!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In terms of Dutch mainstream movie-making this is as good as it gets. Writer Kim van Kooten excels in writing scenes. They're witty, no longer than necessary and often ending with a punchline. Structure wise she's slightly less solid, but overall she's definitely one of the best in Holland. The line "To him, it's an escape from reality" caused a roar of laughter when I attended. And there where more. There are a few points though. -In the final scene, how does Jan know that Kees is on his way to meet him? He surely behaves as if he's expecting him. And how does Kees know where to find him? -From one scene to the next suddenly there's snow everywhere. That's fine, but it would've been better if there'd been one shot in which the snow started falling. Dramatically, that could've been useful too. -The film could have used a scene which shows Kiki realizing that Valentijn won't show up on their date. -The group of 50 children cycles in front of a police car, there's even a close of the police officer showing his surprise. Cut to a news reporter saying that the children are missing and the police doesn't have a clue where they are. From the point of visual storytelling, that's inconsistent. -During the emotional reunion of Klaasje and Dennis we don't know if Sarah has left the apartment yet. The tension of the question if she'll suddenly show up during Klaasje's and Dennis' embrace, gets in the way of a full emotional response from the audience. -The snow flakes around Valentijn on his horse are CGI. That's fine, I suppose originally they weren't gonna use show in that scene. But overall, highly enjoyable and well done.
In terms of Dutch mainstream movie-making this is as good as it gets. Writer Kim van Kooten excels in writing scenes. They're witty, no longer than necessary and often ending with a punchline. Structure wise she's slightly less solid, but overall she's definitely one of the best in Holland. The line "To him, it's an escape from reality" caused a roar of laughter when I attended. And there where more. There are a few points though. -In the final scene, how does Jan know that Kees is on his way to meet him? He surely behaves as if he's expecting him. And how does Kees know where to find him? -From one scene to the next suddenly there's snow everywhere. That's fine, but it would've been better if there'd been one shot in which the snow started falling. Dramatically, that could've been useful too. -The film could have used a scene which shows Kiki realizing that Valentijn won't show up on their date. -The group of 50 children cycles in front of a police car, there's even a close of the police officer showing his surprise. Cut to a news reporter saying that the children are missing and the police doesn't have a clue where they are. From the point of visual storytelling, that's inconsistent. -During the emotional reunion of Klaasje and Dennis we don't know if Sarah has left the apartment yet. The tension of the question if she'll suddenly show up during Klaasje's and Dennis' embrace, gets in the way of a full emotional response from the audience. -The snow flakes around Valentijn on his horse are CGI. That's fine, I suppose originally they weren't gonna use show in that scene. But overall, highly enjoyable and well done.