De Storm

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Movie
Original title De Storm
Country of production Netherlands
original language Dutch
Publishing year 2009
length 93 minutes
Rod
Director Ben Sombogaart
script Marjolein Beumer , Rik Launspach
production Johan Nijenhuis , Alain de Levita
music Fons Merkies
camera Piotr Kukla
cut Herman P. Koerts
occupation

De Storm is a 2009 Dutch drama film directed by Ben Sombogaart about the flood disaster of 1953 in the Dutch province of Zeeland .

action

The film depicts the catastrophe from the night of February 1, 1953 from the perspective of a young farmer's daughter Julia, who leads an outsider role in her village and in the family because of a recently born illegitimate child, a baby son. When the dykes burst, she had just returned from a village festival and was able to save herself with her sister, child and mother in the attic of the courtyard, which turned out to be unsafe. All family members perished in the flood except for the father, who hurried onto the dike and was separated from the family. Julia survived the night with her child in the attic, but the next morning she was separated from the child, who she was able to put in a closed box. Marine member Aldo, who is from the neighborhood, jumps out of a helicopter when he sees her on the ruined roof of the farmhouse amid the floods and saves her. The child had been washed away with the box, and the film subsequently shows Julia's search for the child, with Aldo helping her. Both get closer in the process. Among other things, Julia meets her father again during the search, which ultimately leads to a reconciliation, and also the father of the child (Koos), who left her at the time and with whom she no longer wants to have anything to do with. Different reactions of the population immediately after the disaster are shown, ranging from the selfishness of a restaurateur who is forced to provide emergency accommodation to solidarity among the victims. Julia does not find her son who was taken over by another woman (an acquaintance and neighbor of Julia's) who had previously lost her own child in an accident, but is close several times and even unknowingly becomes in the same boat as her Son evacuated by the military. In the final scene of the events of 1953, it is shown how Julia and others tackle the emergency repairs to the dikes. The film ends with the inauguration of the storm surge barrier structures of the Delta Plan in the 1970s, where Julia, who is now married to Aldo, meets her son for the first time.

Filming in the port of Ouddorp

background

The film is based on the first novel in 1953 by the actor Rik Launspach (* 1958), which was published by De Bezijge Bij in 2009 and which received the Zeeuwse Boekenprijs in 2009. The two (married) scriptwriters Marjolein Beumer and Rik Launspach worked on the film for over 10 years, but initially, despite the 50th anniversary of the disaster in 2003, could not find a financier, before one in the form of Universal and NL Film & TV (producers Alain de Levita, Johan Nijenhuis) took place. The production costs were around 6 million euros. The shooting took place from September to December 2008. The film premiered on September 17, 2009 at the Film by the Sea film festival in Vlissingen . The film had great success in the Netherlands, with 135,000 visitors in the first week and 450,000 after a month.

Originally the film was supposed to be shot in the municipality of Tholen and in the village of Stavenisse , but after resistance arose from the citizens who did not want to be reminded of the disaster in this way, the film was mostly shot in Belgium. Among other things, an entire polder was flooded in Tielrode , for which 90 residents gave their permission. A 150 m long section of the dike was built for the film. In the Netherlands, however, recordings were made in Zierikzee , Sommelsdijk , Ouddorp , Burgh-Haamstede, Castricum and Zoetermeer , among others .

The film won an award (Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking) at the Stony Brook Film Festival in July 2010 and was the inaugural film there.

Others

The title song Geef niet op is from the Dutch band BLØF . The computer animations for the storm come from the company Hectic Electric in Amsterdam (led by Raphael Kourilsky) and Paris in cooperation with AVP Amstelveen. In addition to the flood scenes, the entire Hotel Zeeland was animated on the computer and original film recordings from 1953 were also computer-animated.

Leading actress Sylvia Hoeks (* 1983, a former model) received the Golden Calf at the Dutch Film Festival in Utrecht for best supporting female role in 2007 for her role in the film Duska (directed by Jos Stelling) . Leading actor Barry Atsma (* 1972) has been a member of the Toneelgroep Amsterdam theater group since 2002.

Director Ben Sombogaart had previously enjoyed success with the 2008 Dutch film Bride Flight , which treats couples of Dutch emigrants to New Zealand after World War II, and with The Twins (De Tweeling, 2003), which thematize the occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. For the latter film, he received a Golden Calf at the Dutch Film Festival and an Oscar nomination. He also received a Golden Calf in 2007 for the film Kreuzzug in Jeans (Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek) .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information on the film by Delphis Films, see web links