Wilde mossels

That Zeeland, a region in The Netherlands, is not just a place for summer holidays, is made pretty clear in this stunning movie. I myself a Zeeland-born person was put on by this film in an explicable way.

The essence of this film, trying to leave the region in which you've grown up, is a major problem of youth in peripheric places. 'Wilde Mossels' is therefore not only a poetic portrait of a depressing 'wasteland', but a pointer of social problems. The director brings out these problems accompanied with a large amount of humor, in one respect because of the dialect that is spoken and one the other hand because of the surrealism that is being used. The alcohol and drug abuse (dried mussels) is another aspect that creates a rather depressing portrait of a beautiful region. But that is what makes this movie special: a new approach on an existing image.

My opinion on this film is that it is of a great value within the Dutch movie-business. Absurdism, social engagement, drama and humor isn't only bound to our capital Amsterdam, but can be used in other places as well.

9 out of 10

About being bored. In millions of shades of grey. The opening scenes of a blotto lead smoking without inhaling created immediately a thin falseness and ruined the whole thing for me. Made it all just silly. And boring.

This movie is shot in Zeeland in the Netherlands, a beautiful area. The movie is about a guy named Leen (Fedja van Huet, nice actor) who has got a lot on his mind. He would like to leave the boring country life. But his mom depends on him, in a very strange way. He has got a lot of other problems, he misses his father who died, he is a little in love with a girl. He hasn't got money or a nice job. Happily he has got two very good friends. With them he survives a lot of funny situations. I really liked the beauty of the shots of the movie. Also the actors in the movie are very talented. But the storyline was very extensive. It has got a lot of subjects, but the movies doesn't end any of these subjects. It's a little bit like a soap, but a very interesting one!

As a native "Zeeuw" (where the film is shot) it is not easy to pass my bias, but ill give it a try:

Wilde Mossels (Wild Mussels) is first and foremost a cultural movie; it finds its origin in the influence geographical location, soil, terrain, climate, and so on have on the culture and ultimately on the people's personality. Zeeland has always been a harsh country, unforgiving. People have always had to fight against the water, wind and the heavy clay soil. Those that are born and raised here are said to have been dragged out of the clay, instead of being born...

As the typical farm/fishing region rapidly changed from the 1960ies onward to an industrial area, so did the demography. Lots of new people settled here, first from all over the Netherlands, then from other countries. Dikes were elevated, with freeways on them, tunnels, and so on, unlocking the social isolated communities, with each their own dialect and folklore. The world changed in fast forward the last 40 or 50 years.

Both these phenomena are used wisely in this movie, making it a cultural pearl in a sea of empty oysters.

Flatlanders, lowlanders or floodlanders will be surprised to find the horizon they know so well on TV this time. And even thought this landscape is flat as a dime and will bore you to death eventually, it is interesting to see it on screen. People from regions where seeing the horizon is a rarity are impressed with this land that i call home and yes, it is beautiful to see the sun set in the Westerschelde, or Oosterschelde, or any part of the delta, with the Northsea in the background, but its so terribly flat and there is not a square foot of land that isn't somebodies property. You highlanders will love this...

I don't think there is a part in the world where there are more shades of grey than here. (yes I've been around).

In this setting 3 youngsters are trying to get away, daydreaming of far away places where life is lived, not dragged along from 'mosselfeest' to 'mosselsfeest' (which is once a year...) They kept the accents as they are here (although still varying from one village to the next), which is a great achievement for actors that aren't native here. (I raised my daughters with standard dutch and when i talk with my older sister and switch to Terneuzen-dialect, she cannot understand what we are talking about...) This choice to keep the accent, instead of switching to international English, that would surely have reached a larger audience, is something i love, but for international viewers may be a downside. It is the only movie with a local accent and since dialects are disappearing, it will probably stay so. The youngsters try to find ways to get away from everyday life, doing 'crazy things', using some drugs and plan other crazy things to make their dreams come true. It all doesn't work out like they hoped and it ultimately ends tragically. The shrieks from the seagulls warned of this mishap, but the roots have faded.

There is quite some humor in the movie, romance, drama. Nice story. Camera-work is very good; great shots of the wideness of the landscape. Acting is very good. That alone is worth a peek, but the ultimate upper in this movie is the cultural angle. If you like this kind of movies (whale rider for instance is similar in this respect), this is definitely your thing.

I rated it 10, partly because i'm dragged out of the clay here, but if that hadn't been so, i'm sure i still would have rated it an 8.

See it!

Wilde Mossels is a tale of restlessness. It's a timeless movie about young people who don't want to get stuck in the life there parents have. Leen desperately wants to leave his native village, but can't push himself to actually go. So all that is left is working, drinking beer with his friends, and riding his chopper.

It's a film about boredom, but it's far from boring. The photography is beautiful, the acting is intense, and the sound track is great. And it's not just another heavy drama about angst and pointlessness, it's pretty funny as well. Leen hallucinates about a very strange bit of Ireland, and his best friend Daan delivers some first class one-liners.

A must see for anyone who thinks Dutch films are crap. You're wrong!