De surprise

I loved the quirkiness and the rain. Both of which, combined with the hero who can't feel emotions, reminded me of Garden State, one of my fav romantic comedies.

There is a huge plot hole--the funeral home had no idea that our hero, Jacob, played by Jeroen van Koningsbrugge was going to come in and purchase their services that day. Yet, the plot hinges on them knowing. But I was willing to overlook that loose end as the rest of the movie was perfect.

Our hero was so out of it that he had no idea how he spent his days and had to ask the gardener, what he did on Fridays. BTW, the Gardener, Muller, played by Jan Decleir plays a very pivotal role in the movie.

Essentially, facing his death, Jacob had an awakening when he meets a beautiful woman--who wants to end her life too. And suddenly he could laugh, and get angry and enjoy dancing, all of the things that eluded him before. As he explained it, there was a "wall" between him and the rest of the world.

Intriguingly, Georgina Verbaan, embodying Anne de Koning, delivered a powerful performance, skillfully capturing the essence of a character seeking solace in the face of not belonging. The chemistry between Verbaan and Jeroen van Koningsbrugge subtly and believably fueled the hero's transformation, offering a poignant narrative of newfound purpose sparked by their fateful encounter.

In the hands of a typical Hollywood studios this would be a watered down formula movie, but I found the drama to stand out the most. It's a mistake to simply call this a romantic comedy. It is first and foremost a drama starting out as an examination of people in pain. And slowly embracing the quirky yet twisted predicament that ensues.

My expectations were low because of the trailer, but this dark comedy was both less dark and less predictable than I expected, and honestly one of the best foreign language films I've seen in a long time. The direction is tight and just about perfect. You can see the influence of both Wes Anderson and Francis Veber in it, especially in the atmosphere, but unlike WA it isn't so over the top as to take you out of the movie, and the comedy is less broad than in a FV film.

Jeroen van Koningsbrugge is completely believable in the title role, and while Georgina Verbaan's role is less complex she does have the difficult task of being a compelling romantic target for a without falling into a classic trope, and I would say she got it spot-on. The other actors are fine in roles that however are fairly one-dimensional

Visually the movie is stunning, and it has some great cars; don't watch it on a small screen if you can avoid it. An American remake would probably make it all about the car chases, which here are just the right length.

I wish Mike van Diem had more film credits, but apparently Hollywood sucked his soul and he spent 15 years recovering. The Surprise was a hell of a comeback.

A lovely movie Worth a watch.

Surprisingly good.

Just when you thought that.

"De Surprise" marks the long-awaited return of Mike van Diem (of 1997 "Karakter" acclaim). I had no idea what to expect, but wasn't disappointed: it's a clever, self-written, self-produced dark comedy, that surprises with its off-kilter locations, developments and characters.

Starting with a funeral and quickly progressing to boy-meets-girl, the setup is of the well-traveled romcom variety, but the story heads for loftier territories after this and keeps us engaged throughout. Van Koningsbrugge and Verbaan acquit themselves well in parts that require a more understated, highbrow approach than their usual brand of comedy, and - essential for this genre - I rooted for them all the way through.

What kind of bugs me, though: the main characters in "De Surprise" exhibit a Wes Anderson-ish formal approach to emotions, which, combined with a distinct Wes Anderson-ish quirky world view, setting and storyline, almost made me feel like I was watching a WA-movie, only one without Wes' exceptional talents for art direction and editing.

This is not to say "De Surprise" lacks originality: but the day after, it did impress me more as a tight exercise in style than a profound exercise in storytelling - quite unlike the superior "Karakter". It does re-establish Van Diem as an independent, original filmmaker, and here's hoping he'll stick to cinema the upcoming decade.