This film is very well acted by all the main characters. It tells about the life of a very down to earth girl, 11-year-old Polleke. She lives with her single mother, her father is addicted, and she is in love with Mimoun, the Morrocan boy next door, with eyes so dark, they are Africa eyes. He makes her go all "weeble" (wobbly/feeble).
The dialog in this film is it's greatest asset, especially the dry-humorous, sharp comments by Polleke on the behaviour of the adults around her. For example, Pollekes father has just gone through serious drugs withdrawal, the infamous cold turkey. Father: "I feel really clean, I'm gonna be okay, so you can go to grand-mom and granddad if you want to, there are enough people who can look after me ..." Silence. Polleke: "Dad, do you wanna be a worthless jerk for the rest of your life?"
I haven't ever read any of Guus Kuijers books, but I don't remember his other film, Madelief, being this funny or having the sharp life observations. This films deals with drug addiction and ethnic tensions quite adequately without getting preachy or weepy. It's much more positive when it comes to the Romeo and Julia theme of interracial relations than Theo van Goghs _Najib and Julia_, a film which deals with a similar subject. Then again, Van Gogh was both a virulent anti-Semite ánd deeply convicted of the fact that relationships between the Dutch and Morrocans were "fundamentally doomed".
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