100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 146: Schone Handen

Director: Tjebbo Penning
Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Jeroen van Koningsbrugge, Thekla Reuten, Angela Schijf, Camilla Siegertsz, Sol Vinken, Teun Kuilboer, Bart Klever, Marcel Faber, Nino den Brave, Frederik Brom, Poal Cairo, Jenne Decleir, Nino den Brave, Bente Fokkens, Cees Geel, Tjebbo Gerritsma, Trudy de Jong, Han Oldigs

Description: A drug lord's wife (Thekla Reuten) faces a crisis of loyalty when her husband's (Jeroen van Koningsbrugge) cutthroat dealings compel her to flee with their young children.

Review: Jeroen van Koningsbrugge is a Dutch actor and comedian. But he has been doing more serious roles for a while. They say there is a thin line between comedy and drama. But this can easily go wrong. Van Koningsbrugge doesn’t always convince as drug lord.
Eddie deals in drugs. His wife knows, but tries to ignore it Their children think their father runs an honest business. When a good friend is killed, wife Sylvia finds it harder and harder to deal with their lifestyle. It is also harder for her to keep her kids away from the mess Eddie leaves behind. But Eddie has a big impact on Sylvia, becase she has one big dream. Running her own beach club. With the promise, Eddie manages to calm his wife. But it doesn’t take long for Sylvia to realize it’s better to get away from Eddie.
Like I stated before, Jeroen van Koningsbrugge doesn’t always convince as Eddie. It’s Thekla Reuten that steals the show. Her performance is so strong and you feel for her. She makes you care.
As a Dutch woman, I don’t always like the movies that are made here. “Schone Handen” is an okay crime thriller.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 69: Daglicht

Director: Diederik van Rooijen

Genre: Thriller

Runtime: 114 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Angela Schijf, Fedja van Huet, Monique van de Ven, Thijs Römer, Victor Löw, Matteo van der Grijn, Derek de Lint, Daniel Verbaan

Description: The ambitious lawyer Iris (Angela Schijf) has to find a balance between her single motherhood and her job as attorney of shady cases. When she is housesitting for her mother, she discovers a dark family secret.

Review: “Daglicht” is an adaptation of the novel by Dutch author Marion Pauw, which was released in 2008. The story follows Iris, a single mother with a son who shows signs of autism. Her icy cold mother helps her out when she’s working. When Iris is keeping an eye on her mother’s house, she finds out she has a brother, Ray. He’s in jail for the double murder of a young woman and her baby. Iris starts to investigate the case and realizes that the truth isn’t out in the open yet.

The story is very good, you get sucked in very easily. There is this mysterious atmosphere. “Daglicht” manages to stay mysterious until the end. This makes the ending very surprising and you never see it coming.

Because the storyline is so complex, not all subplots and characters are executed the way they should.

Although I’m Dutch, I’m not a huge fan of the movies made in my country. But there are two kinds of films the Dutch know to do well: kids and young adult films, and thrillers. It’s a very solid thriller, that kept me on the edge of my seat. Well done!

Rating: 3,5 / 5