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Recently I saw "The dark room of Damocles" (1963, Fons Rademakers) after the famous novel of the same name by Willem Frederik Hermans.

My expectation was that "Abel" (1986, Alex van Warmerdam) was inspired by another famous novel of Dutch literature: "The evenings" by Gerard Reve. In this novel a 23 years old man gives a description of the petty bourgeoisie of his parents.

The opening scene of "Abel", which I must have seen beforehand and which created the expectations just described, is about a Christmas breakfast of Abel with his father and his mother. In this scene Abel is defying his father in a very sneaky way. Abel is played by director van Warmerdam himself and has, it must be said, a voice that sounds just like that of Gerard Reve.

Soon after the first scene it becomes evident however that the focus is just as much on Abel as on his parents. Abel is autistic to the highest degree and hasn't been outside the house for more than 10 years. In a scene not long after the opening he is investigated by a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist is evidently a caricature, but his diagnosis is not: the father is ashamed of his son and the mother is too protective.

In the course of the (absurdist) film the struggle between the father and mother about Abel is converted into a struggle beteween the mother and a girlfriend about Abel on the one hand and a struggle between Abel and his father about the girlfriend on the other hand.

"Abel" was the debutfilm of Alex van Warmerdam and it was an unexpected success. In "Abel" van Warmerdam introduced an absurdist style that remained his trade mark ever since. For me he is the Dutch David Lynch. Look at the "herring scene". A very strange combination of typical Dutch on the one way and absurdist on the other.

Actor/director Alex van Warmerdam made a weird movie, maybe not to everyone's taste, but I certainty enjoyed watching it. Abel or Voyeur (why do they always have to change the title of a foreign movie?) is easy to watch, even if it's in Dutch, but it's definitely a weird movie. The sometimes almost surrealistic scenes gave it that little extra weird touch. And then you had some good funny moments, so you didn't take the story too seriously. For a Dutch speaking person it was an entertaining movie but my wife speaks only English and she enjoyed it as well. The cast is small but they're all good actors. It aged pretty well I thought.

Abel is a little bit absurdistic, strange and unreal. But other parts a very recognizable. The film smells like Fellini and sounds like Monty Python, but it is a very dutch product. You won't see any tulips or windmills, but when you have a dutch background you will understand most of the jokes and events. I suggest you just sit back and enjoy it. The story is amusing and the development of the characters is interesting untill the end. The art-direction, the whole atmosphere of the movie is very nice and also reminds me of Fellini. A Dutch classic.

This movie is one of the best dutch movies of all times. Not a storyline with a hero, lots of action and beautiful women in it, but a sort of anti-hero who lives with his parents and does not know who to behave in the mature world. When you see the parents, you will understand why.

You have to understand dutch absurd humor, but I really do not know anyone who did not like the movie, most of the people I know love it, except maybe for my late grandparents. See it and you will love it! Also the fact that this Van Warmerdam's first movie, should give him all the respect he deserves.

Abel is a very amusing movie. It has been made with love and class. It has a very familiar odor of burned potatoes and crispy fishfingers. Life is sweet certainly when you are still within reach of your (obsessive) mother and notwithstanding the difficult relation to your strict dad. I could make this a lot longer but at this instant I just wanted to be the first person to add a comment. In short, very good movie !

Although the last commentator found the movie a bit too weird, I'm delighted that people in far-away Virginia have the possibility to enjoy such an obscure Dutch art-house movie. Long live globalization. As for the film, I heard it's a classic among cinéphiles in France and other countries, but I completely understand those who find it a bit too weird, like our friend from Virginia. Different places, different sorts of humour. But if you like Bunuel, it's worth the try.

Cheers, Arnoud (Amsterdam)

I love this film. I always have, since first seeing it some fifteen or so years ago. It is SERIOUSLY weird, but absolutely hilarious. Being in Dutch probably helped! Surreal scenery also helped with the mood of this wonderful film. The opening scenes nearly put me off, but after a while you realise it assists in the strange and weird world of Alex v W!!! De Noorderlingen is another of his and is also a very funny and odd little film.....maybe i just like this serious looking fellow's decidedly wry eye on the world.

I urge anyone to see this film, but more than that, i urge anyone who knows where i can buy a copy to tell me where from. I had it on video for years but it's worn out!

one of best and very dutch movie wit action romance adventure and phantasy in a very dry dutch way fantastic superb portrait of dutch landscape and people

Wonderful surreal comedy of Dutch (bad) manners, with superb playing through the entire cast of eccentrics, misfits and lunatics. Olga Zuiderhoek is excellent as the implacably doting mother Duif, obsessed with fertility and sabotaging all her husband's schemes to get their son Abel to lead a "normal" life. But the film is made by Henri Garcin as (the possibly ironically named) husband Victor, whose descent into madness is delightfully reminiscent of Herbert Lom's Inspector Dreyfus.

Only Annet Malherbe's Zus lets the side down, passive and accepting of her place on her admirers' pedestals, more cipher than Circe. Maybe her line that "all women like to be watched" seemed profound thirty years ago; not so much now.