BLIND DATE
A film review by Peter Schouten
Copyright 1996 Peter Schouten
Netherlands 1996 Directed by Theo van Gogh >From an idea by Theo van Gogh, dialogues by Kim van Kooten With: Peer Mascini, , Roeland Fernhout Produced: BERGEN/THEO VAN GOGH
Director Theo van Gogh is a character by himself. He presents a strange talkshow on a local tv-network in Amsterdam en makes movies only he wants to put money in. Although his last movie, 06, was distributed overseas, in the Netherlands the public and critics alike had a field trip with it. The movie was thrashed and ridiculed, and not without reason. In 06 Van Gogh had his actors think up their own scenes, based on one idea: two individuals have a phone sex relation.
This time around he has learned, but not much. Again he had only one idea: two divorced individuals arrange blind dates, pretend they don't know each other and try to get in touch with their feelings, since their daughter died in a car crash they survived.
Instead of improvising everything there was actually a screenplay this time, but the dialogues were written by a child actress with one movie to her credit. Over and over we see the same 'blind' date. Character backgrounds are clear within 5 minutes, and half-way through you'll know the ending.
The best part in the movie is the voice of the dead child. She has wonderful lines, but as a whole, this could have been a nice 25 minute short, instead of a feature length movie. On the positive side, the movie doesn't drag, for there are many comic elements to lighten the drama.
After "Vals Licht" and "06", Van Goghs movies are definitely improving. Maybe, just maybe, he'll make a good movie someday.
Peter Schouten http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/7574 ---> Visit Celluloid Comics Today!
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