The big question was how many of those seven Golden Calf nominations Plan C would manage to cash in. To everyone's surprise, this petty crime comedy that attracted less than 7,000 visitors in cinemas had garnered even more nominations than The Heineken kidnapping. That says something about the surprise effect that comes from the enthusiastically and without a Film Fund contribution. Plan C. And perhaps also something about this year's rather limited competition of quality films for large audiences. So the question was: can Plan C now at the Dutch Film Festival might even become 'best film'?
The jury apparently didn't want to be that stubborn after all, because at the Gala of Dutch Cinema, things were brought back to more modest proportions. In the end, only René van 't Hof's supporting role and director Max Porcelijn's screenplay were awarded, although that is still a nice boost for the makers of Plan C.
On the other hand, the decision to then have Jos Stellings The girl and death awarding it the Golden Calf for best film at least as good for hubbub. Since the press screening some time ago, I had yet to meet anyone who saw the best film of the year in this melancholic, Chekhov- and Pushkin-like stylistic exercise. Beautifully beautiful, though, and then there was always some 'but'. The jury, however, saw a playground of imagination and a journey to other times and worlds. You would almost think Stelling managed to enchant them.
A fine feat of balancing then, of course, is to make a film that is in every way the opposite of The girl and death to be awarded the Golden Calf for directing. This award deservedly went to Paula van der Oest for The Domino Effect, a mosaic film made with love and passion about the human consequences of a collapsing economy.
Most of the other Golden Calfs are also more or less in line with expectations, such as crowning young talent Hannah Hoekstra for her sometimes breathtaking performance in Sky, or Reinout Scholten van Aschat, another promising newcomer, for his performance in The Heineken kidnapping. Matthijs' rules, the penetrating, tragic and already much-discussed portrait of an autistic young man is a worthy winner of the Golden Calf for best documentary.
The most underrated title by the jury division for feature films, meanwhile, is the award-winning film in the international circuit everywhere Chewboy (also our Oscar entry). This daring youth drama about the struggle with a great loss has to make do with a Golden Calf for best music as a consolation prize. While in everything that makes this film so impressive, that music actually only plays a very small part.
Surveying the whole range of nominations and awards, the impression even arises that this jury did not take youth and family films entirely seriously from the outset. There were some wonderful productions within this sector this year - rightly highlighted by the festival - but they were nowhere to be found in the list of nominations. With that music from Chewboy as an exception.
The audience had to step in to make up for it. The youth film Eighth-graders don't cry by Dennis Bots received the Golden Calf for the audience award, after the whole of the Netherlands was allowed to vote along via the internet. Then there is the audience survey at the festival itself. There, the top five even consists entirely of youth films, led by, yes, Chewboy. Rather unique this year is the unanimity between press and public, as Chewboy was also awarded the Dutch Film Critics' Prize. Justice after all.
Leo Bankersen
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