Ja zuster, nee zuster

My husband's Dutch, but darned if I can speak the language. Still... I came out of the movie a week ago, and I'm still singing "Niet op de stollen staan / Ja zuester, nee zuester; niet met de deur slam / Ja zuster, nee zuster" (sp?). And HE doesn't sing...yet I keep catching him singing the Opa song. I keep thinking of the twisp and giggling.

The film is very, very, totally very dutch in wonderful ways. If you like some of the best comic Indian films of the 60's, this has some of the same charm, too. The cinematography and physical comedy is as gently goofy as the story and characters, and the actors are charming.

A note to the guy who left after 40 minutes...Boordevol starts out one-note but goes through...changes. Too bad you missed them.

This truly unique, truly wacky musical is something only European cinema could produce. From the Busby Berkeley-style production number in the opening credits to the 50's beefcake inspired pigeon feeding song (take THAT Mary Poppins bird lady), this musical gleefully totters along the line between silly and salacious with the occasional good-natured stumble into John Waters territory (One of the songs even mentions Baltimore)

This movie is NOT for everyone. However, if you are familiar with the vernacular of the big budget musical, if you liked the zany sensibility of Little Shop of Horrors, if you can enjoy a movie where the only explosion occurs off camera (a tribute to You Can't Take it With You?) then this may just be the film for you.

Only two years, at the end of the sixties, Dutch national tv featured the tv-series Ja zuster, Nee zuster. Intended as a children's programme, writer Annie MG Schmidt added so much refinement to the script that adults (parents or not) were equally keen to watch the adventures of the tenants in a nursing home. Following some misplaced economies, most of the series was not kept for future generations. All this added to the myth of Ja zuster, Nee zuster, a myth that was not entirely shared by Annie Schmidt herself. (BTW The brilliant combination with composer Harry Bannink produced a number of songs, that are still being sung today, 35 years later.) On one hand the movie closely resembles the original tv-series. The characters are similar, and with great care the songs have been re-styled and visualised. The story line has been adapted, hence the greater emphasis on some characters. Again, the movie is full of innuendo, which needs not restrain anyone from viewing. Nowhere it is vulgar. The visualization is brilliant, as are the choreographies. The cast is very well composed, and all characters are played in a very natural way. This might be the first movie in all my life I will go and see more than once in the cinema, before acquiring the DVD for home viewing. Needless to say that this movie deserves the highest acclaim and recommendations.

Why? I cannot decipher the intrigue why this movie would have gained the label as a lesbian and gay movie, it has been dumped into such category in New York, San Francisco, Hamburg, Reel Affirmations, Hong Kong, Reykjavik film festivals. If it is because of the relationship between Boordevol and Wouter, the gay plot line is recessive at all. It's a movie of fun, joy, human warmth, acceptance, forgiveness and resilience. I got no clue if the original 1966-68 Dutch TV series bore any homosexual connotation or not because first I was not born yet, second the 60's was a conservative period that only one or two public media had such guts to manifest this human relationship.

Roald Dahl came into my mind when I was watching it because of the humour, the caricatured characters i.e. the Scrooge landlord, the eccentric scientist, the mysterious hairdresser etc and also the multi-faceted neighbourhood setting, they also appear from time to time in RD's stories. His profound meaning stories in general take place in ordinary living, trivial episodes of everyday life which are real and close to every one. And this is happening in this musical tale. I do believe that if RD is still alive, he might include a gay teenager in one of his stories and portray him or her in a light and humane tone.

Frolic and carefree it appears to be with the circus, the colorful outfit, joyful songs and merry dances, exotic Greek customs, (By the way, when it comes to "Greek", the West always quotes "Zorbas", here is one example, the successful "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is another. However, there are myriads representations of "Greek" like "Troy", Greek gods, mythology blah blah blah. "Zorbas" may equate to common Greek people but it's overused, ah, kind of stale now. Nikos Kazantzakis might feel fed up too. ^-^ ), it is also rich in serious ideas. The inventor is trying to make a pill which converts people from evil to good, it's a big life issue, we all want "good" but how good is good and what is good? I just wonder why the scientist does not give the pill to Gerrit the burglar to try. He might totally break himself away from the stealing habit. Nature and nurture is another, Gerrit was raised by his grandpa, Opa to be a dexterous burglar in Oliver Twist like context, perhaps by nature he is a good boy as he promises not to steal so Nurse Klivia allows his stay. The Dutch open-mindedness is dominant throughout the film as Klivia and the neighbourhood (but Boordevol) do accept all kinds of the "weird" people in her nurse house and also foreigners like the Greeks who live nearby.

When Boordevol puts the sign board "Boordevol Rusthuis" (rest house) outside his house, it is so clear that his house is a sinister "No. 13" of that street, symbolically his house is a house of bad luck, evil. Funny handling. When the ending credit roller is running, a welcome reception to the then Princess Beatrix (in the 60's), the current Dutch Queen Regnant of the Oranje Nassau is in progress, she equals to the national recognition and acceptance to the work of the "Rest house", clever and heart-warming.

The small musical film though doesn't draw blockbuster attention like those of Chicago, Evita or even the good oldie My Fair Lady, it's a dainty gumdrop on the first day of my summer break. A sheer sweet fun for family viewing, don't let the gays and lesbians grab the entire joy and pleasure, it's rightly for every one. (Why a homo film????)

Not only did I have more fun watching this DVD than any film, but I did something I never did before--I ended up watching the movie again that very same night! I was utterly charmed by this wonderful Dutch musical-comedy and anticipate that I will probably see it again a few more times--it's THAT good! I think a lot of the reason I loved the movie so much was that while bits and pieces of the film reminded me of other films, overall it was so unique and quirky that it's got to be one of the most original films out there. In addition, when I heard the songs, I couldn't help but swing in rhythm to the bouncy and adorable music! Despite not knowing Dutch and relying on subtitles, I can't think of ANY musical that I enjoyed more because the songs are that catchy and kooky. They all have a charming old fashioned style with wonderfully funny lyrics.

The film itself has an early to mid-1960s look to it and although I noticed in one of the reviews that this movie was based on a TV series, the film looks even more like a film of a play in style. Plus, the sets look very fake, but I don't mean that in a bad way--more like an idealized and perfect world that you know can't exist but you really wish it did! Apart from great music, the film has a wonderful ensemble cast. The standout character is Mr. Boordevol who is a lot like a combination of Sam the Eagle (from The Muppets) and a crazed version of the AFLAC duck! He must have had a wonderful time playing such an outlandish character--and his voice was like something out of a cartoon! Other standout performers were Jet, an incredibly cute and shy young lady who is in love with Garrit, Garrit, a reformed burglar who has a wonderful voice, the Engineer (he has no name--and is just called "Engineer" throughout the film) as well as many, many others.

A word of note to parents--This movie was released by Wolfe Video--a Gay movie distributor. While there are two gay main characters, I really didn't see this as a gay film, per se, but a film about many people--just two of which are gay. And, unless you are ultraconservative, I doubt if you would be offended or mind if your kids watch the film. I am a pretty conservative person myself, but really liked ALL the characters and let my teenager see the film--in fact, I nagged her until she watched it with me!

By the way, it took me three viewings to realize that the plot of this film is a slight reworking of Seuss' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE Christmas! Seriously!!