Siberia

"Watch out ...... these guys are dangerous" This poster displayed in Amsterdam warns visiting tourists that all is not well in the streets of the big city because Hugo and Goof are abroad with intent to rob female backpackers after having a night of sex with them. Their technique seems faultless. Show a little kindness to the visitor by suggesting suitable accommodation for the night and hey presto! the takings are soon in the kitty. That is, until silly Goof falls in love with Lara from Siberia.

The situations are quite amusing and the repartee between the two guys quite witty. It's a nice twist when Hugo's mother keeps telephoning him on his mobile at the most inappropriate moments. "Not now, mother, I'm on day shift!" The pace of the film is just right although I think the use of the blurry black and white segments interspersed with the colour is somewhat overdone. Sudden bursts of white flashes and out of focus characters do little to explain what is going on. The music however blends nicely with the action and pushes the story along. The writers make attempts to lift the film at the end by inserting a comic scene after the credits. Here they are, Hugo and Goof, stumbling across the snowy waste land of Siberia calling for Lara at the top of their voices which indicates I think that despite all their cunning and devious behaviour neither one of them has much between the ears.

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.

The film deals with two apparently heartless, empty men, Goof and Hugo, who seduce tourists and then rob them of their passports and some of their cash. This is until they meet Lara and Goof finds himself too attached to continue his ruthless ways.

In looking at these two empty men, this film seems to ignore the fact that it is as empty and soulless as the two protagonists. The film has a very slight story - so slight that it's hard to care. Basically the two men find their match in the equally untrustworthy Lara, there's also a love triangle plot and a bet. But really it's very thin and without substance.

The performances are pretty good, although Goof is not totally convincing. However the script lets everyone down and the director cannot hide it. The director tries to be as hip as possible (he's obviously seen Trainspotting and the like), he uses a pumping dance soundtrack, he uses different film stocks, slow-mo, different camera angles etc etc. It really like he's making a 90 minute pop video - but that doesn't make a good film, instead it just highlights how empty the whole thing is.

The ending doesn't really mean anything and the film doesn't have any moral or message. Instead this just wants to get a young audience by having drugs and sex, fast music, music video direction and hip, morally ambiguous characters.

So it is actually funny to see a movie about what we all think when we see you tourists walking around in Amsterdam: You're helpless and clueless. Yes you are! All you're interested in is the red light district and marihuana. This movie is about two "scoundrels" who take advantage of the gullibility of young female backpacking tourists to steal their money and their passports. Then they meet one that is a little cleverer than they think....

The soundtrack is _very_ good (that is if you like loud electronic dance music by JunkieXL) and together with the way this movie is filmed (quick switches between black & white & colour, video and film, nice effects) it gives you the impression of a very long video clip. But a good one at least. Nice shots of the city I know so well, but the directors have escaped the threat of making one of those "holland promotion" things: no shots of people eating salted herrings, no wooden shoes, no windmills and no tulips, Hurray! They have succeeded in showing the city as a young backpaking tourist might perceive it: up and down Damrak, being hassled by dope-selling thugs and pickpockets, spending the day smoking in Bob's youth Hostel (or Freddy's piece hotel as it's called in the movie).

I'm not so impressed by the acting. Fernhout has a highly irritating grin on his face throughout the movie, and Metsers appears just to be playing himself: highly convinced about what a remarkable guy he really is. I happen to think his acting is very mediocre, but you may feel different.

So, not bad on the audio&video level. The story is a bit thin though. But do see for yourself....

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.