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Top 10 Finest Dutch Movies of
All Time (Part 3)
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1) Wildschut ( aka. 'Stronghold' ) ( Bobby Eerhart,
1985 )
Cast: Hidde Maas (Jim), Jack Monkau
(Charlie)
Annick Christiaens (stepdaughter Lisa)
Josse de Pauw (Deleye),
Chris Lomme (Sybil)
Marc van Eeghem (son Hugo)
Bert Onraedt (baby Ruben)
Werther van der Sarren (police chief Dalsum)
Hans De Munter (lieutenant Hansen)
Dries Wieme (Klipsteen)
Annick Segal (Mrs. Dalsum)
Mark Peeters
(car thief)
Ronny Waterschoot (cavalry captain)
Roger Meusen (corporal)
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Dutch DVD Edition
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The beginning
When producer Henk Bos was looking for more
action in his movies he came across the inexperienced Bobby Eerhart who only
had produced some commercials and a short movie (7 min.) called 'De Grens'
(1979) ('Cross-over') but who had been a regular makeup artist on many
filmsets. Bos had already approached Felix Thijssen who wrote the screenplay
for the film based on his own crime novel Wildschut. Due to the
specific location where the film takes place it lent itself perfectly for a
co-production with Belgium.
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First edition novel "Wildschut" (1980)
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Second edition (1985)
(with Hidde Maas on the cover)
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Irritation
In an interview Eerhart once told he admired
Paul Verhoeven (with whom he had worked on Turkish Delight) and was not
impressed by his colleagues.
He said:"I really wanted to make a movie, I
envisioned to draw full houses. What irritates me about the Dutch film in
general is that they are so slowly paced. They often have a wonderful story
but I go crazy due to their slowness and because they are so poorly staged.
And all that bullshitting about the brilliant lighting. Well, I don't give a
damn. I am just bored".
Story
The > film
Wildschut tells the story of two Dutch gangsters
Jim > ( Hidde Maas
) and
Charlie (Jack Monkau), one white, one black and wounded, who are on the run,
after an armed robbery on a casino, with their loot. They move to Flanders,
choose a remote farm called Wildschut as their hideaway and take hostage their
residents. To take care of Charlie's bullet wound they stay in the room of
Lisa (Annick Christiaens), the stepdaughter of the family, while keeping her
baby Ruben hostage. Meanwhile the local police chief Dalsum (Werther van der
Sarren) has been informed about the wanted robbers and has his suspicions
about Wildschut as their possible hide-out.
Besides the visits of Dalsum the tension
increases also because Wildschut is located on a military training area with
the soldiers exercising in their backyard. Due to the troubled family
relationships, father Deleye (Josse de Pauw), a bold poacher, appears to be
the begetter of Lisa's child, who has withdrawn into her own fantasy world
ever since, the gangster duo brings a hornet's nest about their ears. The
curiosity of son Hugo (Marc van Eeghem) towards their loot preludes the
violent climax.
Hidde Maas
To make it into a fast-paced film screenwriter
Thijssen made several significant chances to the plotline and characters in
his novel.
For instance, in the book there were three robbers, with one of
them commiting suicide. In the novel the robbery plays a part which was
excluded in the film and also has a less fatalistic ending.
Originally all the characters had an equal role
in the screenplay. It was decided during the editing of the film that Hidde
Maas's gangster Jim had to be the main character. And it is Maas's charismatic
performance that stands out. His presence as the sadistic menace Jim who
displays an indefatigable reign of terror on the family Deleye steals the
film. After the film Wildschut, Hidde Maas was often typecasted as the
vicious hoodlum with the cold eyes.
The film's initial ending was changed after the
seasoned Israelian film producer/director and co-producer (with Bos) of Field
of Honor (1987) Menahan Golan commented: "It is a good movie, but the
nigger should die".
Critics
Because director Eerhart claimed no moral
excuses for the depicted violence, a lot of critics blamed him for this
gratuitous approach.
The tone was sometimes extraordinarily grim. Film critic
Peter van Bueren of the newspaper de Volkskrant wrote that the film
Wildschut had a reprehensable starting point: "Beating, raping,
killing: only as a pastime. There is no reason to be proud of that".
Underrated
Unfortunately Wildschut flopped at the
Dutch box-office despite its modest budget (approx. US$ 1.5M). That the film
is highly underrated and undervalued can be noticed in the inferior Dutch DVD
edition which is presented in pan & scan and with poor image and sound
quality. This edition is in strident contrast with the nicely restored Belgian
edition from De Vlaamse Film Collectie (see below!).
