Siberia

This is a surprisingly good movie from the people who brought us the Dutch movie Zusje. Although Zusje was a big hit (especially for a Dutch movie) in the Netherlands, this film has had a short cinema rotation due to lack of success. I wonder why. To me Siberia is as good as the first film by Westdijk. Reading the plot makes you wonder if there's any plot at all. The basic story of Siberia seems a bit simplistic at first: two guys (Hugo and Goof) get their kicks from sleeping with female tourists and robbing these girls from their money and passport the morning after. When they meet Lara from Siberia their lives change and their friendship is put to the test. This may seem quite a standard tale, but it's not because of the way the story is told. In it's dynamics and sound it's a bit similar to Lola Rennt: a lot of camera movement, thundering beats in the exiting soundtrack by Junkie XL and as a viewer you can feel the adrenaline as if you're in the movie too. There are blurry black & white shots to make several scenes even more intense. This is one of those movies that have a look and feel of a music video with the way it's directed, but it only accentuates the emotions and actions in Siberia. And although the idea is not knew, Siberia is intriguing and fresh. The acting is terrific and the dialogs are great and sometimes very funny (Hugo gets dressed in the morning after sleeping with a tourist girl, when the girl wakes up: "Hugo?..." "Yes, I Go", Hugo replies). Warning: the film has a very nice ending, after it seems to have ended...!!!

Definitely 9 out of 10 for me.

Since last summer I am a big fan of Dutch cinematography. I saw movies of Jos Stelling, Gert de Graaff, Paula van der Oest and Mike van Diem. Every movie represents absolutely different style, but all of them are on the highest level. And so is Siberia. It is not the best I have ever seen, but it is a professional movie with very good story. Sometimes it is good to see "wrong" heroes. You don´t have to agree with every thing they do but still you can enjyo it. What I want is to see some Czech movies like this - showing the problems of the presence and not the past. And not trying to solve them. So I vote 8/10.

After I saw "Karakter" (Character) I knew that in The Netherlands we could also make movies worth looking. This one proves that also. After seeing too many movies with an "American way of life"-look it is a relief to see something completely Dutch. While it's not so perfect as "Character" it's still much better than the average which comes from Hollywood. The actors are exactly at the right place, and the music from Junkie XL is really cool , but I always liked the Prodigy-style.

Badly cut, terrible acting, horrible writing, slick cinematography that just cares about looking good. You're just thinking: 'So What?' Boring and stupid.

Goof and Hugo are friends with a hobby. In Amsterdam, they pick up female tourists and get intimate quickly. When the girls are asleep, their money is stolen along with the first page of their passport.

The scheme is upset when Lara comes to town and gets treated by Goof and Hugo. Goof habitually falls in love with the girl, but this time Hugo cannot get him to move on. Will Lara's desire to take Goof home to Siberia drive the friends apart?

Given that it is a low-budget Dutch production, this movie has a lot going for it. Most of the conversations are in English, which should limit subtitling to a minimum. The score by Amsterdam-based DJ's Junkie XL is excellent and the movie has a good pace. Those who have been to the city, or are familiar with the tourist scene in Amsterdam, are sure to have a good laugh at some of the characters in the movie.