dutch films – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THE WOLF, THE FOX AND THE LEOPARD (Tribeca 2025) – Review by Sherin Nicole

June 16, 2025June 17, 2025 Sherin Nicole David Verbeek, dutch films, Jessica Reynolds, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, Marie Jung, naomi kawase, Nicholas Pinnock, the wolf the fox and the leopard, Tribeca 2025

I’m not going to start this review in the usual way but with something akin to a recap of its opening moments and part of the first act. I know you’re likely wondering why, and it’s because those scenes, literally, hit me in the head: Making its world premiere at Tribeca this year, The Wolf, the Fox and the Leopard begins with a radio scan, scrolling through the news of several natural disasters caused by climate change. A woman begins to narrate over a black screen in Japanese: “In the beginning, there was no story…” We see the tops of green trees: “The forest was breathing in and out peacefully. But a fever was taking hold of the world. An era was ending…” We drop to the forest floor, where brown and green ferns reach upward, searching for the light: “And it was precisely at this crucial time that she would enter our world.”

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK April 12, 2024: SWEET DREAMS

April 7, 2024April 11, 2024 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Dekanalog, dutch films, EnaSendijarević, hayati azis, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, LisaZweerman, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, RenéeSoutendijk, Rio Den Haas, sandie angulo chen, Sweet Dreams

Writer-director Ena Sendijarević’s strange, sumptuous critique of Dutch colonialism Indonesia during the early 1900s is rich with beautifully composed shots but the lacerating tragic tone is mixed with sardonic wit. From the opening shot of a boy killing a tiger that is then carted through the cane fields on the shoulders of Indonesian natives, sugar will be the undoing of everything and everyone by murder or suicide. Central to the action is Siti, the Indonesian housekeeper for plantation owner Jan and his bored wife Agathe. Their days of oppressive rule are quickly wilting in the torrid heat. There is unrest among the exploited indigenous workers; one of whom suggests that Siti poison their overseers. But Jan, we soon learn, is the father of Siti’s young son Karel who is treated as his heir and identifies with the colonizers. It’s Karel, the product of patriarchy, exploitation and greed, who is left with the spoils but at what cost? Full of eerie, surreal beauty and a touch of madness, Sendijarević’s twisted, tragic tale is a stunning film.

Festivals Interviews

Ena Sendijarević talks SWEET DREAMS (TIFF 2023) – Tara Karajica interviews

September 19, 2023September 21, 2023 Tara Karajica Dutch colonislism, dutch films, Ena Sendijarevic, indonesia, Renée Soutendijk, Sweet Dreams, TIFF 2023

Bosnian-Dutch filmmaker Ena Sendijarević’s her sophomore film is set on a remote Indonesian island during the waning days of the colonial era. Sweet Dreams is the story of two women who are left to their own devices after the death of Jan, patriarch owner of a sugar plantation. Sendijarević grew up in the Netherlands, a country with a long and atrocious imperialist past. “I never learned anything about it when I was [in] school. She wanted to know more about it and got the idea to do something with it on film.

Reviews

WHITE BALLS ON WALLS – Review by Liz Braun

May 23, 2023May 24, 2023 Liz Braun Amsterdam, documentaries, Dr. Charl Landvreugd, dutch films, Icarus Films, Kirchner and Nolde: Expressionism. Colonialism, Rein Wolfs, Sarah Vos, Stedelijk Museum, White Balls on Walls, Yvette Mutumba

The art world is shrouded in mystery (on so many levels) but writer/director Sarah Vos wades in fearlessly in the documentary White Balls on Walls — a film about Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum and that institution’s work on diversity and inclusion. It’s a fascinating film. Sorting out whose work gets shown and evolving as an institution so more artists of colour and more women artists are included is a tricky business. But it’s crucial, for both ethical and practical reasons. Tasked with representing the population at large, museum Director Rein Wolfs begins with an almost all-white staff and the understanding that from artists to exhibits, “White middle aged men occupy 95 percent of the space but are only 10 percent of the population.”

Festivals Reviews

TIFF16 Review: RETROSPEKT — Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

October 8, 2018October 8, 2018 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas 0 Comments dutch films, esther rots, Lien Wildemeersch, Retrospekt, tiff18

With its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, Dutch filmmaker Esther Rots’ sophomore feature Retrospekt is an extraordinary accomplishment and one of the standouts of this year’s Contemporary World Cinema programe. The film begins humbly enough and – based on the plot synopsis alone – indicates at first what might be a relatively pedestrian drama about a domestic violence counsellor