10s Movie Review - Süskind

Director: Rudolf van den Berg
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Jeroen Spitzenberger, Nyncke Beekhuyzen, Karl Markovics, Katja Herbers, Tygo Gernandt, Olga Zuiderhoek, Chava voor in ’t Holt, Nasrin Dchar, Henk Poort

Description: During WWII, a member of the Jewish council of Amsterdam (Jeroen Spitzenberger) finds a way to spare children from deportation to death camps.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 1: A MOVIE FILMED IN YOUR COUNTRY

Review: Walter Süskind never became a real war hero. On the contrary, because of his, at first sight, good relationship with th German army officers during the Second World War, many saw the Jew Süskind as a traitor, a defector. Nevertheless, many Jews today ow their loves to his heroic deeds during WWII. And although Walter Süskind is already well known as a Jewish resistance hero, his deed are shown to a larger audience with the film “Süskind”.
The story is set in Amsterdam during the German occupation. To prevent himself and his family from being transported to Germany, Walter joins the Jewish Council. This ensured that the deportation process of the Jews went smoothly and Walter became mainly responsible for this. Soon Walter came into contact with Felic Halverstad and Piet Meerburg and together they came up with a plan to falsify the lists and thus save small children from transportation. A life-threatening plan, for which he puts both his own life and that of his family at risk. By becoming friends with the German general Ferdinand Aus der Fünten, he tries to hide his risky double life.
After earlier smaller roles, Jeroen Spitzenberger now plays his first leading role in a large film and he knows how to portray this character in a strong, credible way. Especially the convincing wa in which he succeeds in capturing the lonely Ferdinand Aus der Fünten and responding to his feelings is done very strongly.
For the other big roles Nyncke Beekhuzen has been chosen, as Hanna Süskind, Walter’s wife. And we see Katja Herbers, who can be seen as Fanny Philips, who has an important tole in the smuggling of the children.
What immediately strikes one when seeing “Süskind”, is the tremendously well-affected atmosphere. The sad atmosphere is of course logical given the setting in which the story takes place, but it is especially the enormous oppression and discomfort that you will notice. The film grabs you from the first second and during the film this only becomes more and more. The perfectly captured atmosphere is the biggest asset of this film.
 
With Süskind”, director Rudolf van den Berg delivers a very strong film. A conscious choise ws made to tell a compelling story rather than give a history lesson and the film succeeded in this. The basis of the story is historically correct and that is very important. The film emphatically addresses the role of the Jewish council and the ease with which the Dutch Jews were deported. For example, “Süskind” is still a bit of a history lesson, but a very interesting one. The Dutch answer to “Schindler’s List”.

Rating: 4/ 5

10s Movie Review - Bloedlink

Director: Joram Lürsen
Genre: Thriller/ Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 90 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Marwan Kenzari, Tygo Gernandt, Sarah Chronis

Description: Two ex-cons kidnap (Marwan Kenzari, Tygo Gernandt) a millionaire's daughter (Sarah Chronis) and hold her for ransom, only to see their scheme go awry when she proves herself to be more cunning than expected.

Review: Director Joram Lürsen decided to remake the British Indie film “The Disappearance of Alice Creed”, from 2009. The film is exactly the same, but this time in Dutch with Dutch actors.
“Bloedlink” starts strong. Rich man’s daughter Laura is being kidnapped in broad day light, by two men. She is tied up to a bed and has no idea why they took her. The kidnappers, Victor and Rico, want her father’s money.
The plot sounds simple, but it has some surprising moments.
The strongest element of the film is the acting. Especially Tygo Gernandt as Victor and Sarah Chronis as Laura are very strong. The first half of the film is great, but the further we get into the story, the more unbelievable it gets.
A thriller with a strong cast of three and a fantastic first half. But it sadly couldn’t keep that same level of excitement through the entire runtime.

Rating: 3 / 5