Martijn Blekendaal (The man who looked behind the horizon) is not afraid to challenge young viewers. That is why it was nice not to see his youth documentary The Invisible Ones as a press screening for once, but last Sunday at its premiere in the Ketelhuis in Amsterdam, where there was also a lot of young audience. Who afterwards also asked the director many questions.
Those invisible, to put it briefly, are children who once wanted to be invisible. Out of shame, for instance, or because they had to go into hiding during World War II. One of them, now a cheerful old gentleman present at the premiere, became terrified when he saw German soldiers through the cracks of his hiding place. He still has a fear of chinks. And hearing all those stories, Blekendaal thought it would be best to have a superhero to help those invisible children.
Blekendaal worked on the film for seven years, and had many doubts about the direction along the way, but precisely because he put so many ideas into it, it has become a true feast of imagination, with often surprising images. And set up in such a way that the children also experience that adventure of making it.
'You don't belong here!'
Nice also that he begins a memory from his own childhood. As a coloured boy at a white school, he was told by his classmates: 'You don't belong here!' Then he wanted to be invisible himself.
In the film, he tells in voice-over what this was like, and how he has now made this film. He tells it as if he has a circle of children around him watching that film at the same time. And see how Blekendaal first wanted to use Batman as an example, because he is so human, and how he figured out that superheroes don't have to come from outer space, but can just be very close already. And how he then sets out with two friends in a secret basement full of exciting stuff to try to make an invisible superhero himself.
Meanwhile, he interweaves the appealing stories of the children (now often adults) who wanted to be invisible with images from old comedies and superhero movies. You see how you can also use all kinds of tricks to make someone invisible. Blekendaal demonstrates that you can still become invisible in front of the film camera by putting on a green suit. Naturally, there was a question about that afterwards. Funny that Blekendaal then has to admit that he doesn't really understand it himself either.
It is entertaining, curious, and at the same time very serious. The stories about what some of the children experienced in wartime make a noticeable impression. One of the children in the film wants to remain invisible even now. He tells of his difficult childhood, with a father who used drugs and beatings. And so there are many more stories. There is a refugee who now wants to help others, there is a Palestinian boy who lived an invisible life for years because of his orientation. And, of course, Ms Walvisch. She still hates the colour yellow because it was the colour of the Star of David. Aren't they all superheroes?
Hand on the shoulder
Thus, Blekendaal slowly but surely got the idea that a superhero can lurk in everyone. And to support someone, a hand on the shoulder can be enough, as he beautifully illustrates with a scene from Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire. He takes his young audience (say from 8 to 80) very seriously, you can clearly see that. A superhero, in conclusion, actually possesses very ordinary qualities: imagination, helpfulness, patience, willpower or perseverance.
As icing on the cake, Blekendaal has another surprising bouncer in store. In the final scene, we see a manhole cover going up. A shadow betrays an invisible figure climbing out. A superhero? Suddenly it looks like someone is pushing against the film screen from behind. Is the superhero going to break out? I won't say more, but something is happening in the room.
Afterwards, I notice that the young audience really liked it, even though it was a very different film from what they usually see. One boy I speak to briefly remarks that he had heard beforehand that it was a documentary and something with superheroes. He could not have imagined anything about that. But he loved what he had now seen.
So here lies another fine challenge for the theatres that will screen The Invisible Ones this autumn. Young viewers will be impressed afterwards, but how do you get them into the auditorium? At least not by calling it a 'documentary', because then many children will think: 'boring'.
