Interview

Theo van Gogh did it again, and Theodor Holman earns every bit of respect on writing one of the best dialogue-movies I've seen in years. Pierre Bokma proves once again to be a great actor, and Katja Schuurman proves she's more than just a pretty face. Her role as a spoiled actress is greatly ironic, 'cause most narrow-minded viewers have only looked at her in this respect for over a decade. By playing this role with such finesse, she maybe proves to be exactly the opposite.

If you don't like Theo van Gogh as a person, please don't take that as an excuse to bomb his movies. "Interview" shows his (and Holman's) talent. The way Pierre and Katja don't want to be in the same room with each other, but can't leave each other at the same time; the way this is combined in "Interview" made me proud of Dutch cinema. Just like "Karakter" did, and just like "Van God Los" did (among others...).

This films has Theo van Gogh written all over it. A big, fat and pretentious pile of crap. Katja Schuurman and Pierre Bokma are quite good but seem to lack any clue of where the script with its clichés is supposed to take them. The end is insultingly bad and gives the impression of a tight deadline. Despite seeing some of his other films and tv appearances, I gave Theo van Gogh the benefit of a doubt but he blew it completely. Some clever references, some great shots, and even an occasional joke aside, this film has left me completely untouched. OK, maybe left with a bit of rage for spending money to see it.

This movie is to me one of the best none English/German movies ever seen. I can't really comment on Director or any other visual elements in the movie because it has been quite a while since I have seen it, what I can remember very clearly though is the characters. Although the predecessor of my comment states that the characters were not very real (and this is a rather valid point) I do not think that that is a negative thing. I think it is almost beautiful, almost comic how frank, cruelly honest they are. See, this is what makes this movie so very good, it's different, original, and because of it's obvious or even fake superficial and still rather insightful characters. It's almost comic. This movie really is worth watching, but only if you can see the beautiful in what seems to be the flawed.

I recommend this movie to anyone who'd like to see something a little different.

For a film with so little action, and so few people, it has a tremendous dialogue and great drama between Pierre and Katja - sometimes a little overdone, but generally the tension is so strong you can't take your eyes from it.

As good as it is, it has its flaws too. Sometimes the journalist really slips off his professional stance which he now and then tries to uphold. I think a real journalist would not do that - as all pros, journalists tend to keep professional, even when doing a job they don't like, or even more so in an unpopular work situation. As a pro and seasoned vet, Pierre should have kept to his professional attitude more.

Likewise, the dialogue goes off the map and then takes its time to get back on track. This is in a way a little tiresome, but also quite intriguing and one of the reasons the film came out so good. A beauty mark so to speak.

This was my first van Gogh film, and I'll be sure to see more of him whenever I can.

Obviously, you have to judge this for what it is and that's a low budget film. The effort is certainly worthy of praise. Theo van Gogh is a gifted director, Thomas Kist a good DP and the actors do a fine job. The film's problem lies in it's screenplay. Yes, Holman has created self-conscious characters and given them confrontational, brutally honest lines that certainly exceed the quality of dialogue in the average Dutch production, but I didn't find the characters psychologically valid, especially Katja's. They never struck me as real people. Holman doesn't display a true understanding of the human psyche, which is unfortunate for a psychological thriller. Therefore, it could have been better.