In the Rotterdam harbor an oil tanker explodes. In this post-9/11 era, everybody immediately assumes it's a terrorist's attack. The next morning a young Moroccon and his blond girlfriend are lifted from their bed by the police. The girlfriend gets out of custody soon, thanks to her lawyer-dad, and the long search for her friend and for the truth starts. The movie fits in the current wave of movies about the tensions in the Dutch multi-cultural society. It's a good one in its genre, I think. Good acting, good pace, nice plot (though a bit predictable). In any other genre it would be classified as crafty (at best), but the political and social subject matter makes it interesting. The movie was shot before the murder of Theo van Gogh, which is remarkable because after the murder the general public became aware of terrorist cells, with young Moroccons participating, focusing on Dutch soil. Theo van Gogh, BTW, who earlier that year made a very good movie ("Cool") in the same genre.
2 Reviews
bad film about idea with potential
fayle14 May 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This film is the story of a girl who just moved in with her boyfriend, when a ship explodes in the harbor of Rotterdam. They get arrested and sent to jail. She is Dutch, he is Dutch too, but Muslim as well, and he is accused of being a terrorist. The story goes from there, following her trying to find out what's going on, where he is being held etc.
Main problem of the film is that her perspective is really not that interesting. Add to that the fact that she is not a very good actress. She was obviously chosen for her looks, since the cameraman apparently adores her, but she seems to have but one expression, which really doesn't help the film. (also she is way too skinny although obviously the person in charge of clothing doesn't agree and did his/her best to make her look as skinny as possible).
The script is very unrealistic and unbelievable. The idea itself: when a terrorist attack takes place, the focus will be on Muslims, whether they are guilty or not, could be a powerful starting point for a film. However, the story has holes all over and is never convincing. It also feels like the writer/director needed American (prison, terrorism) situations to make his film interesting, but the movie would've benefited greatly from a more realistic Dutch view - which would've been awful/interesting enough and more realistic and believable at that.
The film actually did have some good and well known Dutch actors in it, but the script must have been uninspiring because even they didn't come off looking good in this film.
So, not worth viewing...
Main problem of the film is that her perspective is really not that interesting. Add to that the fact that she is not a very good actress. She was obviously chosen for her looks, since the cameraman apparently adores her, but she seems to have but one expression, which really doesn't help the film. (also she is way too skinny although obviously the person in charge of clothing doesn't agree and did his/her best to make her look as skinny as possible).
The script is very unrealistic and unbelievable. The idea itself: when a terrorist attack takes place, the focus will be on Muslims, whether they are guilty or not, could be a powerful starting point for a film. However, the story has holes all over and is never convincing. It also feels like the writer/director needed American (prison, terrorism) situations to make his film interesting, but the movie would've benefited greatly from a more realistic Dutch view - which would've been awful/interesting enough and more realistic and believable at that.
The film actually did have some good and well known Dutch actors in it, but the script must have been uninspiring because even they didn't come off looking good in this film.
So, not worth viewing...
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