Liebe in Suriname

I Rewatched this gem today for the second time and the film I felt that it has lost none of its impact. An interesting film from on the politics, multiculturalism, religious faith, love. Stylistically, the film is partly reminiscent of Eric Rohmer and some classic Indian films. I remember discovering Pim de la Parra while checking out the screenplays of Martin Scorsese many years back. There is this arthouse exploitation movie Obsessions (1969) in which Scorsese partly contributed to the writing, featuring soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann. That was my first introduction to Surinamese-Dutch filmmaker Pim de la Parra, and I started checking out his catalogue and wanted to see more. It wasn't surprising that he co-produced Blue Movie (1971) and founded Scorpio Films together with Wim Verstappen. After a string of arthouse exploitation movies including the erotic films he produced with Wim Verstappen, Pim de la Parra shocked me with One People (1976), for me it was his most compelling film and will definitely divide audiences. For some this is also an ethnographic film, maybe but there is more to it. The movie manages to give an exact image of multiculturalism, religious clashes, neocolonialism and there is plenty of attention to these elements that, to my taste are typical of the Third world.

Coming from India, I have seen so many films with the same theme, 90% of them are over-dramatized and very few have succeeded in getting it right in portraying the conflicts rooted with local sensibilities. With One People (1976), Pim de la Parra for the most part accurately depicts the emotions running wild between Creole and Hindu culture with Suriname serving as the backdrop.

The movie is set a year after Suriname's independence in 1975. It revolves around Roy, a young black Surinamese studying economics in Amsterdam. When he gets a telegram that his mother is dying, his Dutch girlfriend Karina lends him money for a plane ticket. After 5 years, he sets foot in Suriname and offers his last respect to his mother. He starts an affair with a Hindu nurse Rubia and meets her daily just few days after the passing of his mom. However, unforeseen events pile up, punctuated by religious differences that causes rift in the family. Now, Roy is asked to end the relationship, and with neither his family nor Rubia accepting their relationship due to differences in religion, they elope. The drama intensifies when Karina comes over to pick up Roy. The rest of the movie deals with Roy's inner conflicts, his understanding of an independent homeland and mainly his turbulent relationship with his father, who acts on moral principles with the appearance of a Christian life. Finally, how Roy manages to survive the situation fuelled by socio-economic difference in the city and finding his true home.

I'm glad that Pim de la Parra didn't attempt the role of Romeo and Juliet and do a big shift, moral policing or ask the characters to give sermons on societal reforms with cliched narratives just like they do in most of the popular Indian films. One of the most wonderful things about 'One People' is how things unfold at leisurely pace. Would recommend this movie to the fans of Atif Yilmaz, Jorge Furtado, Férid Boughedir, Yilmaz Güney, Selma Baccar, Ali Özgentürk, Nouri Bouzid, Moufida Tlatli, Abdellatif Ben Ammar and French New Wave lovers.

This film tells the story of a relationship between a Black student (Borger Breeveld) visiting his home country of Suriname and a Hindustani nurse (Diana Gangaram Panday). Their parents don't agree with the relationship. Eventually things get so out of hand that the absurd but in Suriname also coldly logical situation is reached that the Black and the Indian fathers conspire to force the two apart. One of the strengths of the movie is that there is a second layer to it in the relationship between Breeveld's character and the girlfriend he keeps in the Netherlands. Not only he has to defend his choice for a Hindustani girl, he also has to choose between that (Surinamese) girl and the Dutch girl. This is probably meant as symbolic for the diaspora many Surinamers live in.

A second viewing reveals some nice details. For instance, in the beginning of the movie, Breeveld's character takes a cab from the airport to the city. The cab driver is Hindustani and Indian music sounds through his radio. Later on, in the montage where Breeveld enjoys a walk through his home town (great music by Lieve Hugo) we see shots of a Hindu mandir (temple) and a Bollywood movie poster. The director has introduced the presence of Indian culture throughout Surinamese society, as a non-dominant but all-permeating influence. This sets up the tensions that follow nicely.

The movie has a great soundtrack of nostalgic Surinamese music and some great shots of Suriname's interior! The shots of Willeke van Ammelrooy in the guest house with the shadows of the blinds across her nightgown look suspiciously like the famous shots of Kim Basinger in 9 1/2 Weeks (made some ten years later).

Great acting by the supporting characters like the fathers of the boy and the girl, and Ruud Mungroo as Breeveld's character's friend, a quintessential hustler.

The movie was made in 1974 but has aged well, especially in it's critique of Surinamese society.

This is one of the movies made in the seventies by director Pim de la Parra and producer Wim Verstappen, also known as "Pim and Wim". Director of photography Marc Felperlaan went on to do most of Dick Maas's films. If i'm correct you can also spot Theo van de Sande on the credits, as a second unit dp or something. He went on to shoot stuff like "Blade" in the States.

The movie created an ugly backlash after it's initial release, with Hindustani's condemning Diana Gangaram Panday's performance, resulting in harassment and stuff like that.