Volume 5, Issue 9
28 FEBRUARY - 5 MARCH 2008 Banging our heads against invisible walls
Spring Cultural Calendar Pull it. Unfold it.
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Who killed metal? (And its many heads?)
page 10 Who’s going to bring science to life? page 6 Not Putin page 4 But maybe Cruijff can save everything! page 5 FILM: Daniel Day-Lewis gets covered in oil p. 18 / FOOD: Glutton gets covered in ribs p. 17
Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Music/Clubs . . . . . . . . . .13 Gay & Lesbian . . . . . . . .14 Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Classifieds/Comics . . . .21
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Amsterdam Weekly
ATTACHMENTS In this issue and...
On the cover ARNO COENEN IN HIS BEAUTIFUL YOUTH www.solidrocketboosters.com
Next week Who killed the new romantics?
Letters Got an opinion? We want to hear it. inbox@amsterdamweekly.nl
Amsterdam Weekly BV De Ruyterkade 106, 1011 AB Amsterdam Tel: 020 522 5200 Fax: 020 620 1666 www.amsterdamweekly.nl General info: info@amsterdamweekly.nl Agenda listings: agenda@amsterdamweekly.nl Advertising: sales@amsterdamweekly.nl Classifieds: classifieds@amsterdamweekly.nl PUBLISHER Todd Savage EDITOR Steve Korver ASSISTANT EDITOR Nina Siegal AGENDA EDITOR Steven McCarron FILM EDITOR Julie Phillips COPY EDITOR Mark Wedin EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Sarah Gehrke ART DIRECTOR Bas Morsch PRODUCTION MANAGER Karen Willey PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Mattijs Arts, Russell Joyce SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Carolina Salazar ACCOUNT MANAGERS Marc Devèze, Simone Klomp, Floortje Mennen FINANCE ASSISTANT Simone Choi DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Patrick van der Klugt FINANCIAL ADVISER Kurt Schmidt (Veresis Consulting) PRINTER Corelio Printing Amsterdam Weekly is published every week on Wednesday and is available free at locations all over Amsterdam. Subscriptions are available for €60 per six months within the Netherlands and €90 per six months within Europe. Agenda submissions are welcome, at least two weeks in advance. New contributors are invited to visit Amsterdam Weekly’s website for contributor guidelines. Contents of Amsterdam Weekly (ISSN 1872-3268) are copyright 2008 Amsterdam Weekly BV. All rights reserved.
10 WHITE RECTANGLES Submitted by Bram Nijssen
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28 February-5 March 2008
AROUND TOWN
MARIEKE VAN DITSHUIZEN
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Eastern promises Dance, drink and play chess with Putin. By Rebecca Wilson The Russian presidential elections will be held this Sunday, 2 March, but there’s no doubt Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, chairman of state-owned oil company, Gazprom, will become Russia’s new leader. Departing President Vladimir Putin has handpicked his loyal subordinate, while he himself is set to become his country’s new prime minister. But first, apparently, he’s spinning some tunes at De Balie on Saturday. A virtual Putin will be hosting an evening called Club Gazprom, a Saturday night of dance and debate at De Balie to celebrate the Russian elections, framed by movie screenings on Friday and Sunday. Even if the elections are theoretically already sewn up, the organisers of the party say they want to have an impact on the lives of the partygoers.
Programmer Caspar van Gemund says, ‘I’ve always wanted to throw politically engaged parties. I want to lend a sense of history to people’s lives, so they will say, yeah, I remember the Russian elections of 2008. I danced to them.’ Club Gazprom is the first instalment of Club Interbellum, a new party that will take place at De Balie every two months on the eve of a major socio-political event. It will be hosting, for example, something called Goodbye Cigarette night sometime this summer before the smoking ban hits. Van Gemund, being half Czech, has always been aware of how influential Russian politics are. ‘And when Putin came to power, I immediately realised something very sinister had happened.’ Saturday’s party begins with a debate where the audience will be asked to vote Russian style. What exactly this entails will only be revealed on the evening itself, but it involves a list of phrases that the political spin doctors in the Kremlin use on TV and in newspapers to get the ‘brand’ Putin across to his people. For fun, there will be live bands, deejays, dancing and Russian roulette—presumably this will be fake Russian roulette. Partygoers also have an opportunity to play chess with Putin and maybe win—but if they don’t, he can cut off the gas supply. That’s unfortunately a depressingly
Vladimir Putin, the ‘little rat’.
realistic threat, says Russian political analyst Andrei A Pointkovsky, a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute, an international think tank in Washington and author of the recent book, Another Look into Putin’s Soul, published by the Hudson Institute in 2006. ‘He’s done it before, in Ukraine, so he may well cut off gas again,’ says Pointkovsky. Van Gemund says he wanted to highlight the important issues in the Russian elections through theatrical antics: ‘Putin’s biggest feat in the two terms he’s served since 2000 was returning Gazprom to state ownership.’ Since many European countries are largely dependent on Gazprom’s gas, Putin has increased Russia’s foreign power immensely, and he’s not afraid to use it. Pointkovsky says he doesn’t think many Europeans are worried about this problem, but they should be. Recently, he spoke to the top executives of Shell Oil in the Netherlands, who he says ‘are great friends and admirers of Putin.’ He says he doesn’t think it’s wise for Europe to rely on one supplier so heavily. Rene Does, editor in chief of Prospekt, a Russian affairs magazine published in the Netherlands, agreed that Europeans
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should be worried. He says oil money has ensured Putin’s rise to power. Though he’s been genuinely popular at home, and this year made Time Magazine’s 2007 Person of the Year, Does says he’s used that power to erode democracy, press freedom and human rights in Russia. ‘Putin’s been lucky with the rise in oil prices,’ he says. Political pressure from the reigning authorities, says Does, plays a part in the fact that 80 per cent of Russians say they will vote for Medvedev. Does thinks that about 60 per cent of the population genuinely want him as their leader. As a prologue to Club Gazprom, De Balie is screening two documentaries. First up is In Memoriam Aleksander Litvinenko by renowned Dutch documentary maker Jos de Putter and Amsterdam-based Russian documentary film-maker Masja Novikova, which chronicles the death of former Russian secret
Amsterdam Weekly
service man Litvinenko after he was poisoned in London in 2006. This is followed by the premiere of Kasparovs andere Rusland [‘Kasparov’s other Russia’] made by Novikova, and young Dutch film-maker Allard Detiger. The film follows Garry Kasparov as he tries to mobilise an opposition with his movement for democracy, The Other Russia. Kasparov, the former chess champion, had to accept defeat for the first time in is life when he tried to become a presidential candidate. Novikova, who travelled throughout Russia with Kasparov last year to make the documentary, says she thinks the widespread consensus in the western media that Putin is popular among his people, should be nuanced. He isn’t that popular in the hinterlands. ‘Communism is what’s popular in Siberia, not Putin.’ Novikova says. She added that over the year, she slowly lost
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hope that Kasparov would make the candidacy: ‘He had to collect two million signatures from thirty regions within five weeks,’ says Novikova. ‘Nobody’s ever been able to. Now there are no other candidates than Putin’s guy. Vladimir Zirinovski and Gennadi Zuganov? Nobody takes them seriously.’ Candidate Andrei Bogdanov, though an unknown, apparently did manage those two million signatures, but Novikova says she doubts he even exists. ‘I’m sure we’ll never hear from him again,’ she says. ‘He’s just there to pretend to the world it’s a democratic election.’ Pointkovsky thinks that after the elections, Putin will continue to rule the country, even if he’s only the prime minister and Medvedev is president. ‘He’s already announced that the prime minister will take over defence and foreign policy,’ Pointkovsky says. ‘Medvedev can become
J C Superstar ohan
a more ceremonial figure, like your Dutch queen.’ Masja Novikova is not so sure that Medvedev will take a back seat. ‘Medvedev is this grey mouse, but I’m hoping he’ll prove to have sharp teeth after all,’ she says. ‘Russian journalists call Putin, “the little rat”. I hope they rip each other apart.’ After the heavy politics are out of the way, De Balie offers a Russian dinner, a performance by the dwarse Dutch band, De Kift, which originates in the punk scene but now plays highly theatrical music, in this case based on Russian literature, followed by electro, italo and vodkabeats spun by the Moskow Diskow DJ collective and Putin himself, also known as ‘The Clone’. And of course, there will be plenty of Russian vodka. www.clubinterbellum.nl
Johan Cruijff, de verlosser.
ruijff
Visionary descends into the maelstrom. In a week when Fidel Castro announced his retreat, and the publication of an exprime minister’s personal notes bring to light that the Dutch monarchy could have been blown to smithereens in the 1970s, Amsterdam is under the spell of a far more important topic. One of truly Biblical proportions. Really. Johannes Hendrikus Cruijff (60), selfmade oracle from Betondorp and one of the best football players ever, has cometh from his Barcelona mountain to rescue Amsterdam’s football club Ajax from its decade of suffering. Yes, it’s that dramatic and JC’s image is that indestructible. Formed by Ajax as a player, his contributions to football are truly legendary. Both Ajax and the Dutch national team flourished in his presence, and when he made the switch to FC Barcelona, he was hailed as ‘El Salvador’, and save he did. When he made his debut, the club’s league position was 15th. A few months later, ‘Barca’ celebrated their first Spanish Championship in 14 years. What’s more, according to the majority of its inhabitants—remember this is Catalonia, not Spain—JC gave them back their self respect. And when he later became very successful as Barcelona’s head coach, his flock of millions saw him as being only one handshake away from God. For Ajax—snake pit par excellence— these are apocalyptic times. An independent report released last week stressed the need for structural change. The shit hit the fan. But then, just as divine intervention usually takes place, JC happened to pop by a crucial meeting of a desperate ledenraad. After some ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’, the football guru practically received carte blanche.
MARIEKE VAN DITSHUIZEN
By Jaro Renout
Although not officially active in football for over 10 years, his influential background presence in Barcelona hasn’t gone undetected. Again, when Barca was down and out in 2003, he helped them get back on track. And Cruijff is sure as shit that he can repeat this trick for his first love, Ajax. Is this really going to be JC’s latest miracle, or will he just be bending the wrong spoons? The people who should have been more involved a long time ago, the fans, are very hopeful. Lifetime team supporter Robbie Visser (44) has ‘Ajax’ tattooed across the back of his head, so we allowed the front half of his head to speak. ‘Well, let’s face it, Cruijff cannot possibly make it any worse. The chairman, John Jaakke, should immediately be transferred to a hockey club, but
there are so many others in the shadows whose names we don’t even know. Cruijff is too big to get a proper position, he’s going to direct from behind the lines. If they listen, he can deliver.’ Peter Goedbloed (51), chairman of the Dutch Barcelona fan club, agrees: ‘The situation Ajax finds itself in is in many ways comparable to Barcelona in 2003. Barca was on the brink of disaster because of mismanagement. A lot of money was used to buy the wrong players. Cruijff’s roll was that of an adviser whose words were gold. He guided the right people into the right place. I believe he can do this in Amsterdam, too.’ OK, JC’s track record is immaculate, but Amsterdam ain’t no Spain and the last official dealings JC had with Ajax date
from 20 years ago. What if his assessment skills are slightly off? And, since some dudes in suits now fear for their position, will he be able to finish the job? Goedbloed thinks so: ‘He’s got a fair chance, despite some important differences between the two clubs. Barcelona is the biggest football club in the world. They are a democratic mega structure. Every four years, the 160,000 members of FC Barcelona elect a president. In the middle of the 2003 elections, Cruijff, who publicly stated neutrality some time before, suddenly rooted for Laporta, who consequently won against the initial odds. From that moment on, Cruijff had a very powerful ally necessary to make the inevitable changes. In an organisation this size, the possibilities of plots against someone are very real. He survived all that but there’s no Laporta in Amsterdam. His chances of finishing the job depend on his ability to put trusted people in key positions. I’m sure he’ll do just that.’ Jan Holtman (43, musician) has a more poetic way to express his confidence. ‘My grandmother used to work in a clothes store back in her days. The junior assistant was a strapping young lad named Johan Cruijff. Years later, around 1972, my grandma and I were walking down the street when she suddenly saw Cruijff. She decided not to draw any attention. He just won the Eurocup after all, and was now considered to be in a realm directly under God and Jesus. But Cruijff came after her and said, “Mevrouw Straatmans, don’t you recognise me anymore? It’s me, Jopie!” So for a club that has lost its soul, if anyone can restore it, it’s Cruijff.’ Downscaling the business side of the team, and getting involved on a more personal level is what Ajax aficionados seem to crave more than anything. ‘A football club should be about football,’ as JC put it. He may be a demi-god of mythical proportions, but it might just be his unmistakably human qualities that could absolve Ajax. Meanwhile, the clock’s ticking. Even for deities.
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So close to ‘KNOW’ Royal Academy of Sciences still young at year 200. But NEMO is younger. BY FLORIS DOGTEROM
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28 February-5 March 2008
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wo hundred years ago, during their short-lived occupation of the Netherlands, the French introduced a few important changes to what was then the puppet Kingdom Holland. They gave us their Napoleonic Code, instituted a registry of births, deaths and marriages, and, in 1808, established the Koninklijk Instituut van Wetenschappen, Letterkunde en Schoone Kunsten, an institute to study the arts, letters and sciences. The Napoleonic Code is the basis of our civil code, the birth and death registry were integrated into the Dutch way of recordkeeping, and the Koninklijk Instituut added the word ‘Netherlands’ to become the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (KNAW). This year it is celebrating its 200th birthday, with the theme, ‘magic of science’. But do 200-year-old scientists really know how to throw a party? So far, the program includes a number of intriguing panels and events, such as, in September, a symposium about culture and ideology during the Cold War. There’s also a mass experiment, in July, during which, in the Feyenoord football stadium in Rotterdam, the wave phenomenon will be scientifically examined. Cool. Oh, and also, the academy’s historic building on the Kloveniersburgwal, which is called the Trippenhuis, has been adorned with a giant floral wreath. The Amsterdam institution is an association of 220 eminent scientists and scholars, or, as KNAW’s President Frits van Oostrom put it, ‘a forum for Dutch science.’ In the last two centuries, though, it has expanded its focus. In 1923, KNAW started its first research institute. Today, another important task of the academy is to advise the government on scientific matters. KNAW covers everything from theoretical physics to theology. Theology, you ask? Sure, says Van Oostrom: ‘A theologist might give a lecture about a subject people want to hear a theological perspective on, and they will walk away feeling enriched.’ All told, KNAW (which is just a vowel away from KNOW!) contains 17 research institutions, ranging from the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation to the Fungal Biodiversity Center, which has such surprising research projects as biodiversity and the ecology of food and airborne fungi. And its 24 advisory councils and committees advise the Dutch government on scientific matters like judicial and ethical aspects of health research and animal tests and biotechnology. This year also marks a change in leadership for the organisation. Van Oostrom, 55, a university professor for the humanities at Universiteit Utrecht, will be stepping down (because presidents are only appointed for three years) and replaced by Robbert Dijkgraaf, a 48-year-old mathematical physicist and string theorist, and university professor at Universiteit van Amsterdam. Selling science to kids Sanne Deurloo, program manager with science centre NEMO says, ‘We are very happy that Dijkgraaf will lead KNAW. He has his heart in communicating science.’ NEMO is that big green blob on Oosterdok. On a Friday morning in February it is a
The Seeing Science photo competition’s public favourite, ‘Conflict management/communication’, by Chris Timmers, 2004.
pandemonium. Kids are yelling and running around, trying all the installations that have been set up to demonstrate different aspects of science. Unlike at an art museum, a hands-on mentality is key here. A little girl is operating a mirror in such a way that a light spot hits the solar cells on the bottom side of a toy aeroplane that is hanging from the ceiling. The solar cells provide the energy for the propellers to turn. In another department, kids wearing white lab coats and safety glasses are performing chemical tests involving retorts. NEMO science centre? It looks more like an amusement park. ‘It’s not,’ says Deurloo, who is responsible for, among other things, organising exhibitions and workshops at NEMO. ‘Kids are an important target group for us. We want them to have a fun time,’ she says. But while having a fun time, they get fascinated by science and what it can do. At NEMO they can ride in a kind of merry-go-round, just like in an amusement park. But here we ask them to spread and close their arms and note how that influences the velocity.’ The NEMO approach seems a far cry from that of the distinguished club of professors on Kloveniersburgwal. Still, there are cross-links between the science centre and KNAW. The pictures of KNAW’s ‘Seeing Science’ photo competition will be on display on NEMO’s roof terrace this summer. And Robert Dijkgraaf, the next KNAW president, is member of NEMO’s supervisory board. Deurloo says, ‘As it is now, more or less, KNAW represents the highbrow side of science, whereas we aim at putting the general public in touch with science and its practical applications. KNAW and NEMO can reinforce each other. We can benefit from their knowledge, and they can learn from us how to present science to the general public.’ Deurloo adds that, during Van Oostrom’s presidency, KNAW has already started to be more accessible to the outside world. ‘But we want that trend to be reinforced,’ she says. ‘If you are talking about science, you have to think about who your audience is. I know that scientists can be somewhat wary of popularising, out of fear of sending out an over-simplified message. But that’s also something you can show the audience: that science is about nuances and uncertainties, too.’ As it is, NEMO is proving that there certainly is an audience for science and technology. Last year, a total of 391,000 visitors found their way to the Oosterdok museum, according to NEMO’s own January 2008 Facts and Figures brochure. And visitors seem to love everything about it. On the first floor, dozens of kids and their parents are watching intensely how an employee of NEMO is setting up a huge chain reaction installation, involving big dominoes, balloons, bottles, buckets, balls and what have you. The MC grabs a mike and says: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to witness a scientific experiment.’ NEMO may have the more playful approach, but in this jubilee year, KNAW organises some cheerful events as well. The mass experiment in the Feyenoord football stadium sounds like fun. And then there is, in November, a symposium on the intriguing subject of what ‘an average person’s’ life will look like in the year 2020. Unfortunately, it’s a closed meeting. www.knaw200.nl
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Seeing Science photo competition The KNAW organised an international photo competition asking photographers to send in an image that, in their view, somehow depicts the ‘magic of science’, the theme for the academy’s 200th birthday celebration. Almost 300 photographers responded. A professional jury selected a shortlist of four finalists from a list of 20 amazing pictures. Last Monday, the Hungarian Robert Markus won the first prize for his picture of a fruit fly larva in a drop of water. Robert Markus - ‘Fruit fly larva in a drop of water’, Szeged, Hungary
Insects have an open circulatory system. The blood cells play a role in their defence mechanisms and act as their immune cells. By identifying blood cellspecific genes, we can generate transgenic Drosophila strains in which the blood cells express the green fluorescent protein, so that they are visualised in vivo, making in vivo research possible on the immune system. Sudipto Das - ‘Gift of science’, West Bengal, India
Telecommunications have connected inhabitants of a remote village in West Bengal, India, to the rest of the world. Children in undeveloped nations live far below the poverty level and are geographically cut off from the rest of the world, but science and technology can help change that. Anna Kozhevnikova - ‘Dancing crystals in the night’, Russia
The photographer says, ‘the crystals of the chemical reagent formed a beautiful world on the glass slide. I noticed it quite by accident. In the same way, the magic of science occasionally reveals the beauty and fragility of our world, where the boundary between reality and what only seems to be real is sometimes vague.’ Erwin Platen and Rense Boomsma - ‘Dark matter in the sky’, Groningen, the Netherlands
According to the most recent theories, about 90 per cent of the universe is made up of ‘dark matter’ that we cannot directly observe. This image shows an artist’s impression of what we might see if dark matter were visible, a structure called the Cosmic Web because of its rich filamentary pattern.
