Van God Los

I've seen quite a lot of movies, also quite some Dutch ones. Most of them suck quite heavily or are far too commercial, therefore i didn't expect much from Van God Los. But i was wrong.

The movie is very catchy, as it is being told from the perspective of Stan, a young Gymnasium student, who dislikes school and is mostly found being out on the streets. His parents don't care for him much, so he is quite left alone. Then he meets Maikel and they become very close friends. They start with some small illegal businesses, but end up being hired killers.

The story being told from a main character perspective, with commenting on Stan's thoughts, is quite unusual for Dutch movies and almost gives it a Hollywood feeling, with links to movies like the Godfather series. This makes the movie very impressive and really gets you into the main character and his feelings.

When the movie ended, i almost felt the urge of applauding for it, but since the entire cinema was silent, so was i. It was clear to see that this movie made a great impression on all viewers, it was a long time ago i heard so little noise when all people left their seats. This movie is in my opinion already a (Dutch) classic! A must see!

After reading the true crime novell " bende van Venlo" translated the venlo gang. I went to the cinema expecting a sort of gangster flick with a sick twist. Afterwards I can fairly tell that this isnt't the case. The Venlo gang story was just picked as a thin story bottom. What we see here is an social dramatic, but yes sometimes shocking violent movie. The characters should have been given a little more depth, especially because the first quarter is quit slow, my guess is that time could have been uses more usefull. I am being dutch, not a great dutch film lover, although I have to say that exeptions are made (turks fruit, soldaat van oranje, zusje) and especially the recent Lek made a giant leap in the right direction. Problem in in holland is mainly financial, big movie producers are not here. Back to the movie, the Maikel caracter is very well acted by Tygo Gernand and its a shame that non dutch viewers won't be able to spot the hilarious dialect. The Stan caracter although the main caracter is actually wiped of the screen by the above. Angela Schijf playing the girlfriend, is just perfectly casted, and know how her role fits in the movie. The story is about 2 youngsters, who start up a violent lifestyle, and as usual the story ends sadly. The message that I got from it is, non-caring parents beware. Stan growing up without his real dad, with a substitute who doesnt seem to notice him, the girlfriend with a copple of weak parents who should have given the little tramp an ass woopin a long time ago and Maikel who didn't even meet his dad at all. All in all its a very interesting movie which certainly has some great directing moments to it.

This movie surpassed all my expectations. Its very raw in its violence and story. The characters are well developed and the actors that portray them are most excellent.

I couldn't help thinking about "Goodfellas" while watching this movie. Both movies have certain parallels. The main character doesn't begin his life as a criminal and murderer but slowly becomes so and transforms throughout the movie. Also the criminal activities in both movies are quite the same. Still this doesn't mean that "Van God Los" is a cheap Dutch rip-off of "Goodfellas", no not at all! "Van God Los" is a powerful movie on its own that is driven by its well developed characters. The movie has some pretty violent scene's, they were really not holding back here and I found it even quite shocking and disturbing at times but in a good way.

The story is very solid and well written and it's loosely based on true events. Yes people, these events and gangs are so rare in The Netherlands that they make movies about them. All of the events in the movie feel all very realistic which is I think also thanks to the fine actors. But it's not all violence in this movie, the movie is driven by some powerful emotions and the movie has several layers. It's a both powerful emotional movie as well as a violent one. In a way the movie shows that everyone has it in him or her to become a criminal. Basically there is no reason why this couldn't happen to any of you out there.

The movie is very well directed by Pieter Kuijpers, who is a great character director. The fine cinematography by Bert Pot impressed me and the music by 'Het Paleis van Boem' set the mood for the movie perfectly.

To be honest, I was kind of worried when the movie and its narration began. All of the main characters in the movie are speaking with a certain Dutch accent they speak in the southern province Limburg. I'm from the absolute most northern province of The Netherlands and Limburg is the most southern province of The Netherlands. Needless to say that the accents are completely different and in my ears even irritating, than I'm used to. But those worries were all for nothing, you get used to the accents very quick and after a while you don't even really notice them anymore. Of course for all the people outside The Netherlands who don't speak one word of Dutch, this isn't a complaint because they will simply of course not be bothered by it at all.

This movie most certainly surprised me in a positive way and I think that this movie deserves an international audience.

9/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

To start off; i liked this film, particularly Tygo Gernandt's acting was plainly brilliant. The sorry thing about dutch films is, that mainly stage actors appear in dutch productions. Obviosously dutch directors find it very difficult to direct acclaimed theater actors, let alone telling them that stage acting(e.g. articulation and exaggerated physical expression) is a big no-no film acting. The southern dutch accent is very well performed by Tygo en Egbert, however most of the other actors 'slip back' to a pathetic attempt, particularly the ( here I go again) stage actors. The directing and the editing of this movie were very undutch and therefor very strong, the acting however........ three great actors can never compensate 10 mediocre to sloppy actors. Conclusion: A more dedicated and disciplined director combined with a less conservative casting director could have lifted this flick to a higher level and in the process would have put dutch film-making on the map.

This movie is loosely based on real events, and that's also pretty much the feel it has to it: real. This movie is not a vivid, lively crime drama, it's definitely no "Goodfellas" rip-off, it's one of the grayest and most depressing movies I've ever seen. The colors look, wait, what colors? The acting is excellent all around, I can't believe how convincing everyone's accent is. The plot is very basic and raw, even though the girlfriend issues do tend to get tiresome near the end. What I love most though is the ending narration, which consists of the most deadpan monologue ever. Those who can't be moved by this film have no pulse.