nigiweij Reviews

Bestseller Boy (2022– )

Wonderful!

[8/10 · 27 January 2023]

Wandering through Momo's dream world was a great pleasure. This smart series is a great example for others. The plot is intelligently structured. The series' dialogue is witty, and its script is hilarious. All actors are splendid. The confident Momo and Eveline are amazing, and all side characters are remarkable as well, ranging from the disillusioned Flemish writer to the chain smoking publisher. Momo's language use is highly entertaining. And lastly, all this is also well-filmed and -edited, and shot at stunning locations.

Although I primarily watched the series for my amusement, it furthermore provided frank perspectives on culture clashes between those who live where they were born, those who built up an existence elsewhere, and those caught up in the middle. And on people who decide to become a different person. As a viewer, you are invited to think about these matters.

In short: highly recommended!

Khrustalyov, My Car! (1998)

Enchanting

[8/10 · 18 April 2022]

Aleksey German invites you on a journey through the madness of Stalinist Moscow. Not only is the story a journey with unexpected turns, also the cinematography evokes this sense of adventure; long shots, the camera following the footsteps of the protagonist, people wandering through the line of sight. With its incredible detailedness, a true living world emerges. A delight to watch with its rich visual languge, albeit intensive to stay focussed for 2h27m.

German chose a similar style for his equally masterful Hard to be a God (2013), which enters the realm of sci-fi and historical pictures, or Gaspar Noe's virtuoso Enter the Void (2009).

With its critical approach to the Stalinist period, German realised this film exactly at the right moment (1998): in the Soviet age, the film would have been censored, and in the Putin age Stalin was placed back on his pedestal, banning the hilarious British comedy Death of Stalin (2017), a film which through a different strategy aims to similarly show the remarkable climate of the last days of Stalin. What these two films have in common is the wish to reconstruct the absurdity and arbitrariness which governed human lives at that point, served with a dose of irony and black humour.

The Cool Lakes of Death (1982)

Poetic passion

[8/10 · 3 February 2022]

I was really surprised to see this film had so many negative user reviews.

The Dutch are not particularly proud of their national cinema. If you'd ask a random Dutch person on the streets about his/her opinion about the country's films, the answer would probably be that only cheesy romcoms are produced there. Yet who is more familiar with Dutch cinema, knows this is nonsense. Among the wonderful Dutch directors are Paul Verhoeven, George Sluizer, Alex van Warmerdam, Bert Haanstra, Nanouk Leopold, and Marleen Gorris.

Also Nouchka van Brakel deserves more appreciation for her oeuvre, as it is surprising and sophisticated. She was the first female film director active in the Netherlands. The Cool Lakes of Death can be considered one of her finest.

The Cool Lakes of Death is a great film. It is based on a book from 1900 by the famous literary writer Frederik van Eeden, who was part of the naturalism movement which highly valued psychoanalysis.

It is a period drama set in the 19th-century Dutch upper class climate, yet its story has not become old. For this reason, both the film and the book have kept their quality.

This poetic and smartly edited film deals with female desire. Adolescence and passion clash with a restrained and protestant upbringing. Love and death chase each other. All these conflicting emotions are convincingly displayed in the performance of lead actress Renée Soutendijk. The scenery of the story at the start is the typicly flat and watery Dutch landscape, fields and forests, dunes and sea, and later the English countryside and Paris. Yet clarity gradually give way to the fogginess of a fever dream during this search for love and happiness.

It could be compared in its themes to Buñuel's Belle de jour, but then different in its formal and stylistic choices. Mubi called it a marriage between James Ivory and Lars von Trier. Certainly not boring, don't hesitate to give this film a chance!

Towers of Silence (1975)

Surrealist film about the Zoroastrian religion

[8/10 · 14 July 2021]

Jamil Dehlavi is a fascinating filmmaker, controversial in his home country Pakistan. My first encounter with him was his film about Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was played by the legendary Sir Christopher Lee. This film, Tower of Silence (1975), is his first feature film, which he also wrote, produced and directed. It is a highly mysterious film of c. 50 minutes, which will leave you in awe.

The elegant black and white cinematography keeps you hooked for its entire duration. Scenes set in the present and past are interwoven, making you question their coherence. The images are haunting, grotesque and surrealistic, but at times also tender. It shows some of the enigmatic aspects of the religion of the Zoroastrians.

