Lili Rademakers' directorial debut is a bold film about forbidden lust in a dead marriage. This could have all been top-heavy but even as a debutant, she manages to make it a fascinating story without getting caught up in the drama contained in the story. The film shows her professionalism and experience gained as a directing assistant. She clearly knows the story she wants to tell and how to create it. As far as I am concerned, it is a great loss for Dutch cinema that she has only made 2 films.
Why the two main characters have chosen each other doesn't become clear to us. We have to suspect that it was probably the easiest option for both of them. After all, these are two people who never dare to say out loud what they really think or feel.
If the characters have names at all, they are never mentioned, and are only referred to as 'the brother-in-law', 'the maid'. The husband, played in an apathetic manner, seems only interested in macabre news items from the newspaper that he sticks into his scrapbook, and collecting images of flowers. According to his wife, his heart is frozen due to years of working in a cold storage unit.
The woman herself is expectant of a grander life, though she takes no steps herself and only stays at home, bitterly dreaming of 'something'. Whether she finds that in the romance with her brother-in-law is very much to be doubted.
The setting in which this film is taking place is rather small, which nicely depicts how limited the world is in which these people live. We are only shown this small Belgian village: we see the factory, the church, the house and the streets in between. The time in which this film is supposed to be set is not entirely clear to me. I suspect the 1950s, with the young maid symbolising the new liberated times ahead.
The story is narrated alternately from the perspectives of the woman, the young maid and the man. It occasionally alternates with scenes depicting some of the newspaper clippings the man has collected. These short rather absurdist scenes provide a nice variety to the story, and elevates the films as a whole.
The acting is very well done, although the characters are rather typical they never start to annoy you. Credit also goes to the young girl playing the maid in what was apparently only her second film. The camera work is nice without becoming distracting. The setting of, among other things, a beautifully simple Belgian working-class house in the middle of the 21st century also contributes to this.
As far as I am concerned, this is definitely recommended for anyone interested in Dutch cinema. This is a film that deserves a nice sharp (bluray) release and a rediscovery for film enthusiasts!