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SHORT LIST
A Little Trouble With the Facts, see Friday, ABC Treehouse
THURSDAY 28 FEBRUARY Art/Botany: Maria Sibylla Merian Only around 10 per cent of senior positions in the sciences are held by women, according to renowned science journal Nature. Three hundred years ago, this figure would have been miniscule. This makes Maria Sibylla Merian’s achievements particularly noteworthy. Born to Swiss and Dutch parents in 1647, Merian became one of the world’s best-known female scientists and artists of her time. She learnt to paint at an early age and at 14, started breeding and studying silkworms. This was the start of a lifelong love affair with insects, caterpillars and reptiles—deepened by a trip to Surinam’s rainforests in 1699—and an extraordinary talent for translating these creatures and the plants they ate into scientifically accurate and beautifully executed drawings, watercolours and prints. More than 100 of Merian’s works, many of them never exhibited before, are now on display at the Rembrandthuis. Meanwhile, a related exhibition at Hortus has the real plants, which her paintings were based on. (Celia Layton) Rembrandthuis (10.00-17.00), €10. Until 18 May.
Event: We Like Fashion! opening If PC Hoofstraat has already taken claim as Amsterdam’s own little Rodeo, it might not be such a stretch to call Van Baerlestraat Mokum’s Melrose. This couldn’t be more apparent than at We Like Fashion!, the store where you can buy jeans just like Victoria Beckham’s, an armband à la Johnny Depp, a drawer-full of Pete Doherty tops and accessories spotted on the sisters Hilton, Olsen and Simpson. ‘Dress like a celeb’ has been We Like Fashion’s motto since its online shop selling many a red carpet fave was launched in 2003. Today at 4pm is the brick-and-mortar version’s grand debut, with opening-day sales, cocktails and canapés to whet your wallet. At 7pm, Terence Schreurs hosts a fashion show spotlighting the spring and summer collections. And to be sure, this is not just a Hollywood affair: We Like Fashion! also sells Bridget Maasland’s Dutchypuppy BN-er T-shirts. See www.welikefashion.com. (Karina Hof), We Like Fashion, 19.00, free.
FRIDAY 29 FEBRUARY Book: A Little Trouble With the Facts It begins with a killer sentence: ‘It was the high mercury end of July and no one was doing any dying.’ Amsterdam Weekly’s own Nina Siegal wrote herself a smart and
sassy novel and it is being published this week by HarperCollins. A Little Trouble with the Facts features a funny, loud New Yorker (it should be stressed that the book is apparently a work of pure fiction) who works as the style reporter for ‘The Paper’. But then everything goes wrong for Valerie Vane and she ends up in a dark office writing obituaries and getting sucked up in the mysterious death of a graffiti artist that has her careening around The Big (Bruised) Apple between the glitter and the gutter. The book reads like a train. A hardboiled and hilarious train. And one that is enjoying its official book launch this evening, complete with reading. That should be hilarious as well. A Dutch translation is set to be published in April by Truth & Dare Publishers as part of their, get this, Chick Noir series. That’s pretty hilarious too. We are proud. (Steve Korver) ABC Treehouse, 20.00, free.
Jazz: Millennial Territory Orchestra Trumpeter Steven Bernstein, the leader of the ultra-brash and cheeky jazz outfit Sex Mob, uses this excellent group to explore turf he uncovered while researching the great territory bands of the 1920s—the forgotten swing outfits that would tour American hinterlands, using stock arrangements to bring the joys of jazz to backwaters—when he handled the music for Robert Altman’s film Kansas City. In typical fashion, he blurs the line between scholarship and snark as he spikes the repertoire with pop and rock tunes and scrambles the approach with plenty of contemporary flourishes, but the results on MTO Volume 1 (Sunnyside, 2006) eradicate any smarmy residue, whether it’s the way tenor saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum turns the Beatles ‘Cry Baby Cry’ into an eloquent dirge or guitarist Matt Munisteri flips the heft of Jimmy Rushing’s vocal on the Basie gem ‘Pennies From Heaven’ into Bob Dorough-style pithiness. This killer medium sized group, which includes the great trombonist Clark Gayton, violinist Charlie Burnham, and reedists Doug Wieselman, Apfelbaum, and Erik Lawrence, makes history fun by rewriting it every few minutes. (Peter Margasak) Bimhuis, 21.00, €18.
SATURDAY1MARCH Jazz: Trovesi & Coscia This long-running Italian duo may get their sustenance of jazz improvisation, but when they work together they reach further. Reedist Gianluigi Trovesi—one of the most important and original figures in Italian jazz—and accordionist Gianni Coscia make a virtue of pin-drop intimacy in this project, pairing their carefully measured, give-and-take interactions with a voracious stylistic appetite. The duo’s most recent
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Amsterdam Weekly
recording Round About Weill (ECM, 2005) states their aesthetic case as well as anything. Using Kurt Weill’s Weimar-era masterpiece ‘Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny’ as a point of inspiration as well as departure, Trovesi and Coscia breath new life into the themes from a distinctly Italian position—the sleepy outdoor cafe ambience of their homeland seeps into the music like the aroma of cappuccino—but they also adeptly tap into the smoky hangs of Paris and Havana. There’s no forced eclecticism, but instead the duo inhales and exhales the various paths and byways they’ve walked over their dynamic careers. No matter the material at hand, what matters is the warmth and candor of their musical dialogue. (Peter Margasak) Tropentheater, Kleine Zaal, 20.30, €20.
Jazz: Greetje Bijma 25 Years On Stage Although she’s been performing on stage longer than the program title suggests—if I’ve done the math right, she was first seen on a proper podium 29 years ago. Then, 28 years ago, she began guest singing with Alan Laurillard’s Noodband, which toured extensively for the next few years, much of it also presumably on stage. Details schmetails. Regardless, this lovely improvising vocalist, who continually aims to exploit every element of her powerful vocal expressiveness, never received the fitting plaudits for the 25-year mark, and now’s as good a time as ever. Joining her in the belated celebration is Chinese female pipa-player Yang Jing, and a killer ensemble featuring pianist/composer Michiel Braam, trumpeter Boy Raaymakers, trombonist Wolter Wierbos, alto saxophonist Jan Willem van der Hamm, bassist Wilbert de Joode and percussionist Michael Vatcher. Yes indeed, they’re packing in more chops tonight than an oversized platter of pork. (Mark Wedin) Bimhuis, 21.00, €16.
MONDAY 3 MARCH Opera: Nederlands Opera: Kàt’a Kabanovà The Romantic period was born of the heroic, celebrating individual dynamism in such works as Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ salute to Napoleon. But the movement also plumbed the flipside, the individual soul unable to live its grandeur, pelted by tumultuous needs and feelings that can not be realised. Both streams inform Janácˇek’s masterly Kàt’a Kabanovà the first of the five great operas he wrote in the 1920s (culminating in The House of the Dead, the roman candle of last year’s Holland Festival). Stung by a new, unrequited ardour for a woman 40 years his junior, Janácˇek turned to a play by the 19th-century playwright Alexander Ostrovski whose story paralleled his own. But for this study of impossible love, the Czech composer wrapped its themes of captivity and struggle against convention in gales of lushly emotive music. The result is both somber and excessive, domestic and explosive—that is to say, oh-so-Romantic. Tonight, Yakov Kreizberg conducts the Nederlands Philharmonic Orchestra; principal roles are sung by Amanda Roocroft and Kurt Streit. Willy Decker directed, with sets and costumes by Wolfgang Gussmann. (Steve Schneider) Het Muziektheater, 20.00, €15-105. Until 21 March.
Event: Gouden Kabouter Awards This annual award show has been called the Oscars for the Dutch club scene. This could make you picture Victor Coral wearing a light pink dress, breaking out in tears, with a little golden statue of a gnome in his hands. Then he’ll thank God, his family, India and whoever gave him his first turntables. Ha ha, very funny. And indeed, a huge knipoog is intended by the organisers of the ceremony, and so categories include worst hairdo on a DJ, cleanest toilet at a festival, etc. But there’s also more serious categories, like the ones for best dance website, best gay initiative or best live act. And despite the knipoog, those more serious awards have quite a weight in the local club scene. Actually, maybe not only the more serious ones... Thinking about it, the awarding of the gnome for the worst hairdo might bring on the tears after all. Hope you brought your thank you list, though! Mwah ha ha. (Sarah Gehrke) Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 21.00, €15.
WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH Hiphop: The Cool Kids So let’s get all the keywords out in the open and then we can move on: Eighties hiphop. MySpace sensation. BMXes. Retro clothes. New Chicago Sound. ‘The black version of the Beastie Boys.’ MIA support slot. And, urgh, ‘hipster-hop’. Phew. Okay, so these are two young Chicago guys that have got lots of people salivating over their refreshingly old style. But while Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks might sound—and look—like one big salute to hiphop’s golden age, they’re not afraid to bring in other inspirations, either. Their EP Totally Flossed Out has pure oldskool rap tracks interchanging with elements that are far from the usual influences in hiphop productions. They’ve been quoted saying they’re into new rave. And then there’s the sampled cowbell. All in all, it sounds kinda good. Or, as Inglish said when asked whether they looked at themselves as retro or as new: ‘I look at ourselves as dope.’ Alright then, fair enough. And by the way: good name. (Sarah Gehrke) Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 21.30, €12 + membership.
Send details and images for listing consideration at least two weeks in advance to agenda@amsterdamweekly.nl.
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Free tickets!
Go to www.amsterdamweekly.nl to win tickets to one of these nightlife events. To advertise your club night or concert, contact Simone Klomp at 020 522 5200 or Simone@amsterdamweekly.nl.
Amsterdam Weekly
28 February-5 March 2008
11 Just think, it all originated in the underground gay scene.
A tribute: mercilessly ripping the art out of the heart of metal and putting it on display.
BATTLE CRIES, BEER AND TRAVESTY ART/MUSIC Metal Heart Opens 29 February at 17.00 and runs until 22 March (14.00-18.00 daily) Planet Art, Weteringschans 170 By Marinus de Ruiter
Remember when heavy metal was still dangerous? Then you must have grown up in the 1980s. That is when a grassroots movement of bands that wanted to make the loudest music on the planet grew into a mass cultural force, in defiance of critical opinion, moral protests and, probably, God’s will. About a dozen visual artists and as many musicians pay homage to the glory days of metal in the new exhibition, Metal Heart, which opens this week at Planet Art. This small alternative gallery founded by Kees de Groot recently moved to Amsterdam from Enschede, where it organised shows and events with cutting edge contemporary art. As its first high profile group show, Metal Heart combines paintings, drawings, sculpture, video, installations and performance art celebrating a subculture that has been scorned since its inception. Metal fans and musicians traditionally look like hippies turned into demons;
the long hair is intact, but the floral patterns are replaced with black leather and the beads with chains and spikes. Metalheads prefer rock ’n’ roll of the loudest and most aggressive kind, with buzzsaw guitars, machine gun drums and lyrics about death, disease and destruction. The origins of this style lie in the hard rock of the late 1960s and 1970s, by English groups like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. They spawned an uncontrollable lineage of bands in the 1980s, from arena rock breakthrough artists like Iron Maiden and Metallica to extreme underground acts like Napalm Death and Morbid Angel. The American rock quartet Slayer in many ways epitomises the cult phenomenon. In a typical live show, the band’s super-fast, chugging electric guitar riffs and shattering drum rolls are amplified by truckloads of speakers aimed at the audience, culminating in a sound that resembles a carpet bombing and loud screams, over which singer Tom Araya slings his deafening battle cry. While Slayer has remained tactically alert throughout its 26 years of existence, releasing albums and touring on a regular basis, the metal movement collapsed under its own weight in the 1990s. Like hiphop today, heavy metal was considered decadent. Most artists were
more concerned with their flamboyant appearance, their bank accounts and their overweight album concepts, rather than the raw emotional impact of their music. Since its decline, metal has had its resurgences, but overall it remains underground, where it started. Artist Arno Coenen, organiser of the Metal Heart exhibition, recalls his early involvement in heavy metal, when he was around 16 years old and living in Olst, near Deventer. A picture of Coenen in his teens [see cover], with long hair and a thin moustache, graces the flyer for the show. ‘Now it looks funny, but I was dead serious then,’ says Coenen, 37, who is now short-haired, broad shouldered and heavily bearded. ‘My friends and I had a fanzine, of which there were many in the scene. Basically it was a nice excuse to get free concert tickets.’ His magazine was called Noise Gore, and his little crew of fan reporters managed to get backstage many times to interview bands like Metallica, Anthrax and Death. Coenen was assigned to do the photographs. ‘It was a clumsy affair and I barely had enough money for one roll of film,’ he says. ‘I remember being disappointed in the singer of Death for losing his voice. I always thought of him as superhuman.’ After his metal phase, Coenen became a video artist by VJing at techno parties while he was in art school. He recognised a similar intensity as metal in gabber, the extremely fast techno subgenre that was popular briefly in the 1990s. Now he regularly collaborates as a VJ with the Berlin group, Transformer Di Roboter, which makes computerised electro-pop versions of heavy metal songs. Animation videos by Coenen, with soundtracks by Transformer Di Roboter, are on display at Metal Heart. Together
they will perform at the opening party. ‘I enjoy doing this and I still like metal, but I don’t go to concerts anymore,’ says Coenen. Painter and illustrator Luuk Bode never lost interest in metal, although he admits that its most fertile era ended long ago. His music collection consists of 90 per cent metal and he regularly attends live shows. ‘One difference is there are many more girls now at metal concerts, instead of the usual tramp in the red leather pants at the Judas Priest show in the early days,’ says Bode. ‘Also, there was more a spirit of “us against the rest of the world.” There were no channels of information like MySpace. You had to rely on the people around you to get the music. Live events were often banned to large cattle halls.’ Although Bode’s drawing and painting style, with clear black lines and bright, contrasting colours, is a far cry from the dark fantasy monsters and mayhem artwork traditionally found on metal record covers, his work at Metal Heart draws from the tradition of fan art. From his early teens, like many young fans, Bode copied the images and band logos from his favourite records in his school notebooks. For this show he made variations on sleeves of records by Exodus and Venom, blending the metal visuals with his own style. While Coenen and Bode were raised on metal, Martin C de Waal has more of an outsider perspective on the phenomenon. The unearthly looking performance artist, who visibly altered his face through plastic surgery, is particularly fascinated with the theatrical masculinity associated with the music. For his multimedia performance at the opening of Metal Heart, De Waal plans to enter the room in full metal regalia, accompanied by metal guitarist Marcel Iron Fist and Kid Goesting, the DJ who compiled a CD of electro and metal crossover music for the occasion. De Waal’s approach was influenced by Judas Priest-singer Rob Halford, whose stage attire of black leather, spikes and dog collars became a uniform for metalheads from the mid-70s onward. During his most successful years, Halford kept his homosexuality hidden from his fans, which made it even more outrageous for De Waal to learn later that he bought his clothes at gay sex shops in London. ‘It’s so great that this utterly heterosexual, white form of culture is expressed in a clothing style that originated from the underground gay scene,’ De Waal laughs. De Waal expresses the complexity and duality he discovered in metal, with its paradoxical mix of styles and codes. ‘It’s a travesty of the male appearance,’ he says. ‘It surpasses machismo and borders on the cartoonish.’ He’ll also have other work in the show, including a photo self-portrait. It’s this over-the-top quality that Metal Heart celebrates, with art, mounds of empty beer cups on the floor and a special beer called Hell, brewed by Coenen himself. Skip the hairdresser this week and join the party.
