Ober

Ober, was one of the MANY films shown at the Seattle International Film Festival this year and one of the few I selected to view. Ober is a very black comedy which in many ways is an insider joke that only writers would fully appreciate. Often times when deeply involved in a writing project whether it is a screen play,stage play, or novel, a writer will feel like his/her characters have "taken on a life of their own". Well, this is what happens to Herman the screenwriter whose storyline begins to displease Edgar his main character.

There are some violent scenes, but so overplayed those scenes seem to be more parodies of movie violence than the "real" movie violence.

One scene toward the middle of this film is especially funny and painful at the same time. It involves an old shopkeeper and a bow and arrows. That scene appears to have been shot in "real" time,and with minimum edited put in the movie in real time. Funny and painful, but funny anyway.

Ober, which is German and Dutch for "waiter" is subtitled which for me was annoying. I understand a little bit of Dutch so I could pick up on some of the dialog and spent so much energy on listening, I missed reading some of the subtitles. It would be nice if this wacky gem could be dubbed into English.

If it should appear at an "art" movie house or a film festival in your community you should go see it.

WAITER (Alex van Warmerdam - Netherlands/Belgium 2006).

Alex van Warmerdam is the writer, director and star in this original and wickedly funny black comedy, that really made me laugh with tears. The opening film at the Dutch Film Festival 2006 in Utrecht last week and almost unanimously greeted as some kind of dark comic masterpiece. Interesting trailers suggested a very inventive script as well and with a cast consisting of some of my favorite actors, Mark Rietman in particular, I went to see this with towering expectations. Well, I wasn't disappointed. It's hard to compare van Warmerdam with any other filmmaker in contemporary Dutch cinema, but this certainly was the funniest Dutch film I've seen in years.

Fifty year old Edgar (Alex van Warmerdam) is a sad-sack ober (a waiter) in a type of spacious unassuming restaurant that doesn't seem to exist anymore since the early eighties. He divides his time between needy mistress Victoria (Ariane Schluter) and his bed-ridden wife (Silvia Poorta). Since he has been a waiter for 25 years, he has lost interest in his work in every imaginable way. His life as a waiter consists of being assaulted by customers, either arrogant businessmen, or his mistress, who also frequents the restaurant on a regular basis and even demands his attention when he's working. One evening, when Edgar is given a beating by a bully customer (Pierre Bokma) he suddenly appears at the door of a writer and we find out all the action up until now has been the work of screenwriter Herman (Mark Rietman). Edgar demands Herman writes him a more assertive character and wants a mistress he really cares for. Well, he gets it, but with every new turn Herman writes, Edgar gets deeper into trouble and soon, every character in the story turns up at his doorstep, demanding a better life. Subsequently Edgar's life becomes a bizarre string of occurrences with neighbours who turn out to be professional (Russian?) criminals (who also like to throw their garbage in his backyard), adultery, three-cornered relationships, suicides and murder.

Van Warmerdam gives such a deadpan performance, it makes Jon Heder in NAPOLEON DYNAMITE look like some ferocious method actor. And watch out for Fedja van Huet. He contributes to some laugh-out-loud moments as Victoria's brother, who forces Edgar to give his sister a second chance during a dinner. I never realized he could make me laugh in such a way. A real hoot!

I feel I don't do justice to this film by looking for some arguably comparable and perhaps better known filmmakers, who are true originals in themselves, but how to describe this unique film to many non-Dutch who are not familiar with his style? Charlie Kaufman style meta-fiction meets Aki Kaurismaki, Jarmusch, and (the early) Woody Allen, combined with Van Warmerdam's keen eye for delivering visual comedy, it's hard to imagine anybody else could have pulled it off so well. I think it's his cinematic sensibility in visual comedy what makes van Warmerdam such a unique filmmaker. His films - and this one is no exception - are so truly his own, it's hard to imagine he's been influenced by anyone at all.

Just a touch short from hitting the bulls-eye completely, because it could have held back a little on the comedy element at times, it seems to be straining for effect in some scenes. About halfway the film takes a somewhat sharp left-turn towards slapstick. When the audience was still recovering from the last laugh, some "real dramatic" scenes played out, which tended to lose its impact because of the machine gun-paced bombardment of comic scenes before and after these scenes. When Edgar decides to buy a bow and arrow in some strange shop (with Rene Groothof dressed up as a woman!) it becomes a bit too much. Sure, it's very funny, but didn't seem to belong in this film.

But what a treat this was, with stunning photography and beautiful locations. I'm sure this is a film that audiences in other countries should enjoy as well. The film will probably be released in Canada (was already shown at the Toronto Filmfestival) and in the U.S. under the title WAITER.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10

I watched this movie yesterday evening. First of all: too bad there was a break, we were just reaching the point where I started wondering whether there would be a happy or a tragic ending. It was remarkable there were almost no scenes in broad daylight. It also struck me the restaurant was almost empty. The atmosphere resembled somewhat the paintings of Dennis Hopper. If you would have told me the story was located in the 50's, I would immediately have believed that. In a way, the story is timeless, and though we are in a city, it is completely unimportant which city this is. You see Edgar one or two times in a tram from the Hague, but you see so little of the city, you don't have the idea the Hague is the location for this movie. The humor is wonderful, many times characters overreact, with as result principal characters end up in funny situations. If you recall the British comedy Fawlty Towers, and like the character of Basil Fawlty, you know what humor to expect.

Most films about human life's ordinary characters are able to charm audiences as they depict the true feelings of human beings. Dutch film 'Ober' is one such film which succeeds enormously as it has chosen a very good theme. It is in the form of the depiction of a waiter who can be hailed as the most ordinary of all ordinary people. Director Alex Van Warmerdam is able to add extra strength to his film by playing the leading role. As the film begins, Alex is shown to bear all insults with utmost coolness and fortitude. However, as the film progresses, Alex decides to ask tough questions about his fate. This situation gives rise to a series of hilarious encounters with screen writers who exercise absolute control over their characters and their fates. In the field of art, an artist is given complete control to develop the characters. One must nevertheless ask the most pertinent questions : Who controls the life of a character ? Is it the character himself/herself who controls his/her destiny ? Does the character have an independent existence ? These questions do not have simple answers as a lot of subjective perspectives do come into picture. Director Alex Van Warmerdam makes a good try at answering them in his film "Ober". His film is a poignant plea for respecting all human beings regardless of their foibles.

"It's really funny to see this poor guy being used as boxing equipment by almost everyone." - says another commentator. Excuse me? What is so funny about that? I have watched that film patiently; I have live in Holland long enough to understand what most other foreign viewers would experience as just simply plain stupid - but if you think that broad audience outside of the Netherlands is going to appreciate this film, you are sadly mistaken. It was boring, with nudity, sex and slapping filling the gaps in the poor written story - and actually far worse than many of the really strong Dutch films I have seen. The only moment I found funny was with 4 Africans - there is a good point there about the "quality" of a Ducthman as a lover!