Stromboli

Stromboli is a new drama directed by Michiel van Erp, director of Nobody in the City. The film is an adaptation of the book of the same name, written by Saskia Noort.

The film follows Sara (Elise Schaap), who tries to escape her past and present situation. For this she traveled to the small Italian volcanic island of Stromboli with a suitcase filled with vodka and a body and mind filled with traumatic problems. Secretly she hopes that the volcano will erupt and that she can be freed from all this misery.

At her lowest point of misery, Sara ends up with a society filled with people who also carry their own traumas and problems with them. The society is led by the guru Jens (Christian Hillborg). He tries to steer all members in a direction so that they are confronted with their problems and traumas and can hopefully overcome them.

With this film they try to create a powerful film about people who are at a low point in their lives due to various traumas and other difficulties. This is a well-known subject in the film world and can therefore come across as a familiar thing. Fortunately, Elise Schaap gets enough time and opportunities to develop her character and the traumas that the character carries with her in the film. This is only brought up in short flashbacks at first, but is made clearer later when you learn exactly what happened to her character.

Unfortunately, they did add some unnecessary comedic moments to the film, trying to shed some light on the trauma of the main character. This just often doesn't come across as appropriate in the story and creates some special and unnecessary moments.

The other actors who play the rest of the society don't get enough time to bring out all the traumas and problems of their characters. Because of this, some can come across as vague or unclear in the film. In the film, the guru and other members are also more concerned with Sara's problems and she remains somewhat in the shadows with the rest with their problems. If they had found a better balance in this, the film and the characters would have come across a bit more realistic. Too many coincidences in the film make the film itself a bit more unrealistic.

First of all I think that is a decent movie. Kinda sad unfolding but in good terms. The main character that is having a break for vacations is kinda foggy with her selection of her style of living. It starts kinda frivolous but as we watching unfolding her story it's an internal journey in her soul.

Most people think that persons with past traumas are easily get over with them in a short time. I think it's not easy. So we see that together with side stories of othar people all of them are trying to overpass their past.

Now the verdict. It's kinda shallow like a story. The dialogues are kinda improvised. The characters have a past like all of us but in the end they seem a bit superficially harmed by their past. I got a bit confused about the motives of the director or scriptwriter. But overall it's a decent movie with no much to admire or reflect inside your thought.

It's a straight 4/10.

As "Stromboli" (2022 release from the Netherlands; 85 min.) opens, we are introduced to Sara, a recently divorced mom with a 14 yo daughter who hates her. Sara is on a cruise ship heading toward the Italian island of Stromboli for some much needed R&R. On the island, Sara gets into trouble after she loses her purse and her iPhone, and then she is kicked out of her apartment... At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the latest vehicle starring Elise Schaap (as Sara). Schaap became an overnight sensation on the Belgian TV series "Undercover" in her role as Danielle. Mind you, "Undercover" is a fantastic TV series (now 3 seasons into it). Alas, I can't say the same thing about "Stromboli", whose only raison d'etre seems to be that it was filmed on the infamous island. Apart from that, the plot, such as it is, is riddled with cliches and terrible dialogue. And what is the film: a comedy? A drama? It's a cocktail gone horribly wrong, and at times simply cringe-inducing.

"Stromboli" recently started streaming on Netflix (which also has all 3 seasons of "Undercover" plus the split-off movie "Ferry" in its library. I'll be honest: the only reason I watched "Stromboli" is because it stars Elise Schaap. That doesn't mean you have to. In fact, I cannot recommend "Stromboli" to anyone in good conscience. It is truly one of the worst movies I've seen in a long, long time. Typically I urge others to check it out and draw their own conclusion, but I'm not even going to do that here. By all means, stay away from this crap. "Stromboli" is 85 minutes of my life I'll never get back.

The person who wrote this screenplay has no idea about how mental health professionals should approach trauma and how a person heals from it. If a person actually went to this retreat, they would leave more traumatized. Jens' character seems to get off on reliving the worst moments of these people's lives. The only saving grace in this movie is the beautiful scenery and the actors. The character's stories were interesting but the "healing" was forced. I'd recommend skipping. I'd also recommend those who wrote the film consult with at least one mental health professional and one person who has attended therapy, minimum, before filming something as tone-deaf as this movie.

From the netherlands! Sara (elise schaap) returns to an island off the italian coast. With the flashbacks, it's clear she has been here before, and that it was not pleasant. And this trip isn't starting too well either. Except for the quickie she had on the boat. She meets up with people from the healing retreat, and if she can stick to the rules, maybe she can finally let go of the bad things in her past and begin to heal. But is she ready to face it again? When are people ready to face horrible things from their past? All while the volcano is rumbling every couple hours. Such pretty scenery. Too bad the locations are not currently listed. But there really is an island called stromboli, just north of the toe on the boot of italy! Has it's own page on wikipedia dot org. Really great film, even if some of the story is hard to watch, as they vent and relive some of those painful memories. This may be a bit much for some viewers. Directed by michiel van erp.