Paul Verhoeven is back! At least, that’s what he said in an interview on Dutch talkshow Zomergasten, when he revealed that his next project will be movie titled The Hidden Force, based on the novel by Louis Couperus.
Director added that the story is about “rebellion against colonial rule, the emergence of fundamentalist Islam, the behavior between people, adultery and psychic powers. It is a story about things that we do not understand but it does happen.”
Or, if you prefer, more detailed The Hidden Force synopsis:
“In The Hidden Force the decline and fall of the Dutch resident Van Oudyck is caused by his inability to see further than his own Western rationalism. He is blind and deaf to the slumbering powers of the East Indian people and countryside.
The black magic, bird calls, vegetation, heat and the mysterious, hostile attitude of their Javanese subjects prove stronger than...
Director added that the story is about “rebellion against colonial rule, the emergence of fundamentalist Islam, the behavior between people, adultery and psychic powers. It is a story about things that we do not understand but it does happen.”
Or, if you prefer, more detailed The Hidden Force synopsis:
“In The Hidden Force the decline and fall of the Dutch resident Van Oudyck is caused by his inability to see further than his own Western rationalism. He is blind and deaf to the slumbering powers of the East Indian people and countryside.
The black magic, bird calls, vegetation, heat and the mysterious, hostile attitude of their Javanese subjects prove stronger than...
- 8/24/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
Speaking with Dutch talk show Zomergasten via Slashfilm, "Total Recall" and "Showgirls" director Paul Verhoeven revealed that his next project will be a film adaptation of Louis Couperus' anti-colonialism novel "The Hidden Force" penned back in 1900.
Set in Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) fifty years before the collapse of the Dutch colonial empire, the story follows an official named Van Oudyck and his disastrous attempts to impose Western rationalism and codes of behaviour to the Javanese culture which is steeped in the mystical and irrational.
Verhoeven adds that it's about "rebellion against colonial rule, the emergence of fundamentalist Islam, the behavior between people, adultery and psychic powers." He and Gerard Soeteman co-wrote the script adaptation and the film will be shot in Dutch rather than English. The project marks his first film since 2006's "Black Book".
Set in Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) fifty years before the collapse of the Dutch colonial empire, the story follows an official named Van Oudyck and his disastrous attempts to impose Western rationalism and codes of behaviour to the Javanese culture which is steeped in the mystical and irrational.
Verhoeven adds that it's about "rebellion against colonial rule, the emergence of fundamentalist Islam, the behavior between people, adultery and psychic powers." He and Gerard Soeteman co-wrote the script adaptation and the film will be shot in Dutch rather than English. The project marks his first film since 2006's "Black Book".
- 8/24/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
He's been off-radar since 2006's excellent Black Book, but an interview on Dutch talkshow Zomergasten has seen Paul Verhoeven reveal that his next intended project is The Hidden Force, based on the novel by Louis Couperus.Couperus, dubbed the Dutch Joseph Conrad by more than one reviewer, wrote The Hidden Force in 1900. It's set fifty years before the collapse of the Dutch colonial empire, and involves the disastrous attempts of an official in the East Indies (now Indonesia) to impose Western mores on the fractious "natives". Verhoeven says it's about "rebellion against colonial rule, the emergence of fundamentalist Islam, the behavior between people, adultery and psychic powers."So a classic Dutch novel (adapted once before for Dutch TV), rooted in Dutch history... It's safe to say this is not Verhoeven's return to Hollywood, which he left in FX-fatigued dudgeon after Hollow Man in 2000. Black Book seemed to be a serious re-charging of his batteries,...
- 8/24/2010
- EmpireOnline
It's been about four years since director Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop, Starship Troopers) directed anything. His last film was the WWII drama Black Book in 2006, but the filmmaker recently revealed his next project (via SlashFilm) on the Dutch television show "Zomergasten" (or "Summer Guest"). The project comes from Black Book screenwriter Gerard Soeteman, and is essentially an adaptation of Louis Couperus' 1900 Dutch novel De stille kracht, or The Hidden Force. Rougly translated, Verhoeven says the story follows rebellion against colonial rule, the emergence of fundamentalist Islam, adultery and even psychic powers. Whoa! If you're looking for a little more than bullet points on the story, here's the synopsis from the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature: In 'The Hidden Force' the decline and fall of the Dutch resident Van Oudyck is caused by his inability to see further than his own Western rationalism. He is blind ...
- 8/23/2010
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop, Total Recall) has been off the grid for about four years now, with his last film, the widely acclaimed Dutch war drama/thriller Black Book, marking his only return to the director's chair since he departed the Hollywood scene a decade ago (after the release of Hollow Man). Good news for Verhoeven fans: He's back at it again, and his next film sounds like a trip. He announced the project on the Dutch television show Zomergasten ("Summer Guests"). The scenario for the film comes from Verhoeven's frequent Dutch writing collaborator Gerard Soeteman (who last worked with him on Black Book), but its basis is the Louis Couperus-written Dutch novel De stille kracht, or as its known in English: The Hidden Force. It has also been referred to as The Silent Force or The Silent Power. I've included a summary of the book below, but why synopsize...
- 8/23/2010
- by Adam Quigley
- Slash Film
Paul Verhoeven has been off the radar for so long now, you might not even recognize his name, but the director of Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers is back with a new project, and it sounds like a trip. Verhoeven revealed on a Dutch TV show Zomergasten that he was working with writer Gerard Soeteman to adapt the novel The Hidden Force by Dutch novelist Louis Couperus. What's it all about? Uhh... “[The movie is about] rebellion against colonial rule, the emergence of...
- 8/23/2010
- by Paul Tassi
- JoBlo.com
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