Amsterdam Weekly: Vol 5 Issue 4, 24-30 Jan 2008

Volume 5, Issue 4

24 - 30 JANUARY 2008 Brought to you in technicolor.

‘Alex has a horrible secret.’ page 13

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A critical eye for film Sitting down with cinema savant Hans Beerekamp page 6

United Nations, the role-playing game page 4 The art of ‘guest worker’ dating page 4 Fenny and Joop are new to De Bijlmer page 5 FILM: Top tips for the International Film Festival Rotterdam p. 12 / FOOD: Going Waauw over Blaauw p. 18

Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Music/Clubs . . . . . . . . . .11 Gay & Lesbian . . . . . . . .15 Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Classifieds/Comics . . . .22

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Amsterdam Weekly

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While the International Film Festival Rotterdam opens this week, the film that the most people will be talking about will undoubtedly be the antiMuslim film, by populist bleach-job Geert Wilders, which will likely premier this week on Youtube. A non-director, Wilders claims his film will expose the Koran as ‘a source of inspiration for intolerance, murder and terror.’ (Um, has he ever read the Bible? The Book of Judges is just plain nasty.) Of course, Wilders’ motivation has nothing to do with free speech and everything to do with provoking hate and getting the attention of the masses.

Wilders’ hair matches his personality type, which would love nothing better than to be a martyr—or be cast as the lead in Milosevic, the Musical. But regardless, his basic goal of publicity has already been achieved as the world press speculates whether the film will spark riots like the Danish cartoons did in 2005. Meanwhile last week, four million Nederlanders tuned into Boer zoekt vrouw. So maybe there’s hope for mass love after all.

On the cover PROFESSIONAL CRITIC Photo by Denis Koval

Next week De Wallen

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10 BIG BILLBOARDS by Arnoud Holleman

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24-30 January 2008

AROUND TOWN

TOMAS SCHATS

It’s about getting into a country’s headspace.

Faking it, UN-style Newsflash: students work harder than United Nations delegates.

By Isabel Serval Every January, about 200 international students put their diplomatic talents to the test at the United Nations International Student Conference of Amsterdam (UNISCA), a simulation of the United Nations, where students get to play the roles of UN envoys. This year, during the 11th annual conference at De Bazel on the Vijzelgracht, fiction came closer to reality than usual.

As part of the fun, the student organisers of UNISCA create a fake international conflict for the participants to solve during the conference. This year, UNISCA secretary general, 23-year-old Kido Koenig, fabricated this scenario: Taliban fighters in Waziristan, North Afghanistan have taken 75 Pakistani troops hostage. The fake UN’s Security Council had to resolve the crisis.

By coincidence, just 24 hours after the students in Amsterdam had put on their thinking caps, a very similar conflict erupt-

ed in the real world: Taliban fighters assaulted a Pakistani fort near the Afghan border, in the region of South Waziristan.

In the 10 years since UNISCA began, Koenig says, the fake crisis has never come so close to reality. ‘It makes the conference more interesting than ever,’ he says.

Students don’t work in a vacuum. They are taught and trained by professors and politicians such as Universiteit van Amsterdam professor Louise Fresco, a former member of the UN Economic and Social Council, Dutch politician Lousewies van der Laan, along with other experts like Drs E Rijnierse, a doctor who has worked with children of armed conflicts in Nepal, Bangladesh and the Congo.

The staged conflict isn’t the only focus of attention at UNISCA. Students also meet in UN-style committees to address more general international concerns, such as bio-terrorism, renewing energy sources, gender equality and the rights of the Tibetan people.

The main rule of the game is that participants must act out the official foreign policy of the country they represent at the conference, whether or not they personally agree with it. That means they must arrive well versed in the political positions of the country they’ve chosen. All UNISCA participants must pass a test about their adopted country and write an essay on the topics they will discuss; they receive 10 study credits for successful participation.

For Teodora Dimitrova, a 20-year-old Bulgarian international law student from Utrecht University, the challenge was to represent Cuba on UNISCA’s Human Rights Commission. Practicing diplomacy a la Fidel Castro meant setting aside her liberal and democratic ideals. ‘I disagree with Cuban politics, especially where it concerns human rights,’ says Dimitrova. ‘I also found it very hard to be on China’s side on the issue of Tibet.’

Students also get to practice thinking on their feet as diplomats. In the invented hostage crisis, the Pakistani government presented an ultimatum to the Security Council. The international community would have to intervene with military measures to remove the captured Pakistani soldiers from Afghanistan, or else Pakistan would embark on a search-andrescue mission on its own.