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Amsterdam Weekly
28 February-5 March 2008
Amsterdam Weekly
28 February-5 March 2008
MUSIC More listings at www.amsterdamweekly.nl. Send listing suggestions at least two weeks in advance to agenda@amsterdamweekly.nl.
Thursday 28 February Rock: HIM Yes, that Finnish HIM is back again and the kids just love it. It’s all about the ‘love metal’, you know? Support from Paradise Lost, the Brit doom mongers who were absolutely fantastic back in 1995, and who’ve done well to keep the frowns on display for so long since. Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 19.30, sold out Reggae: In Memory of Mas Benefit concert with sets from South Sea Seven, Mind Your Soul and a reggae/ska jam band featuring I-Repeat (Beef) and Tobias (Rude Rich). Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 20.00, €10 Classical: Barbara Kozelj A ‘Young Professionals in Music’ performance by the mezzo-soprano, backed by pianist Phyllis Ferwerda. Bethaniënklooster, 20.15, €16.50 Classical: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra With American conductor David Robertson, the RCO will be performing Boulez’s Notations, as well as works by De Leeuw, Messiaen and Benjamin. With soprano Measha Brueggergosman. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €25/€35 Rock: The Casting Out The new band of Nathan Gray, former guitarist of emo screamers Boysetsfire, is less likely to rip your throat out. Belgian indie support from Soon. Bitterzoet, 20.30, €7.50 Jazz: Wolfgang Muthspiel & Brian Blade Guitar and drum duo, who together and individually have worked with the likes of Wayne Shorter, Bob Dylan, Marc Johnson and Norwegian female vocalist Rebekka Bakken. Bimhuis, 21.00, €16 Pop/Rock: Grand Avenue Polished commercial guitar pop from Denmark. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 21.30, €7.50 + membership Pop/Rock: Club 3voor12 Live radio and TV session featuring sets from Shane Shu and Triggerfinger. Desmet Studios, 22.00, free, tickets: www.3voor12.nl Rock: Off the Record Garage rock ’n’ roll from The Hot Stewards and Them Holy Rollers. Comedy Theater, 22.30, €7.50
Friday 29 February Classical: Red Chamber Traditional Chinese sounds with siter maestro Han Mei. Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 20.15, €28.50 Classical: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (See Thursday) Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €25/€35 Pop/Rock: Caribou Creative electro pop from this criticfriendly Canadian artist. Daniel Snaith first made a splash as Manitoba in the first half of this decade, before having the moniker ripped away after a lawsuit by musician and radio personality Richard ‘Handsome Dick’ Manitoba. So then followed Caribou. Musically it’s all about trippy electronica and percussion, with beats and glitches mixed with West Coast melodies and ’60s psychedelia. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 20.30, €15 + membership World: Marcel Khalifé’s Taqasim Superstar oud player and singer from Lebanon. KIT Tropentheater, 20.30, €25 Rock: Reverend and the Makers Stars of the last London Calling, this loud bunch from Sheffield are leading the 2008 wall of Britpop with their indie rock with electronic flourishes. Not just about big tunes, it’s their onstage charisma that’s helped them receive so much extra attention. Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 20.30, €13 + membership Pop/Rock: 3xLive Indie rock from The Van Bastens, Autoblonde and Hallon Driving School. Winston Kingdom, 21.00, €5 Jazz: Millennial Territory Orchestra The fiery horn blowing project of renowned slide-trumpeter Steven Bernstein, best known for his work with Sex Mob and John Lurie’s The Lounge Lizards. Bimhuis, 21.00, €18 Hiphop: The Heliocentrics Experimental hiphop, jazz funk and psychedelia in a similar vein to Sun Ra. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 21.45, €12 + membership Jazz: K-Oz Collective Energetic dance jazz. Badcuyp, Noordpool, 23.00, €8 Rock: Mexican Weekend Special performances and film screenings all weekend long, featuring Steven Brown of avant-garde post punks Tuxedomoon and Nine Rain. iLLUSEUM
The Casting Out, see Thursday
Saturday 1 March Contemporary: Nieuw Ensemble Works by Toru Takemitsu, Toshio Hosokawa, Morton Feldman, and world premieres by Rodney Sharman and Thomas Larcher; conducted by Ed Spanjaard, with vocalist/koto player Kyoko Kawamura. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 14.15, €17.50/€21 Pop/Rock: Islands Indie pop from Montreal. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 18.00, €7.50 + membership
Rock: We Are Wolves Animalistic electro rock from Montreal, with the emphasis on loud guitars, pumping drums and passionate performances. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 17.00, €7.50 + membership Pop/Rock: Stereophonics Welsh Brit rock torn between AC-DC posturing and Tom Jones balladry. Heineken Music Hall, 20.00, €30 Classical: Concerto Copenhagen Great Danes celebrating music from Italy, Germany and France. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €31/€36.50
Pop/Rock: Band of Horses American indie rockers signed to Sub Pop, although following the label’s trend over the past few years, it’s much more about melody, subtlety and yearning than raw noise. Support from The Cave Singers. Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 19.30, €14 + membership
Big band: Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw Recording the second in their series of live CDs with help from internationally renowned Dutch guitarist Jesse van Ruller. Bimhuis, 21.00, €14
Classical: Delphi Consort With soprano Natalya Kraevsky, alto Alla Gorobchenko and tenor Alex Vermeulen performing arias by Bach, Pärt and Pergolesi. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €25.50/€30
Monday 3 March
Contemporary: Asko Ensemble A Proms aan ‘t IJ performance with music from the theatre by Heiner Goebbels and Hans Eisler. Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €22 Funk: RAD Funkalogical expressions from Oakland pianist and singer Rose Ann Dimalanta. Previously part of Prince’s touring band, her own outfit features giants from the jazz and funk scene, including guitarist Ray Obiedo, bassist Mark van Wageningen, sax player Eric Leeds and drummer Billy Johnson. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 20.30, €25 + membership Jazz: Greetje Bijma Two sets from the Boy Edgar Prize winner. See Short List. Bimhuis, 21.00, €16 Experimental: Le Club Suburbia Obscure sounds from the underground, featuring Japanther (art electro rock), Zyrtax vs Buckettovsissors (industrial darkwave), Vortex Rex (indie pop) and Adolf Butler (heavy). OCCII, 21.00, €6 Experimental: Mike Patton & Fennesz Something of a coup for Zaandam, grabbing the only Dutch performance of two extremist aural manipulators. While Patton is still fondly remembered for his hard rock vocal performances, he’s never one to be pegged down. And while Austrian soundscape artists Fennesz has been responsible for some downright beautiful drones and scores to date, together they’re sure to make a melange of audio chaos from laptops, guitars, FX, and that voice being pulled backwards screaming through it all. De Kade, Zaandam, 21.00, €20 Rock: S!CR Jaunty indie rock from Texan trio Oh No! Oh My! who’re now signed to Dim Mak. Support from lo-fi locals M-Jo. Studio K, 21.30, €6
Rock: Mexican Weekend (See Friday) iLLUSEUM
Opera: Kát´a Kabanová The plot of this 1921 Janácˇek opera reflects the inevitability of the situation in which Janácˇek found himself with his own platonic love: Katya is unhappily married and is tyrannised by her spineless husband’s mother; Janácˇek’s own marriage was no happier. Katya’s love for Boris is defined by the impossibility of her freeing herself from social and moral chains and eventually brings her to disaster. Het Muziektheater, (Mon, Wed 20.00), €15-€90 Singer-songwriter: Amy Macdonald Scottish folk rock with a pop sheen. Support from Liam Gerner. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 19.00, €8 + membership Classical: Nederlands Kamerkoor It ain’t quite Easter yet, but here come the first two Stabat Mater variations of the season; one by Diepenbrock, another by Haydn. Other works by Andriessen and Kerstens. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €23.35/€27.50 Jazz: Candy at the Sugar Factory Famous sax player Candy Dulfer heads to the Sugar Factory with friends and special guests in tow. Sugar Factory, 22.00, €11
Tuesday 4 March Classical: Matthäus-Passion Who’s the daddy? Yes, Bach’s the daddy. So thinks the Bach Choir and Orchestra of the Netherlands who’re getting all passionate tonight. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 19.30, €37.50/€45 Hiphop: Antipop Consortium Alternative US hiphop act who found a place in the hearts of the indie rock masses having toured with Radiohead and DJ Shadow. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 21.00, €17 + membership
Rock: Mexican Weekend (See Friday) iLLUSEUM
Hiphop/Electronica: DJ Q-Bert A turntablism pioneer who started off working alongside Mix Master Mike in FM20, he’s won numerous awards over the years and even holds a place in the DMC DJ Hall of Fame. There’s also performances from DJ collective Turntable Rockstars and Skill Dealers Crew. Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 21.00, €16 + membership
Sunday 2 March
Reggae: Junior Kelly Rasta reggae from a respected Jamaican maestro. Melkweg, The Max, 21.00, €24.50 + membership
Classical: St David’s Day Concert A celebration of all things Welsh and harpy, featuring Rachel Ann Morgan (mezzo-soprano, harp), Geraint Roberts (tenor), Edward Witsenburg (harp) and Chris Witsenburg (harp). English Reformed Church, 15.15, €15
Rock: Menomena Menomena are a delightful Portland trio responsible for one of the albums of 2007, Friend and Foe. Like a modern-day Soul Coughing, their songs are quirky, intelligent, layered and filled with unsuspecting hooks. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 22.00, €7 + membership
Rock: Kinski Psychedelic build-ups and explosive riffage from this Seattle post rock band who last year supported Tool. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 22.00, €7.50 + membership
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Amsterdam Weekly
14
Wednesday 5 March
Friday 29 February
Classical: Lunch Concert The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 12.30, free
Fridays at The Mansion The Chega Recording 2 Year Anniversary party. The Mansion, 19.00-03.00, €10
GAY& LESBIAN
Hiphop: Lil Wayne Big selling American rapper who’s worked with Destiny’s Child, Enrique Iglesias, Jay-Z and Kanye West. Heineken Music Hall, 20.00, €35
Monsoon Heavy, heavy, heavy grooves from around the globe. Expect continent and nation hopping musical journeys through Africa, Brazil, India, the Middle East and the Balkans. Studio K, 21.30-04.00, €7.50
Fado: Mafalda Arnauth Portuguese melancholy. Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 20.15, €28.50
Appletree Nights Hiphop hits hammered home. Bitterzoet, 22.00-04.00, €7.50
Edited by Willem de Blaauw.
Classical: Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest Performing Bach/Elgar’s Fantasia and Fugue, Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony; conducted by Brit Mark Elder. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €28.50/€34
Fire! Westerunie goes up in flames, with sets from Aril Brikha (Sweden), Rulers of the Deep, Prinz (BE) and Marnix. Westergasterras, 22.00-04.00, €17
Saturday 1 March
Pop/Rock: Dialogues Eclectic musician and DJ jam session. Winston Kingdom, 21.00, €5 Jazz: Electric Kulintang Susie Ibarra is one of the fastest rising stars on the New York avant-garde scene. She has worked with John Zorn, Dave Douglas, William Parker and Thurston Moore, and been acclaimed by leading American music periodicals for her nuanced and multi-coloured playing. In Electric Kulintang, with Cuban percussionist Roberto Rodriguez, she goes in search of her Filipino roots and the essence of trance music. Bimhuis, 21.00, €15 Experimental: TryTone presents Contemporary jazz projects. Sets tonight from The Hitchcock’s Hamsters, Ylow and Guillermo Celano Trio. Zaal 100, 21.00, €5 Hiphop: The Cool Kids Newcomers from Chicago. See Short List. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 21.30, €12 + membership
CLUBS Thursday 28 February Shaved Dance party in aid of Fight Cancer that’s gonna see the hair hit the floor before the feet. Westergasterras, 21.00-02.00, €10
Fok Stijl Throwing a tantrum and ripping up the clothes and melting the old vinyl yet again. Club 8, 22.0004.00, €5/€7 The Basement Hiphop, R&B and soul. Watch out, it’s ladies’ night. Melkweg, The Max, 23.00-late, €15 + membership Seen Audio visual party with Tom Trago and Mr Wix. Upstairs, Kindred Spirits presents DJ Theo Parrish. Paradiso, 23.59-05.00, €12.50 klinch: Swayzak Intimate and atmospheric electronica from Brit production duo Swayzak, with Estroe, Thomas Martojo and Casper Tielrooij. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 23.59-late, €14 + membership
Saturday 1 March
Club: RoXY Colloseum Though the real RoXY burnt down ages ago, the roof will probably go on fire again —though hopefully not literally—at this tribute night. Catch the old RoXY spirit (and a beautiful bare-chested bubble-butt boy) while DJs Gordon John, Nick Tcherniak and Benjamin pump-out sexy sounds, helped by Diva Paula P’cay. Special Leather and Rubber room with DJ RW. For those who can’t get enough, there’s an afterparty untill 10.00 the next day at Club Roque. Odeon, 23.00-05.00, €14.55
Sunday 2 March
Robotrock The original indie, electro, wave and sleaze party. Club 8, 22.00-03.00, €5
Sex club: Nude Club Amsterdam Busy and steamy men-only afternoon safe sex party. Dress-code: no clothes, just rubbers! Cockring, 15.00-19.00, €8
Latin Village All Latin flavours of the dance music world along with some traditional side dishes, too. Westergasfabriek, 22.00-06.00, €32.50/€60
Club: Grey Pink Dance afternoon/night for—you’ve guessed it—older gays and lesbians. Music style varies from 1930s ditties to ’70s glam disco, plus drag artists, Dutch performers and acts. Paleis van Weemoed, 16.00, free
Sub United Teaming up with new funk-filled hipsters Drie Keer Niks to provide a night of dirty electro house and bass-driven grooves. Flex Bar, 23.00-05.00, €9
Wednesday 5 March
Hutspot Presenting eRRorKREW and underground techno, with live sets from Alessio Mereu (Italy), Minz, The No and DJs. In the Kleine Zaal it’s ACIIIIIID!—unsurprisingly boasting acid and house classics. Being a mixed bag party, expect entertainments on the balcony and basement, too. Paradiso, 23.30-04.00, €10
Sunday 2 March
Film: Crustacés et Coquillages French coming-out film about a family heading to the South of France for a summer holiday. Charly, the teenage son, is straight, but his best buddy who joins them, isn’t. What’s more, he has a crush on Charly. Charly’s mum however, thinks her son is the happy homo. Free drink when you arrive 30 minutes prior to the screening and afterwards two drinks for the price of one, upon showing your ticket, at SOHO. Pathé De Munt, 21.00, €7
Latin Village (See Saturday) Westergasfabriek, 16.0000.00, €32.50/€60
Tuesday 4 March Laurent Garnier Planet Delsin presents Laurent Garnier Come and sing us French techno Mr Garnier. We love it when you bridge deep house with banging Detroit beats. Also with Nuno dos Santos. 11, 22.30-04.00, €12 Vreemd 2.0 A new developmental level of house and techno goings on from Carlos Valdes, Berend & Jeroen Kok, The Colour of Sin and Jakop. Sugar Factory, 23.0005.00, €8.50
Funky Junkie A wild cross-section of funk sounds from DJ Koldun, who invites a selection of live musicians to improvise while he works the decks. Winston Kingdom, 22.00-03.00, €6
Wednesday 5 March Rasta Transport A new reggae night in town that isn’t afraid to go back through the generations of the rasta sound. Expect a mix of live and vinyl. First 250 visitors pick up a free mixtape. Bitterzoet, 21.00-03.00, €5
make this an exciting programme. See www.toneelgroepamsterdam.nl. In Dutch. Various locations, (Daily), various prices Performance: One Piece A day and night performance piece by Bojana Mladenovic, who’s completing his final DASARTS project. In English. Gasthuis, (Thur, Fri 08.00, Fri, Sat 20.00), €8 Theatre: 3de Jaars Shakespeare Project Students tackling various scenes from Shakespeare plays. In Dutch. Rozentheater, (Thur, Fri 20.00), €10
Club: Garbo for Women Lounge, eat and dance at this monthly lesbian party. This month’s dinner is curry, either with fish, meat or tofu. After 20.00, tables get cleared for a relaxed and fun dance party to shed the calories. Reservation for dinner (€12.50) necessary on 682 6310 or info@strand-west.nl, re: Garbo Dinner. Strand West, 19.00-23.59, €5
Club Cut the Crap New tunes and old hits without the posturing, apparently. Cafe Pakhuis Wilhelmina, 21.00, €5
Hightechpleasures First birthday party, dousing itself in cake and global trance sounds. Club La, 22.00-04.00, €5
28 February-5 March 2008
Varekai Performance: Varekai Yet another of Cirque du Soleil’s touring monsters. This one is based loosely on the Greek myth of Icarus, and as you’d expect, features acrobatics and theatrical circus trickery on a scale most wouldn’t dare. Throw in elaborate costumes and a live score, and it’ll be packing in audiences through May. Under the Grand Chapiteau, (Thur, Sat, Tues, Wed 19.30, Sun 13.00, 17.30), €25-€74 Theatre: Een Meeuw Chekhov’s The Seagull, about the romantic and artistic conflicts between four theatrical characters. Performed by Keesen en Co; directed by Willibrord Keesen, who caused a furore way back in 1990 with his version of Three Sisters. In Dutch. De Brakke Grond, (Mon-Wed 20.30), €14 Theatre: Still Life with Man And Woman An absurd suspense thriller based on the existential question: what happens next? A new media performance by Andrea Bozic and Gasthuis. In Dutch. Frascati, (ThurSat 20.30), €12 Music/Theatre: Bunraku World famous Japanese puppet theatre. Muziekgebouw, (Wed 20.30), €25
Ongoing
STAGE Opening Theatre: tamtam Toneelgroep Amsterdam get busy until 8 March, utilising every inch of Stadsschouwburg, as well as a selection of other rooms around town. Tony Kushner’s Angels in America is central to this festival—he’ll even be appearing himself on 7 March at De Balie—with this five hour epic split across two performances. But films, debates, talks, and, of course, other theatrical performances help
Theatre: Kanonnenvlees Opium Voor het Volk’s great new tale about art, creativity and happiness. Who’s been peaking into your mind? In Dutch. NDSM-werf, (Thur-Sun 20.30), €12 Dance: Coppelia Het Nationale Ballet’s major new production this season. A contemporary reworking of the well-known 19th-century fairytale ballet about surface glamour, true love and the manipulation of life. Het Muziektheater, (Fri, Sat, Sun, Tues 20.15, Sun also 14.00), €22.50-€52.50 Music/Dance: Monday Match A dynamic monthly event in which a dancer invites a musician (or vice versa) to form the basis of a unique improvisation lab. Bimhuis, (Mon 20.30), free
28 February-5 March 2008
Amsterdam Weekly
Allora & Calzadilla—Never Mind That Noise You Heard An opportunity to see and hear recent installations and videos that consider the continuum between noise and music as a productive measure and potentially rich tool through which cultural, social and political relationships can be gauged and challenged. Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.00-18.00), until 4 May
ART More listings at www.amsterdamweekly.nl.
