I recently reviewed "Turkish delight" (1973, Paul Verhoeven). In this film Monique van de Ven made her sensational debut in the Dutch film scene.
"Iris" was made 14 years later, lead actress Monique van de Ven now belonging to the stars of Dutch cinema.
The film is a little bit forgotten. As far as I know I am the first to write a user review about it on IMDB.
A few years after the release the film generated a TV series that ran during a couple of seasons, so the reception couldn't have been really bad. That is also my impression. The film is good without ever becoming exceptional.
The film is about Iris (Monique van de Ven), a veterinarian that doesn't want to treat only cats and dogs but also large cattle.
This ambition drives her out of the big city into a small village. The reception in this small village is not very friendly, not to say outright hostile. Gossip and bullying are the order of the day. Who is the mastermind behind the bullying? Is her professional ambition worth the negative impact that village has on her social life?
These questions are answered in a surprising ending.
"Cinemagezine" compares the film with "Strawdogs" (1971, Sam Peckinpah) and that is in my opinion a bull's-eye comparison. "Iris" has on top of that a touch of feminism because the newcomer in this film is not a male mathematician but a female veterinarian.
This feminism (or the lack thereof in the village) was in my opinion aptly illustrated in a dialogue between Iris and her female housekeeper at the beginning of the movie. The dialogue is about the question of Iris is to be called "mevrouw" or "mejuffrouw". A "mevrouw" is married, a "mejuffrouw" is not (Iris is not married but has a botfriend). In recent times the word "mejuffrouw" has completely fallen into disuse. I don't even know if the English language has a similar distinction? Maybe the distinction betweem madame ("mevrouw") and miss ("mejuffrouw")?
Monique van de Ven has a good performance as the lead character. The best performance however is in my opinion that of John Kraaijkamp sr who plays the autocratic oligarch of the village who has become frustrated since a car accident confined him to a wheelchair.
