Moonlight

In my opinion the Dutch movie scene has been enormously enriched by Moonlight. Even without many words, director Paula van der Oest puts together a clear, interesting and compelling story. The acting of especially the very young Laurien van den Broeck was fantastic. Feelings and emotions come across the screen very convincingly.

But the editing, cinematography and art direction in this film really put it next to its American huge-budget brothers. In contrary to most previous Dutch productions, these aspects are incredibly professional, even comparable to i.e. 'The Sixth Sense' as to creating tension and atmosphere, and to 'Requiem for a Dream' as to editing.

I've seen the movie in Nijmegen, as part of a weekend-long review of the Dutch Movie Festival, and had the chance to attend a 'talkshow' with director Paula van der Oest as one of the guests. A great experience.

Foreign readers, please don't let yourself be scared off by the Dutch crew: not a Dutch word is spoken during the movie, set in Luxembourg. Main language is English. Dutch readers: absolutely go see this movie! It will show you the enormous progress of our very own filming scene.

A thirteen year-old girl living in a magnificent round and mostly glass house in the middle of nowhere finds a boy in a dilapidated building on the property. He is bleeding from gunshot wounds from some mobster types who left him in the woods. The girl bandages him up and hides him from her oblivious mother and father.

The bad men continue to pursue the boy who is a drug mule, which leads to some extremely unpleasant scene for recovery of the contraband. The pair go on the run to avoid the monster types. Mom and dad continue their clueless behavior as the kids wind up on a bus with nuns. I had a momentary flashback to my Catholic school days. The two leads are excellent but the story a bit of a stretch. Overall, a decent film.

If there was a message the director of "Moonlight" was trying to put across, I missed it. However, one thing is certain, I got my fill of two kids' bathroom habits (or lack thereof.) We are not told why a young 13-year old girl, who is obviously loved by her parents and well-taken care of, decides to secretly harbor a young boy who has been shot once in the leg and once in the abdomen. Why she doesn't tell her parents remains a mystery. Of course, how she determined the boy's wounds were a result of being shot is even a more perplexing mystery. He doesn't speak English (or any other language in which she is apparently fluent.) This film begins with a very absorbing plot, but unfortunately the birds ate all its breadcrumbs, and inevitably along with its viewers, the film becomes fatally lost.

The guy at the videostore did not recommend it. A friend of mine did and i am glad i rented it. Afterwards the guy in the videostore confessed that he only saw the first ten minutes. Anyways, good movie, interesting subject. The kids play really good. mysterious surroundings. good camerawork. YEP! well done guys.

Strengths: Cinematography, locales, chase action, Lauren character. Weaknesses: Overdone toiletry; weak, uncomprehending dialog. This coming-of-age, diminutive waif seems too street-wise for me; stretches credibility. Pilgrimage scenes border on the ridiculous.