Art Nouveau The best of French and Russian art nouveau. Hermitage Amsterdam (Daily 10.00-17.00), until 5 May
Opening Barbara Massiglia, Erik Leeman Black-and-white fashion photography and portraits by Massiglia; landscapes and macro shots by Leeman. Fotogram (Mon-Thur 09.30-21.00, Fri, Sat 09.30-17.00), opens Friday, until 26 March
MAGNUM Photos 60 years Since 1947, the MAGNUM agency has been providing images of landmark world events. This collection uses photographs, books and texts to illustrate the history of MAGNUM year by year, giving visitors the opportunity to view work by 83 photographers, such as Robert Capa, Henri CartierBresson and Carl de Keyzer. Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.00-18.00), until 12 May
Het Gonst in Arti Multidisciplinary works from the numerous young artists becoming members of the society. Arti et Amicitiae (Tues-Sun 13.00-18.00), opens Friday, until 30 March
John Everett Millais He was the foremost painter of the English Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and Britain’s most successful artist of the latter half of the 19th century. His jewel-like, highly detailed paintings exude a dreamy, serene atmosphere, and this exhibition comprises some 100 works, covering all aspects of Millais’ career. Van Gogh Museum (Mon-Thur, Sat, Sun 10.0018.00, Fri 10.00-22.00), until 18 May
Metal Heart Delving into the arty dark side of the metal subculture, embracing the angst, blackness and (anti)religious aspects. Expect diverse works by a host of artists, from pop-surrealism to contemporary digital reworkings of classic metal imagery. See article, p. 11. Planetart (ThurSat 14.00-18.00), opens Friday, until 22 March Ruth van Beek: Reconstructions Van Beek collects random snapshots, passport photos, slides and albums, as well as pictures from newspapers and old books. By folding and cutting the material she creates a hybrid which combines photography and drawing. Foam (Sat-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur, Fri 10.00-21.00), opens Friday, until 9 April Amsterdam and the House of Orange An exhibition surveying the ties which have bound Amsterdam and the House of Orange over the centuries, from the Alternation of 1578, when Amsterdam finally joined the Revolt against Spain and decided to back the Prince of Orange, to Willem-Alexander and Maxima with their kiss on the balcony of the Royal Palace on Dam Square. Amsterdams Historisch Museum (Mon-Fri 10.00-17.00, Sat, Sun 11.00-17.00), opens Saturday, until 31 August Atelier 408 Jewellery, sculptures and products by Marta Boino Eliseu and Anette Kithier. Atelier 408 Organic Landscapes, opens Saturday Edwin Zwakman: Fake But Accurate A retrospective of well-known Dutch photographer Zwakman, in which his three latest series can be seen together for the first time. Huis Marseille (Tues-Sun 11.00-18.00), opens Saturday, until 25 May Levi van Veluw, Laetitia Gendre Featuring Landscapes, a four-piece manipulated photo series, plus video work and other photos by Van Veluw. Fast Fade to Grey Grey Grey is a drawing installation. Ronmandos (Wed-Sat 12.30-17.30), opens Saturday, until 5 April Nelson Carrilho Paintings and objects. BIHP (Thur-Sat 12.00-18.00), opens Saturday, until 13 April
Ruth van Beek: Reconstructions, see Opening
Giotto in Amsterdam Giotto’s cycle of frescoes in the Arena chapel in Padua reproduced in a scale model. Bijbels Museum (Mon-Sat 10.00-17.00, Sun 11.0017.00), closing Sunday
Josine van Dalsum Paintings and drawings by the Breda artist. Jan van der Togt Museum (Thur-Sun 13.00-17.00), Amstelveen, until 16 March
Traces of War—Survivors of the Burma and Sumatra Railways Portrait photos of twenty four men who worked as forced labourers on railways near the Burmese-Thai border and in Sumatra during WWII. Verzetsmuseum (Tues-Fri 10.00-17.00, Sat-Mon 12.0017.00), closing Monday
Sonic Acts XII Presenting works that create various forms of the cinematic experience, ranging from music to visual art, installations and media arts. Featured artists include: Julien Maire, Ulf Langheinrich, Boris Debackere, Leerraum and Kurt Hentschläger. Montevideo/Time Based Arts (Tues-Sat 13.00-18.00), until 22 March
Get Rid of the BlaBla Richard Jansen and Ties Jan de Blij invite the public to separate the real from the virtual. Centrale Bibliotheek (Daily), closing Monday
Van Binnenuit Freaky photos of Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, captured backstage by Marco Cisaria. Centrale Bibliotheek (Daily), until 30 March
Weegee An exhibition of work by the legendary photographer Weegee, regarded as the prototypical modern photojournalist and one of the most important photographers of the 20th century. Foam (Sat-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur, Fri 10.00-21.00), closing Wednesday
Taryn Simon—An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar In her second of two shows at Foam, award-winning photographer Simon assumes the dual role of shrewd informant and collector of curiosities, compiling an inventory of what lies hidden and out-ofview within the borders of the US. Foam (Sat-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur, Fri 10.00-21.00), until 6 April
Rehab! The main theme of this exhibition is the world wide media coverage on Britney, Paris, Pete and their colleagues. Ben Laloua and Didier Pascal show an after image of media violence with textile objects, a poster project and drawings, and offers a literally softening surrounding. Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (Tues-Sun 11.00-17.00), until 10 March
Palestine 1948 On 14 May 2008, it will be exactly 60 years ago that the State of Israel was founded. This long term presentation shows how this event affected the lives of individual Palestinians. Tropenmuseum (Daily 10.00-17.00), opens Saturday, until 4 January 2009
Designing Leisure Landscapes Student designs for leisure themes in Amsterdam. Maybe the Red Light District will stay red after all. Zuiderkerk (Mon 11.00-16.00, Tues-Fri 09.00-16.00, Sat 12.00-16.00), until 14 March
Museums
Gastarbeider Dating A project about identity, feeling at home, being foreign and meeting each other. It features 10 international artists who’ll try to help explore their national and personal cultures. This week it’s Israeliartists Gil & Moti. Mediamatic (Wed-Sun 16.0020.00), until 16 March
Well-Cast: 5000 Years of Bronze Archaeological exhibition highlighting the origins and use of bronze over the ages. Allard Pierson Museum (Tues-Fri 10.0017.00, Sat, Sun 13.00-17.00), closing Sunday
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Karel Du Jardin Italian landscapes and aristocratic portraits by the 17th-century painter. Rijksmuseum (Daily 09.00-18.00), until 16 March
De Koers van de Stad Helping to visualise the growth and future transitions planned for Amsterdam and the surrounding region. ARCAM (Tues-Sat 13.00-17.00), until 12 April Bisj Poles—Sculptures From the Rainforest An exhibition of 58 bisj poles from New Guinea, brought to life in a thrilling combination of light, sound and film. Tropenmuseum (Daily 10.00-17.00), until 13 April Hidden Afghanistan A deluxe exhibition presenting a ‘not war-torn’ vision of this nation at the crossroads of civilisations in central Asia. At its core, 250 archaeological objects will be displayed. Nieuwe Kerk (Fri-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur 10.00-22.00), until 20 April Benno Premsela—Voorvechter van Homo-Emancipatie Books, magazines and photos highlighting the history of acclaimed designer and gay rights activist Premsela. Centrale Bibliotheek (Daily), until 27 April
Maria Sibylla Merian & Daughters—Women of Art and Science The most important and influential natural history artist working in the Netherlands in the 17th century, this exhibition features more than a hundred rarely displayed masterpieces, including original drawings, watercolours, gouaches, prints and books. Also included are works by her daughters. Rembrandthuis (Mon-Sat 10.00-17.00, Sun 11.00-17.00), until 18 May Tobias Rehberger: the chicken-and-egg-no-problem wall-painting The first major Dutch retrospective of works by German artist Tobias Rehberger, who in the mid-’90s gained an international reputation for objects and installations at the interface of fine art, design and architecture. Here he is devising a special installation involving sculptures and light that produce a mural. Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.00-18.00), until 25 May Karel Appel—Jazz 1958-1962 One of the nation’s most famous post-war artists, this collection comprises some 23 large-scale works—20 paintings from the early ’60s and the rest from a series of canvases made at Groeneveld Castle in 1961, during the shooting of the Jan Vrijman documentary De werkelijkheid van Karel Appel. CoBrA Museum (Tues-Sun 11.0017.00), until 1 June Lucian Freud The first ever Dutch retrospective of this extraordinary and unconventional German artist. Gemeentemuseum (Tues-Sun 11.00-17.00), Den Haag, until 8 June Standpoints A new long-running exhibition showcasing the museum’s collection of modern art in a new and refreshing context. Themes such as mass culture, politics, freedom and the elite form the starting point for an experimental look at the collection, freed from the traditional framework of art history. Centraal Museum (Tues-Thur, Sat, Sun 12.00-17.00, Fri 12.00-21.00), Utrecht, until 2 June 2009
Galleries Nieuw in De Bijlmer Brigette Mulders spent the last year in De Bijlmer profiling newcomers. CBK Zuidoost Tues, Wed, Fri 11.00-17.00; Thur 11.00-21.00, Sat 10.00-17.00
Amsterdam Weekly
16 Dominique Goblet Drawings and paintings by the Belgian artist. Galerie Knap (Tues-Sun 12.00-18.00), closing Friday I Know the World Group exhibition exploring how the production of art can be influenced by experiences abroad. SMART Project Space (Tues-Sat 12.00-17.00), closing Saturday voiceoverhead An audio project by Achim Lengerer and Dani Gal which is rooted in a record collection of approximately 350 records, including footage documenting political speeches and language orientated radio programmes. SMART Project Space (Tues-Sat 12.00-17.00), closing Saturday I Spend My Evenings Sitting by the Fireside Hunting Tigers A solo installation by the English artist Tim Braden, which attempts to emulate, through visual language, the mechanics of the process of reading. Galerie Juliette Jongma (WedSat 13.00-18.00), closing Saturday Discriminatie gestript Fifteen Dutch and Flemish comic strip artists display works around the theme of discrimination. Galerie Lambiek (Mon-Fri 11.00 -18.00, Sat 11.00 -17.00, Sun 13.00 -17.00), closing Saturday Mello Six fait le mur Comic drawing improv inspired by visitors and the passing public of De Baarsjes. De Stoker (Fri, Sat 11.00 -17.00), closing Saturday Echtenstein in Momentum Presenting diverse multidisciplinary works from six artists of the Zuidoost artistic breeding place Echtenstein. Imagine IC (Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat 11.00 -17.00, Thur 11.00-21.00), closing Saturday Annette Huizing, Wieke Ververs Objects and paintings. Ververs Gallery (Thur-Sat 12.00 -17.30), until 8 March
Art/Music: Versch Festival Three nights to blend contemporary media art and electronic music. On all evenings you’ll find a multimedia performance by German outfit Powerplay, titled In der Bar um die Ecke. On the Saturday night, however, it’s all about the live electronic goodies from the likes of Noraj Cue, Philogresz (Turkey), Together and DJ Steijn. Sugar Factory, (Thur-Sat 20.00), €15
Lucy + Jorge Orta Two projects by Anglo-Argentine artist duo Lucy and Jorge Orta: Antarctic Village—No Borders and Fallujah. Included are drawings, sculptures and installations. Motive Gallery (Wed-Sat 13.00-18.00), until 29 March To Burn Oneself with Oneself: The Romantic Damage Show Romanticism is back with a vengeance. Romantic themes exert an almost universal attraction, which is why they resurface at regular intervals. But what’s really going on? De Appel (Tues-Sun 11.00-18.00), until 6 April
EVENTS Open Day: Greenpeace—Sirius Whether you’re an environmental activist, a dippy hippy or just someone who enjoys naval architecture, today you can explore the old ship which is famous for taking on the whalers in their own territory, amongst other voyages. NDSM-werf, (Thur 11.00-17.00), free Talk: Interview with Jan Pronk Former UN envoy to Sudan, Pronk speaks about the situation in Africa’s largest country. In English. CREA Theater, (Thur 19.30), €5 Art/Talk: Virginija Januskeviciute—CAC TV Lithuanian art curator Januskeviciute talks about how the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius came to launch its own TV channel. In English. agentur: in transit, (Thur 20.00), free Performance: Afghanistan & Breekbaar Nieuws A theatrical piece, featuring stories, images, film and music, presenting how it feels to live in modern-day Afghanistan. Nieuwe Kerk, (Thur 20.00), museum entry cost
Hermitage Amsterdam Nieuwe Herengracht 14, 530 8751
11 Oosterdokskade 3-5, 625 5999
Hortus Botanicus Plantage Middenlaan 2A, 625 9021
2x2projects Veemkade 350, 489 7471
Hotel Arena ’s-Gravesandestraat 51, 850 2400
ABC Treehouse Voetboogstraat 11, 423 0967
Huis Marseille Keizersgracht 401, 531 8989
agentur: in transit Jacqueline’s Pace, Govert Flinckstraat 299–1, 06 2887 3782
iLLUSEUM Witte de Withstraat 120, 770 5581 Imagine IC Bijlmerplein 1006-1008, 489 4866
Allard Pierson Museum Oude Turfmarkt 127, 525 2556
Market: Baobab Reismarkt Looking to hit a far and exotic part of the world this year or next? This travel market features info stands and presentations throughout the day. Pakhuis de Zwijger, (Sat 09.0018.30), free
De Appel Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 10, 625 5651
KIT Tropentheater Mauritskade 63, 568 8711
ARCAM Prins Hendrikkade 600, 620 4878
KochxBos Gallery 1e Anjeliersdwarsstraat 3-5, 681 4567
Arti et Amicitiae Rokin 112, 624 5134
Maloe Melo Lijnbaansgracht 163, 420 4592
Aschenbach & Hofland Galleries Bilderdijkstraat 165C, 412 1772
The Mansion Hobbemastraat 2, 616 6664
Sport: Mama Cash Badkuiprace Another International Women’s Day is on the horizon, and again, the Mama Cash organisation is encouraging women to take to the Amsterdam canals in bathtubs—though not randomly of their own devices. 22 teams will be rowing to raise money and attention for women’s rights. Support is welcomed from the canal (and financial) banks. Lijnbaansgracht (between Leidseplein and Spiegelgracht), (Sat 14.00-17.00), free
Atelier 408 Herengracht 408
Melkweg Lijnbaansgracht 234A, 531 8181
AYAC'S Keizersgracht 166, 638 5240
Melkweg Galerie Marnixstraat 409, 531 8181
Badcuyp 1e Sweelinckstraat 10, 675 9669
Montevideo/Time Based Arts Keizersgracht 264, 623 7101
De Balie Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10, 553 5151
Motive Gallery Elandsgracht 10, 330 3668
Bethaniënklooster Barndesteeg 6, 625 0078
Muziekgebouw Piet Heinkade 1, 788 2010
BIHP Keizersgracht 335, 622 4511
Het Muziektheater Amstel 3, 625 5455
Bijbels Museum Herengracht 366-368, 624 2436
NDSM-werf TT Neveritaweg 15, 330 5480
