La furie

Through the eyes of a young boy we look at Tiny, an intriguing young woman.All men seem to love her - and she seems to love and please every man --- even the ugly and older ones. Tiny is like a hurt little bird. Sometimes she rages, sometimes she is warm and tender for the young boy. The movie shows how she and the boy get older - and how he discovers an awful secret about her. The actors all play very daring - they become older and older during the play. It is all about the hypocrisy in a family in the catholic south of the Netherlands in the fifties and sixties. When at the end the secret about Tiny is revealed, the personages are all very old - their lives have slipped away and nobody ever noticed Tiny's pain. Life is irreversible and Andre van Duren shows this in a moving and impressive way - and transcends the mere movie-anecdote of a hurt and abused girl. This is a worthy successor of the other movies by director Andre van Duren. With again realistic provincial people made of flesh and blood --- who are comical as well as tough and narrow- minded in their smugness. In De Helleveeg you can feel how a whole life slips away - and therefore it was moving and poignant.

I just saw this excellent film from the Netherlands at the EU Film Festival in Ottawa, Canada. It managed to make me curious in the beginning, then it made me laugh, and then it made me cry... The film brings you back to mid 20th century in EU when being a woman wasn't always easy. I thought the story was intriguing and neat and it flowed at a nice pace. Loved how the characters were well developed but not overly, just enough depth. I find sometimes film makers either don't give us enough information or get lost in telling us a bit too much about them. Actors did an awesome job, Hannah Hoekstra (Tiny) was so pleasant to watch! And of course I loved the directors' style, it kept me interested right until the very end, and made me go through all emotional states! What a gem!

This film gives you a clear look at what it wants you to see, then it turns on its heel and creeps up from behind you when you least expect it and ambushes your heartstrings, tearing at and ripping them to shreds, as only the very best can do. I, for one, am duly impressed. There are topics in here I know something about, and I must say they're handled expertly, brought forth slowly, inch by inch, for maximum effect and lasting impact. Any personal memories you'd thought long supressed rise to the top like cream. Any lingering feelings rush forth like a waterfall beating against the rocks. Any remaining bitterness or pain grips you tightly like a swaddled newborn. There's no escaping the message being delivered by writer, actors, and director, et al. And the ending? The ending kicks you right in the gut. Bravo! Well done! This film begs the questions, When are men going to start taking responsibility for what they do to women and girls, and, When will society demand it of them?

A great movie! Really keeps you thinking. Gives one the ability to think about one's own past!

Absolute great cinema. Superb acting by Hoekstra. I don't know if it is an adaptation of a book. But it feels like a homage to a literary masterpiece. This movie should be mandatory stuff for (male) students. Maybe I'm a bit biased, because I was born and raised in the same area where this movie takes place. Actually raised two decades later, but I 'feel' the movie like I was there. I think this must is be different for an audience abroad. But the theme is universal. I'm not a filmmaker, but I imagine it's very hard to produce this kind of film in the way they did. Finding the balance is key. In my opinion they succeeded. Film keeps you interested until the end. And what an ending... punch in the stomach. Real hard.