Alles is liefde

I heared a lot about this movie. I'm not a dutch film lover. But I like movies with Paul de Leeuw in it. He's so wrong, that makes him funny.

But it was valentine's day and I had to buy my wife a present, so I thought why not the limited edition. Did I know that this movie was bad?! The movie is about relationships and how several people are somehow connected to each other. Is this a new concept? No it isn't. The actors and actresses sucked a lot! Wendy van Dijk was very funny in Ushi en Van Dijk, but in this movie she could show us that she cannot act at all.

Even that sucker, Valerio, cannot act. But I knew that years ago when he had his dating show on tmf. That is very pity, but I still don't know why people think that a pretty boy can automatically act. It ain't so! To stand by this statement I will bring up the next thing: Paul the Leeuw is a very good actor, but very underrated. Paul is Like the dutch Robin Williams. I am a huge fan of Robin Williams, he is not an attractive guy, but he can act as the best! He can act comic roles, but also dramatic or even serious.

At the moment in the film where the boyfriend of Paul runs out of his house in the snow to get his bike, there Paul stands with a beautiful smile. That was acting. Great acting is about not saying anything, but saying a lot with your facial impressions. Very well, if the rest of the movie was as good as that one moment, I had liked that movie a lot.

But this movie was not about Paul de Leeuw, there were a lot of other bad actors and actresses in the movie that made this movie (for me) not worth watching a second time. Or at least I'll fast forward it to the moment of Paul in the snow.

Honestly, there aren't many movies from my homecountry that i like, and if i hate one genre; it's sappy romances. This romance is however far from sappy! It uses humor, a grounded Dutch view on every topic, a good dose of sillyness and compelling characters to deliver a heartwarming story, full of important messages. Some cliché, some aren't, and some are plain in-your-face. The use of the Dutch famous holiday Sinterklaas makes it a movie that can be enjoyed with the whole family, although it is riddled with (sometimes not so) subtles innuendo's. There are a few things that maybe confuse foreign viewers, like what the Sinterklaas holiday actually is about. (no it's not santa clause) and little references to Dutch celebrity culture here and there.

It's incomplete to name this great film a comedy. It is absolutely funny, but the real strength lies in the more emotional parts. With great acting and great storytelling, this is one of the best dutch movies ever. In my opinion, the only dutch movie that beats this one is Simon, but Alles Is Liefde is probably more for everyone. Following a lot of different story lines, it kind of resembles the best movie ever made, Magnolia ofcource, as stories get more and more emotional, and eventually you just find yourself crying at every damn scene. A beautiful movie about the moments in between. And a hilarious appearance of dutch comedians De Vliegende Panters :D.

Gezellig om met je family te kijken tijdens een koude dag. Maar 1 keer is meer dan genoeg! Voor een Nederlands best okay.

Of course there are slight niggles (dreary shots of Dutch highways, Amsterdam is almost a village) but why dwell on such minor things when the overall feel of the movie is lovely. The emotions are real and it's very easy to connect with many of the characters.

The jokes are there but what sticks best is the joy the film brings. It may not sound very critic-y, but i've yet to end a sentence with an exclamation mark, unlike my learned yet ill-literate fellow opnionator.

Carice van Houten is lovely, if frustrating. Paul de Leeuw can act! Who knew? (Who Cared). Daan Schuurmans is wonderfully understated. Many more actors will surprise you with their acting qualities, no doubt helped by Kim van Kootens convincing lines and scenes.

Go see this movie, you will not be disappointed. It will restore your faith in Dutch cinema, just like "Simon" did.