Bimhuis Piet Heinkade 3, 788 2150
Nieuwe Kerk entrance on the Dam, 638 6909
Bitterzoet Spuistraat 2, 521 3001
OCCII Amstelveenseweg 134, 671 7778
Borzo Keizersgracht 516, 626 3303
Odeon Singel 460, 624 9711
De Brakke Grond Nes 45, 626 6866
OT301 Overtoom 301, 779 4913
Event: Rotterdamse Museumnacht Now that the dust and debris of the Amsterdam variant has settled, Rotterdam is stepping into the late-night museum limelight with a programme titled, funnily enough, ‘Set a Light’. Communication, engineering, space travel and light all find themselves tied to art for a series of events and installations across the city. See www.rotterdamsemuseumnacht.nl. Various locations and times, Rotterdam, (Sat 20.00-02.00), €11/€15
Amstelkerk Amstelveld 10, 520 0060 Amsterdams Historisch Museum Kalverstraat 92, 523 1822
Cafe Pakhuis Wilhelmina Veemkade 576, 419 3368 Canvas International Art Fokkerlaan 46, Amstelveen, 428 6040 Carhartt Store Hartenstraat 18 CBK Zuidoost Bijlmerdreef 119, 691 1322 Centraal Museum Nicolaaskerkhof, Utrecht, 030 236 2362
Michael Kirkham: Hotel Grande Abyss Lust, sex, pornography and lack of control are all prevalent themes in the paintings of this British artist. Aschenbach & Hofland Galleries (Wed-Sat 12.0017.00), until 22 March
The Day I Got Lost French artist Mijn Schatje, AKA Marie Blanco Hendrickx, creates bizarre and beautiful landscapes labeled as digital pop surrealism. But you might just call them dreamy and delicious. KochxBos Gallery (Wed-Sat 13.00-18.00), until 26 March
Heineken Music Hall ArenA Boulevard 590, 0900 300 1250
Book presentation: A Little Trouble With the Facts American author Nina Siegal reads from her new slice of contemporary crime noir. In English. See Short List. ABC Treehouse, (Fri 20.00), free
Between the Light and the Dark Multidisciplinary exhibits from Chinese artists Wang Jianwei, Ni Haifeng and Tiong Ang dealing with the theme ‘Chineseness’. Canvas International Art (Thur-Sat 14.00-18.00), Amstelveen, until 22 March
Laurens Hensbergen & Goran Turnsˇek Political and social issues are brought to the fore in the paintings of Hensbergen. Slovenian artist Turnsˇek takes inspiration from sport. AYAC’S (Fri, Sat 13.00-17.30), until 22 March
ADDRESSES
28 February-5 March 2008
Mediamatic Post CS, Oosterdokskade 5, 638 9901
Pakhuis de Zwijger Piet Heinkade 179-181, 788 4444 Paleis van Weemoed Oudezijds Voorburgwal 15, 625 6964 Panama Oostelijke Handelskade 4, 311 8680 Paradiso Weteringschans 6-8, 626 4521 Pathé De Munt Vijzelstraat 15, 0900 1458 Planetart Weteringschans 179
Club 8 Admiraal de Ruyterweg 56B, 685 1703
PRIK Spuistraat 109, 06 4544 2321
Club La Kerkstraat 50-52
Rembrandthuis Jodenbreestraat 4, 520 0400
CoBrA Museum Sandbergplein 1-3, Amstelveen, 547 5050
Rijksmuseum Jan Luykenstraat 1, 674 7000
Cockring Warmoesstraat 96, 623 9604
Ronmandos Prinsengracht 282, 320 7036
Comedy Theater Nes 110
Rozentheater Rozengracht 117, 620 7953
Concertgebouw Concertgebouwplein 2-6, 671 8345
SMART Project Space Arie Biemondstraat 107-113, 427 5953
CREA Muziekzaal Turfdraagsterpad 17, 525 1400 CREA Theater Turfdraagsterpad 17, 525 1400 Desmet Studios Plantage Middenlaan 4A, 521 7100 Dikker&Thijs Fenice Hotel Prinsengracht 444, 778 1947
Film/Music: Celluloid Fever: The Goddess An unusually sensory night in Melkweg, mixing 360degree film projections, live music and theatre, all inspired by Hollywood legend Rita Hayworth. Local indie electro pop band Coparck have even created an original soundtrack for this event, which is the first part of a trilogy. Melkweg, The Max, (Sat 21.00), €15
De Kade Zuiddijk 9-11, Zaandam, 617 6972
Centrale Bibliotheek Oosterdokskade 143, 523 0900
Consortium Veemkade 570, 06 2611 8950
Celluloid Fever: The Goddess
Jan van der Togt Museum Dorpsstraat 50, Amstelveen, 641 5754
English Reformed Church Begijnhof 48, 624 9665 Fantasio (Nationaal Pop Instituut) Prins Hendrikkade 142, 428 4288
Stadsarchief Amsterdam Vijzelstraat 32 Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam Rozenstraat 59, 422 0471 Stedelijk Museum CS Oosterdokskade 5, 573 2911 De Stoker Witte de Withstraat 124, 612 3293 Strand West Stavangerweg, 682 6310 Studio K Timorplein 62, 692 0422
Felix Meritis Keizersgracht 324, 626 2321
Sugar Factory Lijnbaansgracht 238, 627 0008
Flex Bar Pazzanistraat 1, 486 2123
Tropenmuseum Linnaeusstraat 2, 568 8200
Foam Keizersgracht 609, 551 6546
Under the Grand Chapiteau Next to ArenA (P2), 621 1288
Fotogram Korte Prinsengracht 33, 624 9994
Van Gogh Museum Paulus Potterstraat 7, 570 5200
Frascati Nes 63, 626 6866
Van Zijll Langhout Brouwersgracht 161, 06 2825 9620
Market: Otherground Market Stalls buried in clothing, records, CDs, books, toys, arts & crafts, food and drink. To book a table email othergroundmarket@gmail.com. OT301, (Sun 12.00-17.30), free
Galerie de Rietlanden Exposities Rietlandpark 193, 419 4705
Ververs Gallery Hazenstraat 54
Galerie Gabriel Rolt Elandsgracht 34, 785 5146
Vondelkerk Vondelstraat 120
Galerie Juliette Jongma Gerard Douplein 23, 463 6904
W139 Warmoesstraat 139, 622 9434
Discussion: Women Inc Weekly talk show highlighting specific female issues. In Dutch. Pakhuis de Zwijger, (Mon 20.00), free
Galerie Knap Huidenstraat 21
Carnival All your fave vomit-inducing carny rides. Until 16 March. Westergasfabriek, (Sat-Wed), free
Party: Gouden Kabouter Awards The 12th edition of the ever-ludicrous dance and party awards. Everyone wants a kabouter. See Short List. Paradiso, (Mon 21.00), €15 + membership Discussion: Follow the Money The latest in the series ‘The Next President of the United States…’. A presidential campaign runs on money, and following the cash trail gives surprising insights into how the election system really works. In English. International School for Humanities and Social Sciences, UvA, (Tues 15.00), free, reservations required Literature: Amy Bloom Talking about her new novel Away, which tells the picaresque story of a Russian Jew in the 1920s whose family is killed in a pogrom and who then finds her way to New York and its Yiddish theater world. News that her daughter may be alive—in Siberia—then sparks an improbable transcontinental trek. In English. Felix Meritis, (Wed 17.00), free Discussion: Reportagefotografie NU Tied in with the current MAGNUM exhibition, this discussion about report photography stars Steve McCurry, the American photographer famous for the National Geographic cover of the Afghan girl with the light blue eyes. Dutch photographic media moguls will also be on hand for lectures and a debate. 11, (Wed 19.30), €4.50 DVD presentation: Buitenwesten Film about the sold out Nederhop tour which starred Typhoon, Jawat, Duvelduvel, Opgezwolle and Kubus. Paradiso, 19.00, €5
Galerie Lambiek Kerkstraat 132, 626 7543 Galerie Roger Katwijk Lange Leidsedwarsstraat 198-200, 627 3808 Gasthuis Marius van Bouwdijk Bastiaansestraat 54, 683 8494 Gemeentemuseum Stadhouderslaan 41, Den Haag, 070 338 1111
Verzetsmuseum Plantage Kerklaan 61, 620 2535
Westergasfabriek Haarlemmerweg 8-10, 586 0710 Westergasterras Klönneplein 3, 475 1412 Winston Kingdom Warmoesstraat 129, 623 1380 Yoshiko Matsumoto Gallery Weteringschans 37, 06 1437 0995 Zaal 100 De Wittenstraat 100, 688 0127 Zuiderkerk Zuiderkerkhof 72, 552 7987
28 February-5 March 2008
Amsterdam Weekly
Great gaucho grills Amigo, Argentinian Restaurant Rozengracht 5, 6239377 Open Daily Noon to Midnight Cash, PIN, major credit cards Once upon a time, Amigo on the Rozengracht was a Chinese take-away and restaurant, (which wasn’t bad, but not like New King on Zeedijk), but now it’s devoted to Argentinean food, the outside lit up, and with a meat celebrating menu. ‘Would you like to come in?’ asked the petite blonde waitress, appearing at the door. She had shy bright warm blue eyes, a charming smile, and an Eastern European accent. (Amigos, how could I resist?) The interior has been completely transformed. The walls are now adorned with huge dark Goya-like pictures of big meaty bulls. The tables have tooled leather placemats with bulls’ heads on them. The utensils are holstered in leather pouches. The atmosphere was very congenial. Flamenco music danced through the room, mingling with the glorious grill smell emanating from the minute kitchen. A couple spoke Spanish, held hands and took loving photos of each other with their cell phones. Two Greek guys looked up suspiciously from their meal when I greeted them. (No, I didn’t unholster my weapon.) The sweet blonde bird flew away from me, and then back and forth through the room as more customers entered. There she was at the door to invite the hesitant to enter, taking orders, bringing enormous beer filled tankards to tables.
THE UNDERCOVER GLUTTON She arrived, in her frigid ice-cream glory, covered in a chocolate sauce chignon (duh!) draped deliciously over her milky white breasts (Oh Mama!). Oh yes, dear friends, the menu was a celebration of meat: Argentinean beefsteaks, a carnivore’s heaven of succulent rump, sirloin, fillet, rib eye and T-bones weighing in between 200
grams to 500 grams. Prices vary according to cut of meat and size. For example, a 200 gram Argentinean rump steak costs €11.50, a 500 gram T-bone is €22.50 and a 400 gram fillet goes for
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€27.95. All meals can be accompanied by a baked potato or fries and a mixed salad. I went for unlimited spareribs and baked potato, together costing €13.50. Drinks come in three sizes. My bitter lemon was large enough for my needs at €3.50. ‘Enjoy,’ said the waitress a little while later. My platter held two enormous sizzling hot wellbasted rib flanks that reposed in mute challenge to this glutton’s mettle. The salad was brief, colourful and fresh, with a simple oil and vinegar dressing. The baked potato was the ungodly size of a Californian grapefruit, filled with enough sour cream to fill the Baltic Sea. It came with a small spoon to dig out the treasure. A grind of black pepper. A request for half a lemon (to squeeze on my ribs) and eeeyahooo! The feast was on. The tasty pork spare ribs were all meat, very tender strands that flaked away from the bones. They were gorgeously marinated and grilled to perfection. And as I took my time to munch my meal, I knew it would be impossible for me to order another round of ribs. I had a Dame Blanche for dessert (€4.75). She arrived, in her frigid ice-cream glory, covered in a chocolate sauce chignon (duh!) draped deliciously over her milky white breasts (Oh Mama!). Once the orders were on table, the chef and owner took time out to pass the tables to ask if everything was all right. It certainly was. The personal touch makes an enormous difference, spicing up the meal with conviviality. I ended my meal with a really good coffee. I waddled out into the night. An American family, laden with parcels, was standing outside, looking at the menu. ‘You won't be sorry!’ I told them in sincere post-prandial bloatation. And like warm candle light, there was the pretty blonde again at the door.
Amsterdam Weekly
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28 February-5 March 2008 Cut! Can you move a little to the light, please?
Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film about an oilman’s rise and fall is a blank slate, open to endless discussion.
OIL, MONEY, MADNESS AND GREAT ACTING FILM There Will Be Blood Opens Thursday at Cinecenter, The Movies, Pathé De Munt and Pathé Tuschinski. By Luuk van Huët
In a dimly lit hole, a man hacks away at bare rock with a pick until a slight glint reveals itself. Using unstable explosives
and more muscle power, he is able to extract a small load of silver-flecked stones from the earth. Then he takes a terrible plunge into the shaft. Crudely setting his own fractured leg and hoisting himself out of the depths, the man proceeds to lurch across a barren expanse of craggy desert landscape to cash in his bounty. These opening sequences of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) establish
that this is a man of unfathomable, limitless ambition. There Will Be Blood, by Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia), is both grandly epic and sparse enough in places to act as a blank slate for any and every analysis you choose to throw at it. But it’s first and foremost a character study of this self-made oilman, covering his meteoric rise and the price he has to pay for it over three decades. After his first painful exploits, scraping riches from the earth, we catch up with Plainview a few years later, in the early 1900s, scooping oil out of a bubbling well in buckets. An accident leaves a child fatherless, and Plainview adopts him as his own son. Another time-skip later (they seem slightly arbitrary), we’re in 1911, watching as Plainview takes his son HW with him wherever he goes to convince the local yokels that he's a family man like them. One day, a weasel-like fellow by the name of Paul Sunday (Paul Dano) approaches
him with information regarding a rich oil field on his folks’ land. Plainview has no trouble convincing these dirt farmers to accept his less-than-generous offer, but their religiously fervent other son, Eli (Dano again), smells an opportunity to collect some much-needed funds for his new church. This does not sit well with Plainview, and the foundation of a confrontation of Old Testament proportions is laid. Sometimes there is justice in the world, like when the Oscar for best actor was won by Day-Lewis for his stunning portrayal of Plainview. He dominates the screen without chewing up the scenery, and his voice (which he allegedly based on the late, great John Huston) is rich and seductive as well as downright menacing. Day-Lewis also brings out a clumsy tenderness in Plainview when he is shown onscreen with his son HW, showing us that this man is desperately in need of human contact but has no clue whatsoever how to deal with other people, let alone a child. Without these scenes, Plainview could easily have become a cartoonish cardboard monster. Craziness has been a central motif in Anderson's work (just look at PunchDrunk Love), and both Day-Lewis and Dano push their characters onto a higher platform of derangement. At the end of the film, Plainview has achieved everything he set out to achieve, living in an opulent mansion. But he drinks himself to sleep, curled up on a filthy blanket in the gutter of his private bowling alley. By stripping himself of everything that stood in the way of his single-minded pursuit—his family, his conscience, his dignity and his sanity— he ends up in a deeper, darker hole than he started out in.
Five-Word Movie Review
FILM Edited by Julie Phillips.This week’s films reviewed by Lisa Alspector (LA),Massimo Benvegnù (MB),Shyama Daryanani (SD),Angela Dress (AD),Sarah Gehrke (SG),Andrea Gronvall (AG),Luuk van Huët (LvH),JR Jones (JJ),Joshua Katzman (JK),Dave Kehr (DK), Marie-Claire Melzer (MM),Mike Peek (MP),Bart Plantenga (BP),Gusta Reijnders (GR),Jonathan Rosenbaum (JR),Marinus de Ruiter (MdR),Bregtje Schudel (BS) and Isabel Serval (IS). All films are screened in English with Dutch subtitles unless otherwise noted. Amsterdam Weekly recommends.
