Wijster

The train hijacking at Wijster, Netherlands was meant to be to put the attention of the Dutch Government to its neglect of the Molucan cause.After the takeover by Soekarno people from the Malucu Islands where moved from Indonesia to the Netherlands. They served very loyal in the Royal Dutch Indies Army, the K.N.I.L.Tremendous acting by a cast existing almost? out of highly talented"amateurs". Filmed very carefully. even the vehicles, bikes and so on are exactly from the period. No flawless moment at all. The almost absence of music adds tremendously to its dramatic credibility. This film, shown on television, should be shown in a real cinema, although I expect it is not made on 35mm analogue material. Hopefully this will be the start of revival of cinema without the tricks, the special effects, but with its simplicity, its absence of sentimentality. This is a silent, powerful movie with sound. Should be nominated. Will be nominated. No doubt at all.

This is the first time a telefilm was made about the hostage situation at Wijster, The Netherlands. The people in the train near Wijster were taken hostage by South Moluccan young men, who were desperately seeking attention for their situation from the Dutch government and the world. The story is told from the perspective of a Dutch journalist Rob, who was taken hostage. The film starts with Rob being caught in the act by his daughter, who realizes he is having an affair with his colleague. Rob is married and has two daughters. He's not sure about his marriage and if this love affair has to continue. The next day he missed the train to work, so he has to wait for the next train, unfortunately it's the same train the young South Moluccan men choose to hijack. From the moment the people in the train are taking hostage, we see Rob slowly taking charge of the kidnapped men and women, and he develops some sort of connection with one of the hijackers Noes, even though Rob is one of the chosen few who almost gets killed by the hijackers.

The side story in this telefilm is that of Rob's daughter Suzanne, who discovers her father is one of the people on the train taking hostage. Along with Rob's colleague Cecile (with whom Rob's having an affair) manage to get close to the train and to see if Rob's still alive.

The film ends with "Hena Masa Waja", the national anthem of the Moluccans.

"Wijster" has a beautiful production design. The look and feel of the Netherlands in the 70's is faithfully reproduced. Great choices for cast and crew, who were correctly authentic. I've seen a British documentary on the Moluccan events in the 70's, and a big problem with that one was that the Moluccan people in the reconstructions were played by British Indian who didn't even spoke the Moluccan language.

The only downside to this telefilm is the protagonist. The hijacking by the South Moluccan young men is the background of the main story in this film, which is the relation between Rob and his daughter Suzanne. The hijacking should be the main focus the film, with the character Noes as the main protagonist. Here in the Netherlands, we know a lot about the Moluccan actions in the 70's. The downside to that is, that we in general don't know a lot about the reasons for these actions, and even less about the Moluccan situation on its own. The South Moluccans in The Netherlands and on the Moluccan Islands near Indonesia, wanted attention and help for their cause: free and independent Moluccan Islands. In the Dutch East Indies, the Moluccan men were in the front lines for the Dutch Colonial Army. They were amongst the Dutch East Indies most loyal to the Dutch Queen. Because of this, they asked for help in their aid to establish a free and sovereign Moluccan country.

In this, the Dutch government never gave the Moluccan people the answer and help they so desperately needed. And that's why the Moluccan actions in the 70's unfortunately happened.