The vault

I already wanted to see this movie on the Edinburgh festival last summer, but it was sold out then. Not so this time, there were only five other people in the cinema, though I saw it in its first week in Utrecht. But it was a Wednesday early afternoon, and it was very bad weather. […]

‘Mein Herz brennt!’ This film has no gradual introduction, but you get Rammstein directly thrown at you at loud volume. You see a young girl in bad condition, running desperately in a western European landscape of busy motorways. You get the impression that there is no way out. Then she stops at a bridge, staring […]

This film won the ‘Golden Lion’ at the Filmfestival of Venice. Don’t watch it when you want a feel-good movie! The Magdalene Sisters is a grim, realistic portrayal of the life in the Irish catholic convents of the ‘Sisters of Mercy’. It is inspired by a Channel 4 documentary of a few years ago, which […]

One of the highlights in the oeuvre of Peter Greenaway (‘The Cook, the Thief…’, ‘Pillow Book’). ‘Drowning by numbers’ is in many aspects a remarkable movie. It’s the captivating story of three women, who each have their own way to kill their men. A film full of anecdotes, things worth knowing, bizarre games and peculiar […]

In the category ultra-violent Japanese ‘Yakuza-movies’ has Miike Takashi (‘Audition’) made an attempt to produce the ultimate masterpiece. Especially inventive torture scenes, detailed slaughterings, the most sadistic crook in film history and a large dose of black humour. ‘Ichi the killer’ is completely over-the-top!

The most controversial movie of 2002. Gaspar Noe shows the story of a man who takes revenge on the guy who raped his girlfriend. So this movie has two extremely shocking, violent and disturbing scenes. The camera work, which is at times deleric and disorientating, and the hypnotizing soundtrack make this movie an unforgettable watching […]

The movie that Todd Solondz made before the bewildering ‘Happiness’. ‘Welcome to the Dollhouse’ is again a biting satire on the American family life. The main character is a touching adolescent girl, who is struggling with her family, her classmate and mainly with herself. Extremely painful and extremely funny!

A masterly movie about betraying and being betrayed. It was called the South-American version of ‘Pulp Fiction’, but that is not completely justified. But it certainly is a nice, fresh movie with excellent actors and sudden turns in the plot, which only just refrain from being over-the-top…

In a desolate near future, a couple of young people get involved in a dangerous war simulation game called ‘Avalon’. Ash turns out to be a very strong player, and little by little she gets further and further entangled into the game?The Japanese director Mamoru Oshii ( Ghost in the Shell) shot the whole movie […]

A beautiful and moving film about family-ties. Director Mourieras (also known for ‘Dis-moi que je reve’) knows how to avoid the traps of cliches and false sentiments in a professional manner. The film tells about three sisters, Laure, Beatrice and Claire, who are living a smooth, problemless life. The sudden appearance, after fifteen years of […]