Festivals New Italian Cinema Events The itinerant festival NICE stops this week at the Filmmuseum, showcasing the work of up-and-coming Italian film-makers. The 2008 selection includes Alessandro Angelini’s gritty prison drama L’Aria Salata (which won Best Film at the Rome Film Festival), Claudio Antonini’s zany ballroom yarn Liscio and Massimo Cappelli’s light comedy on marriage and relationships Il Giorno + Bello. My favourite in the list by far is Uno Su Due (‘One out of Two’), by Eugenio Cappuccio, a tense drama about a lawyer’s personal journey of discovery after he’s been diagnosed with cancer. A series of short films accompany each screening, and there’s also a special presentation, with live music, of the colonial film Kif Tebbi, directed by Mario Camerini in Africa in 1928. (MB) Filmmuseum
New this week The
Darjeeling Limited Sometimes you travel through life with some extra baggage. In the case of the Whitman brothers, it’s a luxury Louis Vuitton set that
SMART CHARM OFFENSIVE WITH BURKAS Persepolis Rialto
Persepolis
looks colourful and flashy even in India. A year after their father’s funeral, Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) meet aboard a train for a journey of spiritual healing. The fact that the trio have not spoken to each other in a year doesn’t prevent them from getting straight into the family’s old dynamics, which involve manic tics, substance abuse and sexual escapades. But soon both the emotional and the physical baggage starts to fall away. Film-maker Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums), much like his characters, has found his grown-up voice. This delicious curry comedy is a rich plate for film-goers, entertaining and poignant, just as it should be. (MB) 108 min. Kriterion How to Get Rid of the Others Danish director Ronow Klarlund delivers an uncompromising and hilarious critique on right-wing populist conservatism in this political satire in which Denmark is turned into a fascist state. Drug addicts, the disabled, the unemployed and other social rejects are executed for their failure to contribute to society. When a former government official (Louise Miertiz) blows the whistle, she too is imprisoned in a school gymnasium to await death, along with six other misfits. But if the prisoners can still prove to the charming but cruel army officer in charge that they have done something for the common good, he will have to let them go. (IS) Melkweg Cinema
The Other Boleyn Girl Love, sex, ambition, rivalry and intrigue are the keywords of this bodice-ripper set in 16th-century England. Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and her sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) are seen only as commodities by their scheming father and uncle. Both girls compete for the love of King Henry VIII, and both end up in his bed, but only the manipulative Anne will marry him and become queen. The sumptuous props and costumes and the vibrant colour schemes are sure to please period-movie fans. But the film focuses on the relationship between Anne and Mary at the expense of the historical context: the divorce of Henry VIII from Katherine of Aragon and the subsequent rift between England and the Catholic Church are mentioned only in passing. The result feels romanticised and oversimplified. Directed by Justin Chadwick. (GR) 115 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski
Paranoid Park At first, nothing much seems to be
going on in Paranoid Park, the new film by Gus Van Sant. Using a cast of unknown skater kids recruited from MySpace, the director sets a documentary-style scene, much as he did in his previous films, Gerry, Elephant and Last Days. Among the teenagers who hang around a skate park is Alex, a 16-year-old who seems more interested in writing than anything else. Over the course of the film, Van Sant shows similar scenes from different vantage points, gradually revealing that Alex has a horrible secret,
one that he tries to articulate in his writing. In the beginning Alex seems emotionally flat, but it becomes clear that he’s extremely restrained, with good reason. The clever use of music and the versatile camera work of Christopher Doyle support this brilliant exercise in cinematic storytelling. (MdR) 85 min. Het Ketelhuis, Kriterion
Persepolis A satisfying adaptation of the autobio-
graphical graphic novel about a girl coming of age in Iran during the Islamic revolution in the 1970s, struggling with everything from tight headscarves to bomb threats. In a cute and comical hand-drawn style, the book’s writer and illustrator, Marjane Satrapi, and her co-director, Vincent Paronnaud, draw parallels between a girl’s passage from innocence to puberty and the violent transition of a civilised country into a fundamentalist state. Even a denunciation from the Iranian government couldn’t stop the screening of this irresistible and intelligent charm offensive. The English, as opposed to the French, version is showing; voices include Catherine Deneuve, Sean Penn and Iggy Pop. Subtitled in Dutch. (MdR) 95 min. Rialto
There Will Be Blood The new Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia) finally arrives. See review above. (LvH) 159 min. Cinecenter, The Movies, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski
Still playing 12 Angry Men Watching 12 sweaty guys arguing for
an hour and a half might not sound like much fun, but if
Amsterdam Weekly
28 February-5 March 2008 you can pierce the datedness that envelops this 1957 classic, now settling in for a long run at the Filmmuseum, you’ll find a gem underneath. In this quintessential courtroom drama, Sidney Lumet crafted a potent tale of bigotry, class struggle and justice, thereby proving that you don’t need funky locations or gargantuan explosions to tell a good story. The powerful performances by Henry Fonda and Lee J Cobb may be the most memorable, but the entire cast is an assembly of outstanding actors rarely matched to this day. If you haven’t seen it yet, treat yourself. (LvH) 96 min. Filmmuseum
Away from Her ‘Not another Alzheimer movie!’ you
might say. Yes, another loving husband is going to check his wife of many years into a nursing home, then try to piece their memories together through the cracks of her illness. Yes, he’ll bring flowers. Yes, he’ll read to her. Yes, there will be flashbacks. But Away from Her, the directorial debut of actress Sarah Polley (based on a short story by Alice Munro), is that rare thing, a gripping, powerful drama filled with fabulous performances. Julie Christie hasn’t had a role to shine in like this in ages; her piercing blue eyes let us in on Fiona’s troubled soul, but also give us one more glimpse into her timeless beauty. (MB) 110 min. Cinecenter
love affairs. Extramarital affairs, lesbian relationships, dominant mothers, sex before marriage and sex after menopause are difficult barriers to overcome in a religious hot zone like Beirut. Director Nadine Labaki, who also plays Layale, portrays her love/hate affair with the war-struck city in a highly entertaining way, with lots of meaning hidden under the cosmetic surface. In Arabic/French with Dutch subtitles. (MdR) 95 min. Rialto Faces Documentary on the French street artist JR. Het Ketelhuis
Die Fälscher Before you say ‘Life Is Beautiful’, take a look at this gritty Holocaust comedy/drama (bizarrely enough, a genre with many entries), which just won best film at the Ghent Film Festival. The amazing Austrian character actor Karl Markovics shines as Salomon Sorowitsch, the leader of a pack of Jewish counterfeiters who get ‘hired’ by the Nazis to run a concentration camp devoted to printing foreign currency. The Germans’ plan is to destroy the world economy; the con men’s is merely to find a way to survive (and maybe get rich, too). Austrian writer/director Stefan Ruzowitzky nails the perfect tone in adapting the book by Adolf Burger, based on real-life events, and gets away with a gem. In German with Dutch subtitles. (MB) 98 min. Pathé De Munt Heimatklänge
The Band’s Visit
The Band’s Visit In this year’s art-house hit, the
Alexandria Ceremonial Police Band, a small combo specialising in traditional Arab repertoire, flies from Egypt to Israel to play at the opening of a cultural centre. When their guide fails to meet them at the airport, they take the wrong bus and end up in the wrong city. To their rescue comes beautiful Dina (Israeli superstar Ronit Elkabetz), the owner of the only café in town, who sees the band’s arrival as both a business opportunity and a chance to relieve the local boredom. Directed with a firm hand by Eran Kolirin, who also wrote the original screenplay, The Band’s Visit gently lets you inside its unique sense of humour. The moment when the band is finally allowed to play its repertoire is the cherry on top of an appealing cinematic dessert. (MB) 87 min. Kriterion, Rialto
Caramel Layale’s beauty salon in Beirut is a shabby
affair: the water regularly gets shut off, the power goes out, and hot caramel is used as a primitive form of waxing. Meanwhile, five women connected to the shop struggle with various social pressures surrounding their
Stefan Schwietert’s documentary opens with the Swiss musical cliché: man on a mountaintop, exuberantly yodeling. This enduring ‘Heidiland’ image keeps coming back to haunt this film about three performers whose work couldn’t be less like the stereotype. Avant-garde vocalists Erika Stucky, Noldi Alder and Christian Zehnder have all in their own way managed to take back yodeling for art and soul. Schwietert has a talent for letting artists explain how and where they find inspiration; he follows the three musicians to key sites, where they reflect on their lives and their art. A highly watchable music documentary, gorgeous and engaging. In German with Dutch subtitles. (BP) 82 min. Filmmuseum
Juno Juno (Ellen Page) is 16. Juno is full of life and sarcasm. Juno is pregnant. Oops. She gives up the thought of abortion after hearing that her baby has already developed fingernails and instead starts looking for adoptive parents. She finds the perfect couple in Mark and Vanessa. They’re wealthy, nice and Mark might even qualify as cool, since he shares Juno’s taste in music and splatter movies. Ellen Page is beyond perfect as the wisecracking but friendly Juno, who’s bright, yet young and naïve enough to think that there is no harm in spending time with the adoptive father of her unborn child. Add the best soundtrack in ages and a script that’s all about letting people be whoever they want to be and there you have it: this year’s indepen-
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dent American masterpiece. Directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking). (MP) 92 min. Cinecenter, Kriterion, The Movies, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt
ending is a bit glib, but the rest is full of nail-biting suspense. (LvH) 127 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt
Love in the Time of Cholera This romantic drama by director Mike Newell preserves the odd playfulness of Gabriel García Márquez’s international best seller but sacrifices its eroticism and intricate nonlinear plotting. Javier Bardem is miscast as a timid Colombian clerk and would-be poet whose first love, a fickle, headstrong beauty (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), spurns him for an aristocratic doctor (Benjamin Bratt, excellent). The clerk becomes a wealthy shipping magnate and pines for her over more than 50 years, consoling himself with hundreds of affairs. Stripped of psychological insight, most of these sexual encounters are reduced to bump-andgrind scenes that soon grow tiresome. (AG) 138 min. The Movies, Pathé Tuschinski
brings Cormac McCarthy’s novel to the big screen, and it’s a shock to the system, simultaneously elegiac and terrifyingly violent. A subversion of the classic lawmenchase-outlaw genre, the film is shot like a cross between a Western and a horror flick. A Texan named Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) takes off with millions in cash he’s found at the site of a drug deal gone wrong. Tommy Lee Jones is the laconic Sheriff Bell, trying to bring Moss in; Javier Bardem is Chigurh, the Terminator hitman dispatched by the cartel. The Coens give us none of the usual male-bonding, hunter-and-hunted nonsense: Chigurh, Bell and Moss are entirely alone, each in his own way, particularly Moss as the slaughter inevitably catches up with him. A stunning piece of cinema. (AD) 122 min. The Movies, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski
Love in the Time of Cholera
Mio fratello è figlio unico Accio Benassi (Elio Ger-
mano) feels like the least valued member of his family. Perhaps correctly: Accio isn’t his real name, but a nickname meaning ‘pain in the ass’. So Accio does everything possible to live up to his name. He leaves the seminary and instead becomes a member of the Fascist party. Luckily the viewer realises—even if Accio himself does not—that his actions are driven not by idealism but provocation. He is no more a serious fascist than his socialist brother Manrico (Riccardo Scamarcio) is a saint. Mio fratello è figlio unico (‘My Brother Is an Only Child’) is a lighter, less portentous version of La Meglio gioventù—also focusing on two brothers in turbulent Italy. The writers of LMG even co-wrote Mio fratello. Daniele Luchetti directed. In Italian with Dutch subtitles. (BS) 118 min. Cinecenter, Het Ketelhuis, Rialto The Mist Forget the two Stephen King adaptations that gave Frank Darabont his Oscar nominations: the humanitarian touch displayed in The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile has become a sucker punch in the gut in the gloriously misanthropic The Mist. When a supermarket in a small rural town becomes enveloped by a mysterious fog, the bargain hunters soon fall prey to mysterious tentacled critters and other assorted nasty pieces of otherworldly fauna. Even more trouble brews when the local Christian fundamentalist starts preaching the Apocalypse. The
No Country for Old Men The Coen Brothers’ latest
Stellet Licht The films of Mexican director Carlos Reygadas are an acquired taste. Not everyone will warm to his distinctive visual style, his use of an amateur cast and his uncompromising depiction of human nature. But if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, Reygadas certainly delivers. His third feature, Stellet Licht (‘Silent Light’), starts at dawn and ends at dusk; it’s a meditative and languid tale about a married farmer, in a small Mennonite enclave in northern Mexico, who falls for another woman and thinks it might be a sign from God. In Plautdietsch with Dutch subtitles. (BS) 127 min. Filmmuseum, Rialto Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street If musicals aren’t your slice of pie, then Tim Burton’s reverential adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s show about a barber out for revenge won’t tantalise your taste buds, but the gorgeously Gothic production values are yummy eye candy all the same. The film is leached of all colour except for frequent gushes of crimson, evoking the Grand Guignol theatrical tradition using state-of-the-art techniques. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter aren’t the most accomplished of singers, but they hold their own and look the part, though Sascha Baron Cohen once again steals the show in a supporting role. With Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall. (LvH) 116 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski, Studio K TBS A convicted murderer escapes from a psychiatric ward and kidnaps a 13-year-old girl in this thriller by Pieter Kuijpers (Van God Los, Dennis P.). A great performance by Theo Maassen isn’t quite enough to save the film, but it might still make it worth watching. In Dutch. 88 min. Het Ketelhuis, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt
Special screenings Adaptation Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze, the writer and the director of Being John Malkovich, respectively, teamed up again on this 2002 comedy. Kaufman, assigned to adapt a non-fiction book he admired but couldn’t figure out how to crack, Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief, decided to write about his dilemma, alternating bits of the book with a comic saga about writer’s block. Meryl Streep plays Orlean, and Chris Cooper does an elaborate character turn as her subject, an eccentric flower poacher in the Florida Everglades. This film feels like a Ferris wheel. With Tilda Swinton and Maggie Gyllenhaal. (JR) 114 min. OT301 Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt In 1927 German film-maker Walter Ruttmann adapted the montage theories of Dziga Vertov to this highly formal study of a day in the life of Berlin, a unique and sometimes inspired exercise in style for its own sake. With live piano accompaniment. Also showing: two new shorts, Exploded View and Utrecht CS, by Anette Apon. (DK) De Uitkijk
The Big Lebowski Probably the Coen brothers’
most enjoyable movie, glittering with imagination, cleverness and film-making skill. The story has something to do with Jeff Bridges being mistaken for a Pasadena millionaire, which ultimately involves him as an amateur sleuth in a kidnapping plot. A nice portrait of low-rent LA emerges from this unstable brew, as does a riotous dream sequence about bowling. (JR) 117 min. The Movies
Crustaces et Coquillages This sexy French farce by the seaside provides good summer fun. The setting is the Côte d’azur, where Béatrix (played by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), Mark (Gilbert Melki), their daughter Laura (Sabrina Seyvecou) and son Charly (Romain Torres) go to spend a relaxing summer vacation. But a variety of friends soon arrive, causing things to heat up and an amorous game of mix and match ensues. Writersdirectors Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau were previously known for their smaller, arthouse gay films such as Drôle de Félix and Ma Vraie Vie à Rouen. In French with Dutch subtitles. 93 min. Pathé De Munt
Deep Throat This 1972 hardcore flick, with Linda Lovelace in the title role, was the first, and one of the last, porn films to be distributed in cinemas. It ultimately provoked a powerful anti-porn backlash, particularly since Lovelace later claimed she had been violently coerced into making the film. 61 min. Melkweg Cinema Fargo A slimy car dealer (William H Macy) sunk in debt hires two thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife so they can split the ransom from her wealthy father. The scheme leads to a good many pointless deaths that we aren’t expected to care too deeply about, despite the efforts of Frances McDormand as the pregnant chief of police. (JR) 97 min. The Movies The Goddess A mix of 360-degree film projection, live music and theatre, inspired by the glamour of Rita Hayworth. The Dutch band Coparck will perform live. Melkweg Cinema Irezumi An erotic costume film from 1966, directed by Yasuzo Masumura, about a woman who is kidnapped and forced to work as a geisha. After a monstrous spider is tattooed onto her back, she seeks revenge. Also showing: The Hand (2004), the Wong Kar-Wai erotic short from the anthology film Eros. Both films subtitled in English. De Nieuwe Anita Land and Freedom Ken Loach, perhaps the most accomplished and intelligent Marxist practitioner of social realism left in England, stretches his impressive talents in this 1995 film, depicting the Spanish civil war from the perspective of a young unemployed Communist from Liverpool (Ian Hart) who joins the Republican anti-Franco forces. Scripted by Jim Allen, who also wrote Loach’s Raining Stones, this is historically convincing as well as gripping—Loach near his passionate best—and, far from offering a standard defense of the Communist position, presents a detailed revisionist critique of the party’s betrayal of other leftist factions in Spain. (JR) 109 min. Kriterion