Animals have a particular role, as independently coexisting beside human beings. There are ants in the toilet, and vultures eating human flesh. Together with its surrealistic atmosphere, it reminded me of Luis Buñuel's and Salvador Dalí's Un chien Andalou (1929), or the cruelties in Alejandro Jodorowsky's films.

This movie deserves a reappreciation!

Sin (2019)

Michelangelo as (art) historians know him

[8/10 · 28 June 2021]

I found watching Il Peccato / Sin (2019) a delight!

Some user reviews of this film express their disappointment in the fact that you don't see the great master in action, working on marble or drawing. But I see that differently. Being trained as an art historian, I recognized the events and characteristics of Michelangelo shown in this film from the historical documents that have survived from that time. Having spent a significant amount of time studying the subject before making the film, I believe Konchalovskiy in particular closely read Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1550/1568), a contemporary collection of biographies of Renaissance artists (in the case of Michelangelo, Vasari knew him personally), as the major themes in the film correspond with Vasari's account of this episode in Michelangelo's long life.

Echoing his early masterpiece Andrey Roublev (1966), which he made together with Andrei Tarkovsky, Il Peccato shows how artists are subjects of the time they live in, dependent on power structures and turbulences in violence and prosperity. The film gives a good insight in Michelangelo's social interactions with his family, rivalling artists, and patrons. Moreover, the cinematography is impressive, and the largely unprofessional acting crew performed overall very strong. A great addition to the genre of movies about artists, much more nuanced and intelligent than the classic The Agony and the Ectasy (1965). Hopefully, Michelangelo's rival Leonardo da Vinci will get a biopic of comparable quality soon!

Long Day's Journey Into Night (2018)

Mind-blowing!

[9/10 · 8 May 2021]

I can't recommend this movie enough to any arthouse cinema lover, particularly those who enjoy long, elegant shots and world cinema. It is hard to explain what this movie is about in terms of plot, but it is such a mind-blowing experience to watch that it doesn't matter that one can't find the logic or language to 'connect all dots'. I recognise elements of cinema legends such as Andrei Tarkovsky and Wong-Kar Wai, but also the astonishing emotion I'm left with after watching a good Black Mirror episode. At the same time, the film feels infinitely refreshing. Bi Gan is a true genius, and I'm curious to see what other projects he will realise in the future!

Buladó (2020)

A wonderful film

[8/10 · 8 October 2020]

This Netherlands Antilles/Dutch picture is absolutely stunning, and I will certainly keep a vivid memory of it. The three lead actors - playing a young girl, her father, and her grandfather - all give strong performances, and the cinematography makes the image of this film's events, and the landscape of Curaçao, last.

Buladó is about opposites. Between movement and structure. Between realism and magic. Between pragmatism and idealism. Between the recent globalization and ancient local traditions. But, ultimately, it is the love for each other that unites the family, winning over grief.

Don't miss this one!

La balsa de piedra (2002)

Worthy adaption of Saramago

[8/10 · 30 September 2020]

To be fair, at first I was rather hesitant to watch this movie because of the ambivalent ratings on IMDB. However, as I worked through the entire oeuvre of director George Sluizer, this was the one I saved until last.

Sluizer is an amazing director, who was, unfortunately, largely misunderstood during his own lifetime in his home country, The Netherlands, and mostly ignored by critics. Probably partly due of this, but I think mostly because of his great enthusiasm for travelling, he made many wonderful movies all over the world, including Brazil, the Middle East, and several European countries. It takes a lot of courage to direct movies in six different languages, but Sluizer succeeded masterfully. This is also the case for this film, which is situated on the Iberian peninsula and includes Spanish and Portuguese dialogue. In a sense, Sluizer thus is not a distinctive Dutch director, but an artist with a universal scope.

Now, I am very happy to have saved The Stone Raft for so long, as I am able to finish my series with a very strong film. The Stone Raft smartly blends magical realism with political satire and heartfelt emotions. Furthermore, the members of the 'fellowship' travelling around the peninsula - containing out of three men, two women, and a dog - are portrayed by good actors. Maybe, this film might not be your favourite genre, or you might find it slightly slow, yet a true film lover should be able to recognise its quality.

