of a high level, unlike a few movies where in the only good joke is that the leading character and his dad talk dirty in old English so thats a good point and the director also did Kees de jongen and thats a very good movie as well.
Funny movie for both children and adults
D_vd_B22 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Mariken is a nice film/TV series. It is quite a rich production, sharply shot and with a very thorough art department. The main aiming is towards children, but for an adult the experience of watching it might be entirely different.
There are many layers in this film. At a certain point (minor spoiler) Mariken is forced to choose between two women as their mothers. Except for the joy she experiences when the good mother candidate appears and she shows no doubt, we stay with the lesser mother candidate and see how her heart breaks. No character is pure evil, quite uncommon for children's tales, and even the good ones balance on a thin line.
But this realistic world is seen through the eyes of a child. Some things one might see as logical are a matter of question for her and some horrific incidents are just deeds of dire need for Mariken.
A nice movie with much depth for adult and enjoyment and cheering for children. But in truth, you do not need children to watch this film.
There are many layers in this film. At a certain point (minor spoiler) Mariken is forced to choose between two women as their mothers. Except for the joy she experiences when the good mother candidate appears and she shows no doubt, we stay with the lesser mother candidate and see how her heart breaks. No character is pure evil, quite uncommon for children's tales, and even the good ones balance on a thin line.
But this realistic world is seen through the eyes of a child. Some things one might see as logical are a matter of question for her and some horrific incidents are just deeds of dire need for Mariken.
A nice movie with much depth for adult and enjoyment and cheering for children. But in truth, you do not need children to watch this film.
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