Pierrot le fou ‘I wanted to tell the story of the last romantic couple,’ Jean-Luc Godard said of this brilliant, all-over-the-place adventure and meditation about two
lovers on the run (Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina). Godard’s misogynistic view of women as the ultimate betrayers is integral to the romanticism in much of his ’60s work—and perhaps never more so than here—but Karina’s charisma makes this pretty easy to ignore most of the time. The movie’s frequent shifts in style, emotion and narrative are both challenging and intoxicating: American director Samuel Fuller turns up at a party scene to offer his definition of cinema, Karina performs two memorable songs in musical-comedy fashion, Belmondo’s character quotes copiously from his reading, and a fair number of red and blue cars are stolen and destroyed. If you care about movies at all, go see this. In French with English subtitles. (JR) 110 min. De Roode Bioscoop Request! VJ Fenno Werkman screens rare, obscure, nostalgic and otherwise unique pop music clips and film fragments. Rialto The Road to Guantánamo This unscripted British feature by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross uses documentary interviews and dramatisations to tell the story of the Tipton Three, British Muslims en route to a wedding who were arrested by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and held for more than two years at Guantanamo Bay. The problem with making a docudrama out of this material is that blurring the lines between the real and the simulated only confuses the considerable issues surrounding the US treatment of detainees. The film is compelling to the extent that the subject is, but also unimaginative and unsurprising. (JR) 95 min. Kriterion Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss The final installment—after The Marriage of Maria Braun and Lola—of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s trilogy on postwar Germany, and also the last film Fassbinder lived to complete. Lola’s delirious color has been exchanged for an equally extravagant black and white, appropriate to this tale of a Nazi-era film star (Rosel Zech) who, forgotten in the ’50s, becomes a morphine addict. Fassbinder’s dazzling visual invention (which includes a gorgeous recreation of the streetcar scene from Sunrise) carries the film for two or three reels, but
the situation soon freezes into an inert, rather facile metaphor for America’s postwar domination of the German soul. In German with Dutch subtitles. (DK) 104 min. Rialto Together In this 2001 film, a mother of two leaves her violent husband and takes refuge with her brother, who lives in a cooperative household in 1970s Stockholm. At first, with the endless policy discussions and doctrinaire behaviour of most of the co-op’s residents, writer-director Lukas Moodysson seems to be satirising communal living and socialist values as much as their alternative, represented by the drunken wife-beating, loneliness and voyeurism of the ‘squares’ who live outside the house. But the stereotyping is merely the basis for a wonderfully complex examination of sexual and material politics that’s full of bravely provocative, gently funny and warmly human encounters. Showing in a double bill with the Danish romantic comedy Italian for Beginners (Lone Scherfig, 2000). Both films subtitled in Dutch. (LA) Cavia Touch of Pink This gay romantic comedy was produced in Canada and transpires mostly in Britain, but its true setting is the Hollywood of the mind. A shy young Pakistani in London (Jimi Mistry) takes his social cues from an imaginary Cary Grant (Kyle MacLachlan, gamely shouldering a thankless task) but still won’t come out of the closet to his Muslim family in Toronto. Complications ensue when his harsh, status-obsessed mother arrives in town to campaign for some grandchildren and Mistry has to disown his dreamboat boyfriend. Writer-director Ian Iqbal Rashid patterns this after Grant’s screwball comedies, with heavy doses of Bend It Like Beckham and Play It Again, Sam; it’s formulaic but still fun, thanks to the quick and genial players. Showing in the gay film series Van de Andere Kant. (JJ) Rialto
You, the Living A brutally deadpan comedy by
Swedish director Roy Andersson, who seems to have translated the entire range of human misery into a loosely connected series of slapstick gags. His black humor is impressively layered, each layer darker than the last. Sneak preview. (JJ) Kriterion
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FILM TIMES Thursday 28 February until Wednesday 5 March. Times are provided by cinemas and are subject to last-minute changes. Film times also at www.amsterdamweekly.nl. De Balie Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10, 553 5151 Club Gazprom Cinema: Epilogue Sun 16.00 Club Gazprom Cinema: Prologue Fri 20.30. Cavia Van Hallstraat 52-I, 681 1419 The Boss of It All Thur, Sat 22.00 The Idiots Thur, Sat 20.00 Italian for Beginners Fri 22.00 Together Fri 20.00. Cinecenter Lijnbaansgracht 236, 623 6615 Atonement daily 16.00, 19.00, 21.45, Sun also 13.15 Away from Her daily 16.00 Juno daily 19.00, 22.15, Sun also 14.00 The Kite Runner daily 15.45 Mio fratello è figlio unico daily 16.15, 19.30, 21.45, Sun also 11.15, 13.45 Naissance des pieuvres Sun 11.00 There Will Be Blood daily 18.45, 21.00, Sun also 12.15. Cinema Amstelveen Plein 1960 2, Amstelveen, 547 5175 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Fri, Sat, Tues, Wed 20.30 Enchanted Thur 15.30, 20.30, Sun 16.00 The Fox and the Child (NL) Thur 13.30, Fri, Sat, Wed 15.30, Sun 14.00 Kapitein Rob Fri, Sat, Wed 13.30, Sun 12.00. Filmmuseum Vondelpark 3, 589 1400 12 Angry Men Thur, Fri, Mon-Wed 17.15, Sat 15.45 aria salata, L' Thur 21.30, Fri 19.00 Desmond en het Moerasmonster Thur-Sun, Wed 13.45 Il giorno e bello Sat 19.00, Sun 21.30 Heimatklänge Thur, Fri, Mon, Wed 17.00, Sun 15.45 Io, l'altro Sat 21.30, Sun 19.00 Italian Dream Tues 19.00, Wed 21.30 Kif Tebbi Sun 16.00 Liscio Thur 19.00, Fri 21.30 New Italian Cinema Events Thur-Wed Riparo Mon 21.30, Wed 19.00 Stellet Licht daily 19.15, 21.45, Sat also 16.00 Uno su due Mon 19.00, Tues 21.30. Het Ketelhuis Haarlemmerweg 8-10, 684 0090 4 maanden, 3 weken en 2 dagen Thur-Sun, Tues, Wed 16.45 Alles is liefde Thur-Sun, Tues, Wed 17.00 Atonement Thur-Sun, Tues, Wed 19.00, Sun also 11.00
Amsterdam Weekly De Avonturen van het Molletje Thur-Sun, Wed 13.30 Bloedbroeders Thur-Sun, Wed 16.00 Desmond en het Moerasmonster Thur-Sat, Wed 13.00 Faces Thur-Sun, Wed 13.00 Hitte/Harara Thur-Sun, Tues, Wed 21.45 Das Leben der Anderen Sun 11.30 Mio fratello è figlio unico Thur-Sun, Tues, Wed 19.30, ThurSun, Wed also 14.30 Nightwatching Sun 10.30 Paranoid Park Thur-Sun, Tues, Wed 18.00, 20.00, 22.00 TBS Thur-Sun, Tues, Wed 21.45, Thur-Sun, Wed also 14.45 Tiramisu Mon 19.00, 21.45 Trigger Thur-Sun, Wed 14.15. Kriterion Roetersstraat 170, 623 1708 Astérix aux Jeux Olympiques Thur-Sun, Wed 12.15, 14.45 The Band's Visit daily 19.30, Thur-Tues also 17.15 The Darjeeling Limited daily 17.45, 20.00, Thur-Mon, Wed also 22.15 Juno daily 21.30, Thur-Sat, Mon, Tues also 17.30 Land and Freedom Mon 22.00 Paranoid Park Thur-Sun, Tues, Wed 21.45, Thur-Sat, Mon, Tues 19.45, Sun, Wed also 17.30 Pippi gaat van boord Thur-Sun, Wed 15.30 The Road to Guantánamo Wed 17.00 Ronja de roversdochter Thur, Fri, Sun, Wed 12.45 Sneak Preview Tues 22.15 De Wonderwinkel van Mr Magorium Thur-Sun, Wed 13.00, Thur-Sun also 15.00 You, the Living Sun, Wed 19.45. Melkweg Cinema Lijnbaansgracht 234A, 624 1777 Deep Throat Sun 21.00 The Goddess Sat 21.00 How to Get Rid of the Others Thur-Mon, Wed 19.00. The Movies Haarlemmerdijk 159-165, 638 6016 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Thur-Sun, Wed 14.00 The Big Lebowski Fri, Sat 23.45 Blood Simple (director's cut) Fri, Sat 0.00 Fargo Fri, Sat 0.10 The Fox and the Child (NL) Thur-Sun, Wed 14.10 Juno daily 16.45, 19.00, 21.45 The Kite Runner daily 16.15, 18.45, 21.30, Sun also 11.30 Love in the Time of Cholera daily 19.15, Thur-Sun, Wed also 14.15, Sun also 11.45 No Country for Old Men daily 17.00, 19.30, 22.00, Fri, Sat also 0.15, Thur-Sun, Wed also 14.30, Sun also 12.00 There Will Be Blood daily 16.00, 21.15, Sun also 11.15. De Nieuwe Anita Frederik Hendrikstraat 111, 06 4150 3512, Irezumi Mon 20.30. OT301 Overtoom 301, 779 4913 Adaptation Tues 20.30 Human Nature Tues 20.30 Shahrbanoo Sun 20.30. Pathé ArenA ArenA Boulevard 600, 0900 1458 27 Dresses Sat 0.15 Alibi daily 13.15, 15.20, 17.30, Thur-Mon, Wed also 19.50, 22.10, Thur-Sun also 11.10, Sat also 0.20, Tues also 19.30 Alvin en de Chipmunks Thur-Sun, Wed also 12.45, 13.40, 15.00, 15.50, 17.10, Thur-Sun also 10.30, Thur-Sat also 11.30 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Thur-Sun, Wed 13.10, 15.45, Thur-Sun also 10.40 August Rush daily 19.10, Thur-Tues also 12.30
Bee Movie (NL) daily 13.20, Thur-Sun also 11.20 Cloverfield daily 17.15, Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed also 22.15, Sat also 22.05, Mon-Wed also 11.50 I Am Legend (Imax) daily 19.30, 21.50, Mon, Tues also 14.50, 17.10 Jodhaa Akbar daily 15.30, 20.10 John Rambo daily 18.40, 21.10, Sat also 23.20, Mon, Tues also 13.50, 16.20 Jumper daily 12.00, 14.00, 16.00, 18.00, 20.00, 22.00, Sat also 0.10 Juno daily 16.40, 19.00, 21.45, Thur-Mon, Wed also 11.55, 14.15 K3 en de Kattenprins Thur-Sun, Wed 12.50, 15.10, Thur-Sun also 10.50 The Kite Runner daily 14.10, 19.15, Thur-Sun also 11.15 Little Miss Sunshine Tues 13.30 The Mist daily 18.30, 21.15, Sat also 0.00, Mon, Tues also 12.50, 15.45 Mr Woodcock daily 14.55, 17.00, Sat, Sun also 10.25 No Country for Old Men daily 18.20, 21.00, Mon, Tues also 12.30, 15.10 The Other Boleyn Girl daily 13.30, 16.15, 18.45, 21.20, Thur-Sun also 11.00 Rendition Sat 23.00 Sneak Preview Tues 21.35 Step Up 2 daily 12.15, 18.10, 19.10, 20.30, 21.30, Thur-Tues also 14.30, 16.50, Thur-Sun also 10.00, Sat also 23.50 Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street daily 21.40, Mon, Tues also 14.10 TBS daily 21.55 Underdog (NL) Thur-Sun, Wed 12.10, 14.20, 16.30, Thur-Sun also 10.10 The Water Horse daily 13.00, 15.40, Thur-Sun also 10.20 Yes Commander daily 17.00, 19.20. Pathé De Munt Vijzelstraat 15, 0900 1458 Alibi Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 14.00, 16.30, 18.50, 21.15, Thur, Fri also 11.30, Mon-Wed also 12.00, Sat 10.40, 13.00, 15.30, 18.00, 20.30, 23.00 Alvin en de Chipmunks Thur, Fri, Sun, Wed 12.30, 13.30, 14.45, Thur, Fri, Sun also 10.15, 11.15, Sat, Wed 15.45, Sat also 10.45, 11.45, 13.15, 14.00 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Thur, Fri, Sun, Wed 14.30, Sat 14.45 August Rush Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 14.50, 17.40, Mon, Tues also 12.10, Sat 16.40, 19.30 Charlie Wilson's War Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 19.20, 21.50, Thur, Fri, MonWed also 12.00, Mon, Tues also 14.30, Sat 10.15, 12.30, 20.00, 22.20 Cloverfield Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 17.10, Sat 17.30 Crustaces et Coquillages Wed 21.00 Die Fälscher Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 18.15, Wed also 16.50, Sat 18.50 In the Valley of Elah Mon-Wed 20.15 John Rambo Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 19.30, 22.00, Thur, Fri also 16.45, Sun also 17.20, Mon, Tues also 12.30, 14.45, 17.10, Sat 18.30, 20.45, 23.15 Jumper Thur-Tues 12.45, Thur-Sun also 10.30, Thur, Fri, SunWed 22.10, Thur, Fri, Sun-Tues also 15.00, 19.45, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 17.20, Sat also 15.15, 17.45, 20.15, 22.45, Sun also 17.00, Wed also 12.35, 14.40, 16.45, 18.50 Juno Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 13.15, 16.00, 18.30, 21.00, Thur, Fri also 10.45, Sat 12.00, 14.30, 16.50, 19.00, 21.30 The Kite Runner Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 15.20, 18.20, Mon, Tues also 12.25, Sat 17.15, 20.10 The Mist Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 18.40, Thur, Fri, Sun-Tues also 15.45, Thur, Fri, Sun, Mon, Wed also 21.30, Mon, Tues also 12.40, Sat 16.10, 19.10, 22.10 Mr Woodcock Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 13.10, Thur, Fri, Sun also 10.50, Sat 10.35, 12.50 No Country for Old Men Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.00, 15.10, 18.00, 20.45, Sat 11.15, 14.15, 17.00, 19.45, 22.30 The Other Boleyn Girl daily 16.20, Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed also 13.40, 19.00, 21.40, Thur, Fri, Sun also 11.00, Sat 11.10, 13.45, 19.15, 21.45 Sneak Preview Tues 21.45
28 February-5 March 2008 Step Up 2 Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 14.15, 19.15, 21.45, Thur, Fri, Sun also 11.45, 20.15, Thur, Fri also 17.00, Mon-Wed also 12.00, Sat 11.00, 13.30, 16.00, 18.15, 21.00, 22.00, 23.30 Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Thur, Fri, SunTues 20.30, Mon, Tues also 13.00, 15.30, Sat 21.15, Wed 19.20 TBS Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 21.20, Sat 15.10, 23.10 There Will Be Blood Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.15, 16.15, 20.00, Sat 11.30, 15.00, 18.45, 22.15 Underdog (NL) Thur, Fri, Sun, Wed 12.40, Thur, Fri, Sun also 10.35, Sat 10.20, 12.15, 14.20 The Water Horse Thur, Fri, Sun, Wed 13.00, Thur, Fri, Sun also 10.20, 15.30, Sat 10.50, 13.40, 16.15. Pathé Tuschinski Reguliersbreestraat 34, 0900 1458 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Thur 16.20, Fri-Sun 13.20, Wed 12.10 Charlie Wilson's War daily 16.00, 18.20 Earth daily 13.10, 18.50 The Fox and the Child (NL) Thur-Sun, Wed 13.45, Thur-Sun also 11.40 The Hunting Party Wed 20.30 The Kite Runner daily 12.00, 15.00, 18.00, 21.00 Love in the Time of Cholera daily 20.45, Mon, Tues also 12.40 No Country for Old Men daily 12.50, 15.45, 18.40, 21.30 The Other Boleyn Girl daily 15.50, 21.15 Perfume:The Story of a Murderer Thur, Tues 13.30 Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Thur-Tues 19.00, 21.40, Fri-Sun also 16.15, Mon, Tues also 16.20, Mon also 13.00, Wed 14.45, 17.30 There Will Be Blood daily 13.30, 17.10, 20.30. Rialto Ceintuurbaan 338, 676 8700 Auf der anderen Seite Thur 17.00, Fri-Wed 17.30 The Band's Visit daily 19.45, Thur also 22.00, Fri-Wed also 18.00, Sun also 11.15 Caramel Fri-Sun 16.45 Lady Chatterley daily 21.10 Das Leben der Anderen Sun 11.30 Mio fratello è figlio unico Thur 17.15, Fri-Wed 21.30, Fri, Wed also 15.45 Persepolis daily 20.00, Thur also 22.15, Fri-Wed also 22.00, FriSun also 15.30, Sat, Sun also 13.30 Request! Sat 23.00 Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss Sun 11.00, Wed 15.00 Sprookjes in de Krokus Fri-Sun 15.00, Sat, Sun also 13.00 Stellet Licht daily 18.45, Wed also 15.15, Sat also 14.15 Touch of Pink Sun 15.00. De Roode Bioscoop Haarlemmerplein 7H, 625 7500, Pierrot le fou Sun 20.30. Studio K Timorplein 62, 692 0422, In the Valley of Elah Thur-Sat 21.30, Sun-Wed 21.00 The Kite Runner Thur-Sat 16.45, 19.15, Sun-Wed 19.00, Wed also 16.30 Lust, Caution Thur-Sat 18.30, Sun-Wed 18.00 Ratatouille (NL) Thur-Sun 16.00, Wed 15.30 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Thur-Sat 21.45, Sun-Wed 21.30. De Uitkijk Prinsengracht 452, 623 7460 2 Days in Paris Thur-Mon 21.30 Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt Tues 20.00 Desmond en het Moerasmonster Thur-Sun 13.30 Earth daily 17.00, Sun, Mon also 19.30 Ratatouille (NL) Thur-Sun, Wed 15.00 Things We Lost in the Fire Thur-Sat 19.00 Tiramisu Wed 19.00.
Amsterdam Weekly
28 February-5 March 2008
WEEKLY CLASSIFIEDS Ads are free, space permitting. They will be posted both to the paper and online. Guaranteed placement is available for a small fee; see our website for details. Ads may be published in English, het Nederlands or whatever language is best for you to communicate your message. How to submit an ad: via our website at www.amsterdamweekly.nl, by fax at 020 620 1666 or post to Amsterdam Weekly, De Ruyterkade 106, 1011 AB Amsterdam. Deadline: Monday at 12.00, the week of publication. AD OF THE WEEK
day, a few days a week? Salary is €10 per hour. So this might the right job for you! Interested? Please call Claudia on 520 5379 or send an email to cgallus@guidion.ch.
YOUR HANDYMAN is a phonecall away. Waiting to fix your problems in life: fix water, wood, walls, gas, electricity. Chaining the mother-in-law to the radiator, throwing the fridge through the window... You name it and I will do it. Arthur (speak slowly). Call 06 2658 3303. OFFICE ACCOUNTANTWe are a global consulting firm l or see www.undutchables.nl looking for a qualified corJOBS OFFERED for more positions. porate accountant to perWANNA WORK IN MUSIC? MULTI-LINGUAL JOBSBlue form and manage general Wanted: music-minded web Lynx - The specialists in mul- accounting/finance duties, editor with excellent speakti-lingual, bi-lingual and based in A’dam. Fluency in ing & writing skills (Dutch/ English language employ- English required. InternaEnglish/French), knowledge ment in NL. Check out our tional experience a plus. of (pop)music and the interwebsite for more than 300 Interested candidates can net, and have a drivers license. send their CV to skim@ Interested? Please call Uri at available vacancies across spencerstuart.com. many languages and indusFortress: 661 1506. tries. Twenty years experi- INFORMATION SERVICES UNDUTCHABLESis looking ence in recruitment, con- We are a global consulting for Senior Fund Administra- tracting and executive search. firm looking for an experitor and Fund Administrator; WWW.BLUELYNX.COM. enced information services PR Specialist; Accountants; professional to join our team Credit Control Chinese; Ger- PIER STAFF WANTED to in A’dam. Fluency in English man Translator; IT Support attend cruise guests during required + fluency in GerSpecialist. Email adriana. disembarcation and embar- man is ideal. Interested canangulo@undutchables.nl for cation process at A’dam Pas- didates may send their CV to more information or see senger Cruise Terminal. The skim@spencerstuart.com. job is only & exclusively durwww.undutchables.nl. ing 12 puntual days during the BIKE TAXI DRIVERS WANTUNDUTCHABLES summer. You need to be cus- EDWe’re in business 365 days RECRUITMENT Agency tomer-focused, responsible, a year! Are you service-orientAmstelveen are looking for proactive, & have a good com- ed, independent, responsiLogistics Support Represenble, flexible & unafraid of mand of English. m.marroctatives German or Italian Dutch weather? Climb on the co@intercruises.com. speaking; Sales Representabandwagon this winter & get tive Speaking Eng + other GERMAN NATIVE Are you priority for best summer shifts. languages; Financial Ana- a German native speaker? We offer weekly introduction lyst; Supervisor Inhoud/Ware- Are you looking for a fun job sessions. Contact 06 3882 house Manager. Please mail in the centre of A’dam? Are 2683/info@wielertaxi.nl/www. amstelveen@undutchables.n you available a few hours a wielertaxi.nl.