Although the film Wildschut was not
judged by its true merits at the time nowadays there's an increasing
revaluation. And rightly so, besides the fast-paced editing, superb
cinematography, great performances (particularly by de Pauw as the vindictive
poacher and Van der Sarren as the suspicious, John Wayne look-a-like, village
sherrif Dalsum) the film is crammed with tongue-in-cheek, witty dialogues. A
rare case of a Dutch movie that can compete with the best American B-movies.
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The superior Belgian DVD Edition
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Click here for more
>
Top 10 Film Lists
Other recommandable Dutch
movies (in alphabetical order):
Anything by the director Alex van Warmerdam...The
Dutch Aki Kaurismaki !
De Aanslag (aka. 'The Assault')
(Fons Rademakers, 1986)...Oscar winning war drama !
Als Twee Druppels Water (aka.'The
Dark Room of Damocles') (Fons Rademakers,
1963)...Beautifully photographed psycho-drama !
AmnesiA (Martin
Koolhoven, 2001)...Well acted surreal drama !
Amsterdamned (Dick
Maas, 1988)...Entertaining slasherflick !
De Avonden (aka. 'Evenings')
(Rudolf van den Berg, 1989)...Enjoyable adaptation of Gerard Reve's literary
masterpiece !
Ciske de Rat (aka. 'Ciske
the Rat') (Guido Pieters, 1984)...Successfull period
piece !
Cloaca
(Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen, 2003)...Intelligent black comedy on relations
!
Drift (aka. 'Adrift')
(Michiel van Jaarsveld, 2001)...Provoking drama !
Flesh + Blood
(Paul Verhoeven, 1985)...Verhoeven's raw swashbuckler film !
Flodder (aka. 'The Flodders')
(Dick Maas, 1986)...Amusing comedy about a
proletarian family !
Gebroken Spiegels (aka.
'Broken Mirrors') (Marleen Gorris,
1984)...Thought-provoking psychological thriller !
Grijpstra & De Gier
(aka. 'Fatal Error') (Wim Verstappen,
1979)...Entertaining police flick with Rutger Hauer and Rijk de Gooijer !
De Inbreker (aka. 'The
Burglar') (Frans Weisz, 1972)...Rijk de Gooijer is
good as the slick criminal 'Glimmie' !
Lek (aka. 'Amsterdam Blue')
(Jean van de Velde, 2000)...Good police thriller !
De Lift (aka. 'The
Elevator') (Dick Maas, 1983)...Suspenseful horror
with a murderous elevator !
Mama is Boos! (aka. 'Hitting
the Fan!) (Ruud van Hemert, 1986)...Successful
follow-up to Schatjes !
Max Havelaar
(Fons Rademakers, 1976)...Realistic account of Dutch colonial culture !
Paradise Now
(Hany Abu-Assad, 2005)...Daring film on a complex subject !
Paranoia (Adriaan
Ditvoorst, 1967)...Adaptation of a W.F. Herman's novella by the Dutch Pasolini
!
De Poolse Bruid (aka. 'The
Polish Bride') (Karim Traïdia, 1998)...Intelligent
drama !
Suzy Q
(Martin Koolhoven, 1999)...Carice van Houten's breakthrough !
Het Teken van het Beest
(aka. 'The Mark of the Beast') (Pieter Verhoeff,
1980) ...Pleasing drama with a good Gerard Thoolen !
Turks Fruit (aka. 'Turkish
Delight') (Paul Verhoeven, 1973)...Verhoeven's
breakthrough in the Netherlands !
Van God Los (aka.
'Godforsaken') (Pieter Kuijpers, 2003)...Convincing
crime drama !
De Vierde Man (aka. 'The
Fourth Man') (Paul Verhoeven, 1983)...Suspenseful
mystery with surrealistic undertones !
Wan Pipel
(Pim de la Parra, 1976)...First feature film from Surinam !
Wilde Mossels (aka. 'Wild
Mussels') (Erik de Bruyn, 2000)...Well made
adolescent drama !
Zusje (aka. 'Little Sister')
(Robert Jan Westdijk, 1995)...Highly original tragicomedy !
Zwartboek (aka. 'Blackbook')
(Paul Verhoeven, 2006)...Verhoeven's successful return to the Netherlands and
war drama !
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