Daglicht

A novel based Dutch movie about a single mother, Iris, a lawyer whose son 8- years-old Aron is a partially autistic. A very good Dutch thriller with decently maintained suspense till the end. I can say a movie very similar mode of concept to 'What Lies Beneath', but not a horror. About the family secret that was kept hidden for years is about to come into the lights after Iris fights for it. And reforms the role of the movie characters alongside racy pace marches towards the twist in a tale.

It all begins when Iris and Aron decides to go and spend the weekend in her mother's house. Accidentally she finds out the existing of something that is close to her. She decides to follow all the clues, but what she gets is unbelievable truth. That's not the end, but seeks the accurate explanation for that which drags her into the series of life-threatening scenarios. Can it be exposed and who are all going to affect by this is told in an exhilarating manner.

''King Kong, Hannibal, Maria, Peanut, Frangois, Chili, Saturn, Raisin, Margie''

What may go to happen is what everyone thinks about once the story of puzzle takes its part. As a mystery theme it kept those elements subsequently introducing limited characters that come in now and then to warn the main character as well to enthrall the viewers. I figured it out so early one of the two twists and expect most of people with experience in watching mystery movies will do the same. That is not a let down because the rest of the story creates enough grip to hold firmly on the audience interest.

I usually see plenty of movies about autistic father and a 8 year old daughter or son in Korean movies. That is so frequent if you are familiar with them movies. In fact, I expected similar style of storytelling from this, but what I got was so much fresh and fascinating narration with cool screenplay. Feels like reading a novel except it comes with motion pictures. I have not seen tons of Dutch movie in my life, but a few in that it is one of the best for sure. I believe you should try this before in case Hollywood grab for a remake rights.

This is a very good thriller: good, intricate plot, very well directed with a pace that maintains a certain level of suspense from beginning to end, reminding me a bit of Roman Polanski's style in "Ghost Writer".

The acting is quite good and I disagree with another user review who felt the characters look unconvincing when they are shown in flashbacks as younger versions of themselves; I found that they looked the part and it was not at all distracting me from the very interesting story.

I also enjoyed seeing a psychologist character who is not portrayed as an idiot... In many films psychiatrists and psychologists are either clueless or very annoying; it was nice to see one who does not conform to that movie stereotype, for a change.

I would bet that we will soon see an American remake of this, with some big name Hollywood actors... The psychologist character could easily be played by Ryan Gosling or Colin Farrell. The film would lend itself well to that kind of thing, as there is nothing uniquely "Dutch" about the story in itself. The good directing, however, will be difficult to match: Diederik van Rooijen did a great job.

What worked: It's a well executed thriller, keeping the viewers on the edge of their seat till the last minute of the movie. It's twisted, plot gets interesting and keeps us guessing what the next scenes of the movie it is going to be. It's an interesting and engaging watch. It might deserve a second watch to grasp the complexity of the series of events that's happening in the movie. What did not work: -Plotholes, unanswered questions : many questions in the movie are not answered, some just skipped and some not covered. What we expect ,once so many complexities are set up in the movie , is a satisfying conclusion and answered to if not all but most of the curiosities. The movie gets interesting but the final moments of the movie did not grasp the intensity and the impact that it should have established. Some final moments seemed rushed and some not covered. As a result, makes the movie an enjoyable watch but not a complete one. Final verdict: recommended

I must admit: Being north of 60, I've become jaded to the plethora of mediocre films that had been released over the past 20 or 30 years. They all seem to be cheap rehashes of prior films, created to make a quick buck from the continuously endless parade of streaming sites that be.

Daglicht (Daylight) took me by surprise because I wasn't expecting anything other than a run-of-the-mill Nordic noir. Perhaps I'm biased because I'm also autistic like a few of the characters in Daylight, but special mention should be made that the filmmakers did portray autism fairly accurately.

Also, I was surprised by the strong relation this film had to Rain Man. You can almost call this a Danish Rain Man given its similarities.

Like a lot of Scandinavian noir, the atmosphere was perfect as well as the pacing, music and direction. Was some of the acting a bit over the top? Maybe. Hollywood is also guilty of making sure you can tell someone is autistic from a mile away. Nevertheless, Daylight is worth the two hours spent watching it and I look forward to more films from the creators.

Daglicht is a Dutch thriller which for The Netherlands is a genre that rarely is made. It is even rarer to have a title that is made well. Diederik van Rooijen already proved to me in Taped he could handle the genre so I was looking forward of the this mystery we would be introduced to.

The viewer doesn't have to wait long for the mystery to appear and it is one that is compelling that maintains interest from the get go. It is layered enough to have all sorts of outcomes and that for a short while makes you really invested to watch. But I already figured out early on one important part of the riddle. Which (for me) made everything else less surprising and incredibly predictable. In one of the many reveals a character is introduced who is called Ray. This character is autistic in the same fashion as Raymond played by Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. In fact the way he moves and behaves is almost an exact copy of that character. For me personally this was a weak moment of film making. Fedja van Huêt is excellent, let there be no mistake about that. It his good acting and professionalism that the role prevents it from becoming a parody. Still it was hard to shake off the connection. This character said something that made me suspect on how the rest of story would unfold since a lot of focus was on this specific part of the mystery. In another reveal we get to see this supposedly clever scene where the son of Iris (Angela Schijf) shows his puzzle solving skills. And yes I would have agreed and been impressed also if not for the fact that I had seen it before in other thrillers were other autistic savants played important roles. What I am saying is that if you like me love the genre and have seen many movies from that genre a lot in the film will get predictable. Mind you, I know that enough people who don't watch as much will be able to be surprised and enjoy the viewing experience that is promised. I only had hope that the director would offer one twist more for thriller fans like me to also make it more interesting for us but sadly he did not. In stead we get a nice,touching and overall warm ending which for me worked well also and was good enough.

If I have to compare I think Taped is the superior thriller because that one maintains the suspense and tension throughout where as Daglicht relies more on the strength of mystery that in the end is not that strong. Still I think it is not a waste of time because the competent acting especially by Fedja van Huêt does give it that edge. The bigger names Derek de Lint and Monique van de Ven however are very much under used and don't really add that much which is a shame but not bothersome. As a big fan of the thriller genre I can only applaud the ambition to make films like these and it looks like it is headed into the right direction.