JOBS WANTED NEW MEDIA CREATIVEI’m a designer/motion/art director, with international awards. Workedforthepast7yearswith agencies such as BBDO, Y&R, Ogilvy. Currently studying at Rietveld and looking for freelance work in the Netherlands. cae.carvalho@gmail. com. GRAPHIC DESIGNER AVAILABLE Specialised in design for print but can build simple websites too. Have 5 yrs freelance and office experience and am looking for a p/t job in a studio or an agency. Working from home is also a possibility. Contact 06 5090 0923 or assen@plotki.net.
HOUSING FOR RENT APT IN CENTRE2-bdrm apt in the Warmoesstraat for 6 months, €1,200/mth incl. Call 06 4727 5469. BEDSIT OPPOSITE CS €600/mth. Call 06 5576 4861. FOR RENT ON CURACAO Nice holiday house for rent on Curacao (Normandie 3). Living room, kitchen, 3-bdrms, bathroom, carport. Includes TV, washing machine, rental car. Close to public transport, centrallylocated,closetoshops & police station, quiet neighbourhood. Call 06 1021 8271 or emailinfo@tulipany.nlforinfo.
GREAT PLACE FOR RENT Nice furnished apt in A’dam Westerpark. Bdrm, big living room, kitchen, bathroom, little balcony. Popular, cultural neighbourhood. Near center/Jordaan. For 1 person/couple. April–Oct or longer. €1250 all incl. ikoorn@xs4all.nl. CANAL HOUSE 74m2, furnished, room ensuite, open kitchen, bathroom with bath, 2-bdrm, balcony 10m2, orginal wooden floor, great open view on canal and Tropenmuseum. In the Plantage area near Artis Zoo and 7 min from Dam Square. March until Aug. €1750/mth. leonieklomp_30@hotmail.co m or 06 1482 5038. IDEAL LOCATION Shared in beautiful, modern top-floor, 2-bdrm ensuite apt on Museumplein, oud zuid, A’dam: 125m2, furnished over 2 floors and rooftop terrace, internet and TV. Good transport links, supermarket close. For rent immediately, €1100/mth excl gas/water/elec. Pictures available. mikeph@gmail.com.
21 SMALL HAPPY COUPLE 27 y.o. professionals looking for a furnished cozy apt any size in central A’dam, de Pijp, oud zuid area from end of March. Will pay up to €1049. Shortterm or long-term is fine. A nice kitchen makes us smile. Please call Carl on 06 1116 7914 or email mcchops@gmail.com.
HOUSING FOR SALE AMITY WALE I have a property to sell. foufoudebaham@yahoo.com.
OTHER SPACES OFFICE ON THE SINGEL Desk space available in our uniqueofficeontheSingelcanal. Weareasmallgroup(5)offreelancers/entrepreneurslooking foralike-mindedpersontojoin us. Atmosphere is professionalbutrelaxed.Rentis€350/mth inclworkspace,phone/fax,wireless internet. Email sarah@ spheredesign. biz.
FOR SALE
VOLVO 940 GL 2300cc, station wagon, petrol fuel, model 1993, 296.000km, color maroon, electric windows, NICE HOUSE TEMP RENT all service done: €1600. Call Neg. 3-6-9 mths. €1275 incl. 06 1453 8822 or email bonnui74@hotmail.com. Corner house, garden, good views, at waterfront. A’dam- OFF-WHITE SOFA 3-seat N-Sloten. Nice open living sofa/couch for €175. Call 06 room + kitchen, 1st floor, 3- 3031 3185. Please call after bdrms, bathroom. Free park- 20.00. ing, close to tram and shops. AMERICAN FOODS!Get all Tram 2 at 500m. Close to your favorite American foods Schiphol & business district. mailed direct to your door! Negotiable conditions. Call Take advantage of the cheap 06 5384 7992. dollar! Cereals, drinks, candy, baking goods and more. HOUSING WANTED www.eatusonline.com. URGENT!I am urgently lookTRANSPORT ing for accommodation in the centre of A’dam. I can be ENGLISH MAN WITH VAN reached on 06 2679 7926. Can help with removals, big
or small, in or outside of the country. Reasonable rates, quick service. Contact Lee on 06 2388 2184 or whitevan@whitevanman.nl or see www.whitevanman.nl.
passion or goal? Do yourself a favour, give your coach a call on 06 4998 8986 or 400 4778; email marianne@soulat-work.com. Soul at Work, A’dam. Sign up for free eNEED TO MOVE? Door-to- newsletter on www.soul-atdoor moving for only €35. work.com. We have 3 vans available COSTUME + PROP MAKER with experienced drivers + Tentacle Studio makes proextra removers. Also the per- fessional costumes for thefect solution for delivering atre, film, TV and performyour newly-bought furni- ing arts. With an atelier in ture. Book online on www. Aalsmeer, we have 20 yrs vrachtverhuizer.nl or call experience and are KvK registered. Need a special cos06 1514 9164. tume or stage prop made? SERVICES Visit www.tentaclestudio.com TAX & FINANCE Trying to or call 06 4648 0125. get quality advice and save money at the same time? We are specialised in bookkeeping and taxes, and guide our relations through the entire business process. We work through a countrywide network with professionals who can help on each issue. Call us for RAAD! 691 2217.
SEAMSTRESS/COUPEUSE Fully recovered from the recent Fashion Week in A’dam... seamstress/coupeuse is looking for designers who need an experienced hand making their designs come true. I have years of experience in design, pattern making and sewing custom fitting womens clothes any catGREAT HAIR COLOURIST egory. Call Susan: 06 2443 Tints, highlights, colour 8247. changes, creative colours. With more than 10 years of NEED A PHOTOGRAPHER? experience, if I can’t do it Weddings, parties, sporting then nobody can do it! Now events etc. Experienced freeat Mctavish salon in de Pijp. lance photographer located Contact Daniel for appoint- in A’dam. Affordable rates. ment: 06 2413 7392 or For more information and/or danielsmeets@yahoo.com. I samples of my work please email me on elwin11@gmail. also do make-up. com or call 06 2936 4686. STUNNING WEBSITES Experienced designer builds BUDGETTAXIfor tailor-made professional and unique sites private day tours and other long distance taxi services with starting at €300. www.offreservation (>50 kms; in NL minor.com/stunning_design.h or to/from abroad). Spacious, tm. Contact Jordan: jordanno-nonsense taxi (airco/GPS) gcz@yahoo.com, 06 3034 1238. for 1-4 passengers and lots of CAREER CRISIS?Unhappy luggage. Dutch driver speaks or stuck at work? Isn’t it time English, German some French. to discover what you really Tel 613 8048 or check www.dagwant in life? Lost purpose, toertaxi.nl.
Amsterdam Weekly
22
HEALTH & WELLNESS WANT TO BE PREGNANT? There are certain things that you can do to increase your chances of getting pregnant. Acupuncture by John Lie MD LAc is one of those things. To make an appointment email afspraak@chineseacupunctuurpraktijk.nl.
ation techniques. Fluent in English and Spanish. Covered by most insurances. Located in heart of A’dam. Call or email us for a fast appt in flexible hours. 06 1672 3827/expatphysio@hotmail.com. MARTIAL ARTS CLASS English-speaking Qi Kwan Do. Combines yoga & self defence. Women friendly. Works no matter what age, strength, or build. No 2 lessons are the same so you keep motivated. Reduces stress & gets you fit. Every Sat 12.00, Sporthallen Lizzy Ansinghstraat 88 1072RD A’dam. helen.maynard-hill@qikwando.com.
ACUPUNCTURE Certified American acupuncturist treats both men and women for a wide range of ailments at 2 locations in A’dam. Coverage offered by many health insurance companies. Call 06 2739 9789, email info@ acupunctuurnoordholland.nl or visit www.acupunctu- YOGA TEACHER WANTED urnoordholland.nl. I´m a psychologist/health REIKI MASTERCombining coach and looking for a yoga the natural healing system of teacher who is interested in reiki with Past Lives Memo- organising weekends where ry Regression, NLP, visualisa- a combination of yoga and tions exercises, psychic coaching is offered. Please surgery and interdimension- email reactions to leonie al healing. Develop yourself, plokker@gmail.com. know yourself, heal yourself. Sessions, treatments, courses. Danielle Ferrari: 06 2831 0125 .TIRED OF BEING STUCK? Heighten your quality of life. Improve your relationships, with the help of native English-speaking therapist. My 20 years of professional experience and understanding can help you better cope with feelings and sort through stressful thoughts. Call Sagar on 06 4626 5412. URBAN ANGELS Life path readings. Psychic readings. Accurate and stress-free. By appointment. 06 5080 5589. In A’dam. PHYSIOTHERAPY for pain, injuries, rehabilitation, relax-
EXPATRIATE COUNSELINGoffers professional coaching, counseling and therapy in English, Dutch, Spanish and Japanese. Longer hours, weekends and the best service. For more information please visit www.expatriatecounseling.com or call 06 2824 4088 or email info@expatriatecounseling.com. ARCHDRUID GUIDANCE Archdruid in town. www.realityportal.info. For private consultations reg. health, homoeopathy, iridology, astrology, tarot, palmistry, ayurveda, buddhism, osteopathy, anthroposophy, healing, massage, Celtic medicine, electro magnetic pollution, water, nutrition and reality. info@realityportal.info.
MASSAGE IL CIELO STUDIO We offer different treatments such as craniosacral, dorn breuss massage, holistic, ayurvedic and foot massage. The treatments are reimbursed by many health insurances. Info: www.ilcielo.org, Unmani, 06 3004 9738.
bleshooting, install, networking, basic MAC lessons, setting up programs, MS Word, QuarkXpress, etc. Help with purchasing the right MAC. Contact Sagar at 06 4626 5412.
Cielo Open Day on 16 Mar from 14.00-18.00 at Mirror Centre where you can learn about holistic massage, foot reflexology, craniosacral & energy work, also combinations. Weekly lesson of 4 or 6 hours each. Also meditation workshops. Info il cielo: 06 3004 9738 or look www. ilcielo.org.
DATABUSTERS Crashed computer? No problem! We do data retrieval on hard drives and other media www.databusters.nl or call PUBLIC SPEAKINGand preTANTRA MASSAGESacred 616 4517. sentation skills training. Expesensual massage created to COURSES rienced public speaking coach arouse, circulate & increase energy throughout the body. BELLY DANCE COURSE empowers you to connect, Moving energy not only Weekly at 19.00 on Thur. Stu- deliver, inspire your audience. enhances awareness and the dio in A’dam west. Visit Corporate and personal traincapacity for pleasure, it can www.zerzura.info or tel 681 ing, Monthly workshops/inalso be a powerful healing 0072. This timeless woman’s house corporate coaching. experience. Tantra A’dam & dance is lots of fun and cre- Public workshop 13 March. London. Info: www.eros- ates a positive body image, www.thespeaker.eu. trance.com, Shanti@eros- regardless of age or shape. LANGUAGES trance.com, 06 4277 3290. Why not come along and find INTENSIVE DUTCH coursout? HOME IMPROVEMENT es at Joost Weet Het! ClassPHOTOGRAPHY WORKNEED A CONTRACTOR ?? SHOP New courses starting es 4 times per week during 4 Klussenbedrijf ‘De Klus-Bus’ in March at the ABC Tree- hours. Good teachers, fun for all your plumbing, paint- house in A’dam. Lessons in classes and energetic atmoing & carpentry, electricity, English, theory (classes in sphere. Small groups, Perbathroom installations & ren- the evening or Sat) and prac- sonal approach with Emphaovations, kitchen & toilet, tice (2 field trips planned). sis on conversation. 2, 3, 4 tiling, laying floors, roofwork, For more information: patri- and 8-week courses. Price: €8/hr. Visit www.joostweetplastering, garden, general cia@patriciaribas.com. het.nl. Email info@joostweeconstruction, technical advice & everything else! 06 1899 DRAWING AND PAINTING thet.nl. Tel 420 8146. 1782/www.klusbus.net/info@ workshops by professional MANDARIN Nihao, I’m a artist, various techniques, all klusbus.net. Dutch student learning Manstyles, from scratch to paintdarin. I’m looking for someCOMPUTERS ing with oils. Contact one Chinese to practise conjoneiselin@hetnet.nl. PC HOUSE DOCTOR Speversations in Mandarin. I can cialised in virus/spyware SAP-ERP COURSE2-month help you to learn Nederlands. removal, h/w, s/w repair, data course, with (optional) real- Call 06 3375 6615. recovery, wireless, cable/ time project of 1 month in EXCELLENT DUTCH PROADSL installation and com- India. Unlimited use of SAP FICIENCY in conversation puter lessons from friendly system. Also will assist you with solid base of pronounand experienced Microsoft with job placement. Limitciation, grammar + spelling, professional for reasonable ed seats available so register beginners & intermediate price. Contact Mario 06 1644 asap. Online unlimited tuition courses. Beginners: 1 April 8230. is also available, with week- to 24 June. Tues 19.00end class if you have a job. NEED HELP WITH YOUR 20.30/€366,64 incl. IntermeMAC? MAC-lover helps you Tel 06 3098 3900. diate: 2 April to 25 June. Wed
28 February-5 March 2008 @ hotmail.com/06 3612 2870/www.excellentdutch.nl. IMPROVE YOUR DUTCH!A fresh Dutch start in 2008? Private classes, small study groups, conversation, intensive, etc at Link Taal Studio, Vijzelgracht 53, professional approach. Call Anja 06 4133 9323, linktaalstudio@ gmail. com.
things such as date, dinner, massage, have sex together. GORILLA BEGINSits orga- Don’t feel lonely in winter. nized improvisation. The Interested? Call me on 06 performers are listening and 1738 0807. tq. creating theatrical moments MASSAGE FOR GENTS through physicality, while a Ragi, 26 y.o, 186-87, XXL. Very conductor is observing and nice sport masseur, body improvising an organization builder, light brown skin, dark of the actions in the space hair, gives relaxing body mastowards a stronger image. sage for gentlemen. EveryMad Sunday 9 Mar at 20.30 thing is possible. Clean, trustat Muiderpoort Theatre. ed. Call Ragi on 06 4279 8154. Available 24/7. LOOKING FOR
THE ARTS
DUTCH COURSES New evening courses starting in Jan and Feb, centre of A’dam. €200-250 for 20 hrs. Visit FANTASY BOOK & FILM www.mercuurtaal.nl or call Film maker and author are 693 4250. looking for people between SPANISH 4 NEDERLANDS 21 & 60 to reveal their sexuDo you need to practice your al fantasies for material for Spanish? I need to practice a new book and animated conversation in Nederlands. film project. Willing to pay for What about chatting 1 hr in material used. Please send Spanish and 1 in Nederlands? stories and contact details Interested? Mail to sinserif@ to serpafirst@gmail.com. hotmail.com.
GROUPS & CLUBS
MUSIC GUITAR AND MORE Guitar classes for ALL levels (jazz, Brazilian, funky, folk, pop), coaching, workshops, improvisation, composing, accompany in different styles, music harmony, ear training & solfege. All of that & much more from experienced international performer & teacher. For details please call 06 2956 4595.
DIVINE SKILLZ 2008 Competition: calling all dancers, singers, rappers, beatboxers, etc. Show us what you got! Speak Dutch or English? 1625 y.o.? Must be based in BE or NL to apply! To sign up, email divineskillz@ gmail. com before 1 March. State your name, age and art-form you are busy with, and for with basic setups, minor trou- MASSAGE COURSES Il 19.00-20.30. excellentdutch how long.
HEY! YOU AMERICAN?Are you one of 100’s of Americans living in A’dam? Join the fun with like-minded Americans at Democrats Abroad. With monthly DemsFun Drinks, discussions, voter registration and other activities. You don’t even have to be a Dem to join! Gotowww.democratsabroad.nl for more info.
PERSONALS LOOKING FOR FRIENDS New in A’dam, looking for new friends, male or female to go clubbing with, cinema, dinner. Female, 31, professional, nonsmoker. 06 4617 8195. LOOKIN' PARTNER SEX Hi, I am Asian woman with brown and exotic skin lookin’ for romantic male (for male only). Would like to do nice
MAN ZOEKT VASTE RELATIE 020 Kaalmans, HBO, intern jong, creatief, N-R, humor, warm, 51/1.72/ 75k zoekt vaste relatie met vrouw: +/-35-57, 020, 023, 030, 050, 058, N-R, matig drinkend, p/t job, voor liefde, stedentrips & brocante cultuur & cocoon, uitwaaien @ water & bos. Handgeschreven brief + foto: PB 75110, 1070 AC A’dam.
NOTICES MURAL PAINTER Do you have a children’s room or nursery that needs something special to make it unique? I can paint children’s dreams on their walls and decorate a play room with imagination. Any theme, any style. Contact Anna to discus the possibilities: anna@ annagreaves.com or 06 1811 5098. ARCHDRUID WEEKEND The chance of a lifetime. Connecting Wisdom. An Irish Arch Druid visits A’dam. Lecture Fri 29 Feb 20.00 + Sat 1 March 17.00. + debate about HIV=AIDS? Volkskrantgebouw, Wibautstraat 150. Some private consultations available. Info: www.realityportal. info. Reserved seats. Write info@ realityportal.info.
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