The Storm

It is good to refresh yourself on this century's Dutch cinema, and this beautifully and well constructed film on the flood disaster of 1953 is well worth watching. To be honest I was expecting more of a disaster spectacle, but instead I saw a film about grief and the search for a missing child. The flood itself is expertly filmed, using I think original footage and as the Dutch are masters of documentary the film did not fail on this level. Sylvia Hoeks gives a perfect performance as the mother searching the follow day among the wreckage for the infant she lost. Zeeland is or was a very pious part of Holland and prejudices against anyone who went or go against the ' norm ', based mainly on religion, are considered outcasts, even in their families, and this mother has an illegitimate child. In her search for the child she is joined up by the errant father's brother, and the love story that ensues is deeply moving. No spoilers but to mention the last part of the film left me feeling desolate., and rightly so. The tone of the film catches every nuance of loss and the tragedy of loss and as I said the grief element is in my opinion at the heart of the film. This should not put any viewer off from watching this superbly crafted piece of cinema, and the catharsis that I felt after it was over was well worth experiencing. I did not find fault with the dedicated acting, nor the direction and Sylvia Hoeks gives, and I repeat, a performance above criticism, and every shift of emotion or sudden happiness shows on her beautiful face. I am not sure if this masterful work has been seen elsewhere, and if not, why not ? As the subject matter is timeless, encapsulating a terrible moment in 20th C. History it will always be relevant especially in this era of brutal weather changes. I urge viewers to hunt this film down, and there is English subtitles on the Dutch DVD release. Is it a great film ? I think so, and will watch it many times, as it gives so much to humanity and what it should be at its best.

We had the privilege to see this movie on his World Premiere in Vlissingen. The actual area where this took place.

It was also the start of the "Film by the Sea" film festival and the whole Dutch film world was invited.

It is a beautiful film, well done with special effects which you don't see actually and a gripping story. All the performances are believable and if you like "De Tweeling" and "Bride Fligt" from the same director then you have to see this movie ! After the screening there was a huge party and we met a lot of famous actors from the Netherlands. We had a great night ! So for me this is a 8 out of 10.

Enjoy the movie, we did !

Michel van Dam The Netherlands.

56 years after the devastating 'big flood' of 1953 the tragedy finally makes it to to the big screen. After a wait this long it's even more a shame that such a big event in Dutch history turned out to be such a disappointing movie. Where other movies, like for instance Titanic, successfully use a personal drama as a metaphor for the bigger picture, 'De Storm' gets lost in a totally unrealistic and very one dimensional story about a woman losing her baby. The movie ends up almost ignoring the tragedy all those other thousands of people where facing during this flood. The characters in this movie aren't properly introduced so as a spectator you feel no connection at all with the leading roles. The dialogs are very poor and the acting, especially from leading lady Sylvia Hoeks, is a disgrace!!!

Just do yourself a favor and avoid this movie

Really, just read the book. I cannot even begin to compare it to this film. Bad acting, bad lines, wrong accents, and a thousand things missing in (and different to) the storyline.

The book catches the feelings and circumstances of main character Julia so well, you'll actually start feeling the same way she does and will want to pursue her goal of finding her baby even beyond the very end. The true tragedy and injustice of her situation will still hold you in it's grasp for a long time after finishing the book.

By the by, also there is more attention to the flooding and it's consequences to the people living there.

(Book is called '1953' by Rik Launspach)

I've seen this movie yesterday, also during the Film by the Sea festival in Vlissingen.

I really liked how the movie started, lots of tension building up and the special effects are very well done. If you want to learn more about the 1953 flood though, then this movie might not be the best choice. I was hoping for a more in depth movie about this subject, but the movie focuses more on a personal story that happens during (and partly because of) the flood.

The overall acting was mediocre, and only Sylvia Hoeks as our main character seems to be displaying some genuine emotions. The first thing I noticed was that the actors use almost no local dialect ('Zeeuws'). Even though it's not very realistic and probably done to appeal for a larger (Dutch) audience, I liked the choice.