Van God Los

To start off; i liked this film, particularly Tygo Gernandt's acting was plainly brilliant. The sorry thing about dutch films is, that mainly stage actors appear in dutch productions. Obviosously dutch directors find it very difficult to direct acclaimed theater actors, let alone telling them that stage acting(e.g. articulation and exaggerated physical expression) is a big no-no film acting. The southern dutch accent is very well performed by Tygo en Egbert, however most of the other actors 'slip back' to a pathetic attempt, particularly the ( here I go again) stage actors. The directing and the editing of this movie were very undutch and therefor very strong, the acting however........ three great actors can never compensate 10 mediocre to sloppy actors. Conclusion: A more dedicated and disciplined director combined with a less conservative casting director could have lifted this flick to a higher level and in the process would have put dutch film-making on the map.

At first i was drawn in when i heard it was about a gang of teenage killers - based on a true story. The story is quite raw, sometimes a bit shocking. Excellent acting from Egbert Jan Weeber, who plays the lead role of Stan. The movie is quite depressing at times though. Van God Los ( or Godforsaken) is about three teenage boys who begin to kill before for the mafia boss - this is where the "Godfellas" part comes in. I didn't think this movie was mind-blowing or amazing. It was an okay movie ; i thought the acting was great. Some scenes in the film are very violent, and it's shocking to see how out of control they get, especially the character Maikel - in various scenes in the movie - especially near the end ! I thought there would've been a better ending though - it was unpredictable, which is always interesting.

Intense movie with a plot that seems inevitable. "Van God Los" (which literally means "detached from God/to secede from God" and not "Godforsaken") is loosely based on the infamous "Bende van Venlo" (Venlo Gang) whose mostly youthful members allegedly committed over 250 crimes in 1993 and 1994.

The cold-bloodiness of the murders is acted out very well. It's hard to understand how a 15-year-old privileged dentist's son from the rural Netherlands can commit such crimes. The movie gives a very uncomfortable answer: That there is nothing to understand, that these things just happen because our society is the way it is.

In my opinion, the original title speaks volumes about the tone the movie sets and the answers it tries to give. Whereas "Godforsaken" implies that God "left" us alone, perhaps in disappointment, "to secede from God" means deliberately leaving him behind. Unfortunately, I have no information on the writer's intention here. It befits the film to have to think for yourself about what it means to you. The film will definitely get you thinking for a long while after the credits are over.

This movie is loosely based on real events, and that's also pretty much the feel it has to it: real. This movie is not a vivid, lively crime drama, it's definitely no "Goodfellas" rip-off, it's one of the grayest and most depressing movies I've ever seen. The colors look, wait, what colors? The acting is excellent all around, I can't believe how convincing everyone's accent is. The plot is very basic and raw, even though the girlfriend issues do tend to get tiresome near the end. What I love most though is the ending narration, which consists of the most deadpan monologue ever. Those who can't be moved by this film have no pulse.

This movie surpassed all my expectations. Its very raw in its violence and story. The characters are well developed and the actors that portray them are most excellent.

I couldn't help thinking about "Goodfellas" while watching this movie. Both movies have certain parallels. The main character doesn't begin his life as a criminal and murderer but slowly becomes so and transforms throughout the movie. Also the criminal activities in both movies are quite the same. Still this doesn't mean that "Van God Los" is a cheap Dutch rip-off of "Goodfellas", no not at all! "Van God Los" is a powerful movie on its own that is driven by its well developed characters. The movie has some pretty violent scene's, they were really not holding back here and I found it even quite shocking and disturbing at times but in a good way.

The story is very solid and well written and it's loosely based on true events. Yes people, these events and gangs are so rare in The Netherlands that they make movies about them. All of the events in the movie feel all very realistic which is I think also thanks to the fine actors. But it's not all violence in this movie, the movie is driven by some powerful emotions and the movie has several layers. It's a both powerful emotional movie as well as a violent one. In a way the movie shows that everyone has it in him or her to become a criminal. Basically there is no reason why this couldn't happen to any of you out there.

The movie is very well directed by Pieter Kuijpers, who is a great character director. The fine cinematography by Bert Pot impressed me and the music by 'Het Paleis van Boem' set the mood for the movie perfectly.

To be honest, I was kind of worried when the movie and its narration began. All of the main characters in the movie are speaking with a certain Dutch accent they speak in the southern province Limburg. I'm from the absolute most northern province of The Netherlands and Limburg is the most southern province of The Netherlands. Needless to say that the accents are completely different and in my ears even irritating, than I'm used to. But those worries were all for nothing, you get used to the accents very quick and after a while you don't even really notice them anymore. Of course for all the people outside The Netherlands who don't speak one word of Dutch, this isn't a complaint because they will simply of course not be bothered by it at all.

This movie most certainly surprised me in a positive way and I think that this movie deserves an international audience.

9/10

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