TGI Filmfetish Friday: Blue Valentine, Incendies, Gooische Vrouwen

TGI Filmfetish Friday: Blue Valentine, Incendies, Gooische Vrouwen

Apr 1, 2011 |  by  |  Art
About the author
As a freelance journalist, Anouk (26) usually writes about what other people do or like. In her precious spare time she watches arthouse films. Not a few. A lot, thanks to her trusted Cineville pass. Here she can finally share her film-fetish with the world.

To watch or not to watch? Anouk will tour around Amsterdam’s cinemas and answer this crucial question every Friday. Without mercy, of course. Sucky movies will be slaughtered, cinematographic pearls will be appreciated as such. Or the other way around. After all, good taste is in the eye of the beholder.

Blue Valentine

If you’re very much in love, don’t go to this movie. If your heart is broken, or if you just hate canoodling couples in general: GO! In Blue Valentine, Michelle Williams (famous for being Heath Ledger’s widow) and Ryan Gosling (yeah.. whatever) are in a relationship. The movie shows the beginning of their love story, but also the end of it. The audience is going back and forth in time: happy, sad, happy, sad. Girls will love Gosling for staying with Michelle, even though she’s pregnant after they only just met. And it’s not even his. That’s why guys probably think he’s a douche bag. But that’s not entirely fair. Blue Valentine shows in a tremendous way that life isn’t simply black or white. A must see for the realistic romantics.

Watch Blue Valentine in: Kriterion, Cinecenter, Tuschinski.

Incendies

When you see a lot of movies, you think you’ve pretty much seen everything. Huge mistake. Incendies will leave even the biggest film fanatic flabbergasted. The Canadian movie is about a brother and sister who just lost their mother. Her testament summons them to search for their father and brother they didn’t even know they had. What follows is an emotional trip through the Middle East, the birth ground of their mysterious mother. We also see flashbacks of her life, which slowly makes the puzzle more and more complete. Still, the end comes as a total shock. Only sick minds will be able to predict the conclusion in advance. Normal people will be totally overwhelmed and think about this movie for weeks. No wonder it was nominated for an Oscar and won several prizes.

Watch Incendies in:
Rialto, Het Ketelhuis.

Gooische Vrouwen

(You have to understand Dutch to watch this movie)
Linda de Mol can do whatever she wants, because it’s gonna be a success anyway. That’s like so annoying. Although I have to admit that I’m very grateful for her television show Gooische Vrouwen. The show, about four rich women in ‘het Gooi’, is hi-la-rious! What happens if a television programme is successful? Exactly, it’s turned into a movie. In that case the storyline isn’t very important, it’s all about giving the fans what they expect. That’s why Gooische Vrouwen the movie is an 105 minutes during episode. And honestly, that’s a bit too long. After a while you’re done with the ‘problems’ of Cheryl (whose husband is always cheating), Anouk (whose daughter calls her a slut), Claire (daughter and granddaughter go to Africa) and Roelien (does she even have a problem?). It takes the four ladies quite a long time to figure out that they have to do what is also done in Sex and the City: take a vacation abroad. A typical ‘okay-movie’. Nothing more, nothing less and that’s fine. Quotes like this make it all worth it: ‘Dus dit is dat meisje dat jou heb lope pijpen in de poppenhoek?’

Watch Gooische Vrouwen in:
The Movies, Pathe (all of them)

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