Although I have never read Jose Saramago's novel The Stone Raft (A Jangada de Pedra), I did read his most famous one, Blindness (Ensaio sobre a cegueira), and with this knowledge I recognised a lot of elements of his typical writing style. Therefore, in my eyes it is a worthy adaption of the Noble Prize winning author's writings.

Homeland (2011)

A touching conclusion of a life's work

[8/10 · 28 September 2020]

Homeland is the fourth and final part of George Sluizer's documentary series on Palestine and the Palestinian people. Following the same two families as the previous films - made in 1974-1975, 1977, and 1983 - Sluizer built up a very special and warm relationship with them over the decades. After recovering from a severe illness, Sluizer wished to return once more to give a final update on their turbulent lives and the situation in Jerusalem.

Feeling that the Palestinian people were solely depicted as terrorists in popular media, Sluizer aimed to humanise the Palestinians, by sharing their stories. For Homeland, Sluizer meets up with his old friends again, and listens to their experiences. In all four films, the question what you expect from the future is a recurrent one. As many Palestinians feel themselves as exiles, this question addresses a significant source of uncertainty in their lives. New in this documentary is that Sluizer also interviews Israeli people and asks them for their motivations to drive out the Palestinians from their homes.

This documentary series is quintessential to the Dutchman's oeuvre; its provides new perspectives on a relevant topic, and it is thoroughly human and adventurous. Homeland can both be viewed as final part of the series, but as it incorporates material from the previous documentaries, it can also be watched separately.

Vitalina Varela (2019)

Spellbinding

[8/10 · 22 July 2020]

A poignant story in an extraordinary setting, shown in a poetic, serene way.

Gorgeous cinematography, shot in a clair-obscur style which highlights certain distinct colours from the darkness (at times reminiscent of old masters's paintings, such as the work of Caravaggio or Rembrandt).

Strong, pure acting by the lead actors - Vitalina Varela and Ventura.

Pedro Costa tells his story slowly, but intelligently. Instead of presenting the plot outline on a silver platter, he challenges the viewer to discover this for himself. Costa's style of story-telling reminds me of Bela Tarr's films; both prefer the visual language over the spoken one.

This film is not very accessible, and requires full attention. But it will prove to be very rewarding in the end.

George Sluizer - Filmen over grenzen (2006)

A wonderful introduction to George Sluizer

[8/10 · 10 July 2020]

This documentary is a wonderful introduction to the oeuvre of the enigmatic, versatile Dutch filmmaker George Sluizer. Discussing his most important films (including Joâo and the Knife (1972), The Vanishing (1988), and Dark Blood (1993/2012)), Sluizer himself, his actors and supporting crew talk about the uniqueness and importance of Sluizer's films. Through highly personal questions, the viewer gets to understand Sluizer's motivations and values in filmmaking better.

John, the Knife and the River (1972)

An amazing directorial debut

[8/10 · 10 July 2020]

This directorial debut by George Sluizer is a major artistic achievement! The setting in the picturesque landscape of Brazil is amazing, and the cinematography by the wonderful Jan de Bont is magnificent. The story is sophisticated, and the acting is generally good. Also, the soundtrack is notable, which is unfortunately not easy to find on cd or online.

According to lead actress Anna Miranda, Sluizer was very sensible to Brazilian culture and understood its mysteries. For the foreign viewer, Sluizer offers a unique view in this beautiful world.

It is understandable that, having seen this film, Werner Herzog decided to hire Sluizer as his production manager for the film Fitzcarraldo (1982).

A highly recommended, hidden gem!

The Staggering Girl (2019)

A tour de force of elegance

[8/10 · 16 February 2020]

'The Staggering Girl' brings together a group of creative geniuses. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, a filmmaker whose work can both satisfy lovers of art house and popular films, the film stars in the lead roles Julianne Moore, Marthe Keller, KiKi Layne and Kyle MacLachlan, impeccably dressed in Valentino garments, with a film score by the legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto.

In short, the film is about an Italian-American writer working on her autobiography and rethinking her life, who has to move back to Rome to take care of her mother. The structure of the film is complex, with a thin line between reality, flashbacks and fantasies.

Instead of occupying yourself with a minute understanding of the film's plot, I would rather advise the viewer to sit back for 35 minutes and enjoy the extreme visual refinement, in (among others) the camera work, dresses, and the picturesque Italian landscape, in combination with the spellbinding soundtrack. The last scene left me with a sheer feeling of joy and fulfilment.