Students considered the consequences of action or inaction by the global peacekeeping body. UN intervention might be seen as a trampling of the sovereignty of the democratically elected Afghan government. On the other hand, if Pakistan went ahead on its own, war might erupt between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Then fiction became reality: ‘Hundreds of militants have overrun a paramilitary fort in north-west Pakistan, killing or kidnapping many troops,’ the BBC reported on 17 January. The real conflict was resolved the next day, when Pakistani troops killed about 90 insurgents. If it had escalated to a hostage situation, it would’ve been the type of situation that might come before the real UN. Meanwhile, at UNISCA, long hours of debate ensued. The US and the UK took the lead, inviting the Pakistani government to form a temporary security force to aid International Security Assistance Force (ISAF, the current NATO mission in Afghanistan) in retrieving the abducted Pakistani troops, insisting that Pakistan respect Afghan sovereignty. The student playing the role of a US delegate tried some American-style rhetoric, saying, ‘We will fight the Taliban on this as we fight them every day.’

The resolution was presented to the UNISCA General Assembly on 18 January, and the results of the vote will be published, along with the outcomes of all other votes from UNISCA, in a book that will be sent to the experts and professors who contribute to UNISCA, as well as the UN itself.

Organisers say it’s easier to reach consensus in global disputes at UNISCA than it is in the real world. ‘Delegates here are more compromising than real UN diplomats,’ says Koenig. ‘We can deal with three topics per committee in a week, where it would take two weeks to handle just one in the UN.’ Isabelle van ‘t Groenewout, the 23year-old chair of the UNISCA board of directors, a law student at the Universiteit van Amsterdam, says she believes that’s because students are willing to work overtime to fix the world. ‘They even negotiate in their lunch breaks.’

The art of dating Hi there. Come here often? Have you tried the rice cakes?

By Laura Groeneveld Although it’s pretty common to go to an art exhibition on a first date, it’s uncommon for a cultural institution to start its own dating website. That’s what the new media platform, Mediamatic, has come up with for its latest exhibition ‘Gastarbeider Dating’, which opens this week.

Ten artists from seven countries who are living and working in the Netherlands—’gastarbeiders’ or guest workers —have created their own interactive installations in the Mediamatic exhibition space in Amsterdam. While in residency, they’ll also be available for dates.

Photos of the artists, along with vital information such as height, weight and age can already be found on the Mediamatic website. Exhibition visitors will be invited to create their own profiles once the dating site has been launched.

Mediamatic founder Willem Velthoven says creating a social networking site was a logical step for an art institution focused on new media. ‘Online communities like Hyves, YouTube and Facebook are very popular, but also very generic,’ he says.

‘Why not create a meeting place for people who are passionate about art and design?’

Velthoven wants the participants to see these potential get-togethers as ‘social sculptures’.

The dating site is only one aspect of the exhibition. The project explores various questions of identity, feeling at home, feeling foreign and learning how to relate.

Each week, one of the participating artists will curate an interactive exhibition, with performances, presentations or workshops that in some way represent their cultural heritage.

For example, graphic designer Emiko Chujo and visual artist Kyoko Inatome, both from Japan, will introduce audiences to the culture of ‘mochitsuki’, the making of mochi, a Japanese rice cake traditionally served at welcoming ceremonies.

Bulgarian performing artist Zhana Ivanova, will use Mediamatic visitors as actors in a remake of Toplo, a 1970s Bulgarian comedy about a group of residents trying to install central heating in their apartment.

Argentinean artist Aimee Zito Lema says she’s tired of the cultural cliches associated with her homeland—steak and tango—and she wants to expose audiences to another side of her country.

During her residency, from 6 through 10 February, she will turn the exhibition space into a giant cardboard box, a symbol of Argentina’s latest economic crisis and the resulting phenomenon: ‘cartoneros’, or people who collect cardboard on the street and sell it for a living. Inside the cardboard structure, she’ll show films and play music.

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TOMAS SCHATS

Mediamatic pimps for a greater social network.

The two curators of the Gastarbeider exhibition, Russian-born Irina Birger and Katja Sokolova, say artists weren’t given strict directives, only asked to create something interactive. ‘It was very free,’ says Birger.

However, the exhibition did have two objectives: increasing access to immigrant communities that are typically

closed to Dutch natives, and promoting the work of foreign-born artists who have adopted Amsterdam as their temporary home.

‘Foreigners tend to hang out with other foreigners,’ Birger says. ‘There are many inner circles in Amsterdam made up entirely of Argentineans or Russians that Dutch people just don’t know about.’

And, as it happens, many of those transplants are artists, since, Birger says, financial support from the Dutch government allows painters and poets, dancers and musicians to work here without the commercial pressures that make it challenging for artists to live elsewhere.

Over the past few years, however, it has become increasingly difficult for

those expatriate artists to extend their stay, because of new legal statutes that require visa-applicants to prove that they are ‘an asset’ to Dutch culture.

Birger already knows they’re an asset.

‘With this project, I wanted to prove that foreign artists do really add something, like quality and diversity, to the local art scene and that the Dutch government shouldn’t stop these people from coming,’ she says.

Sokolova and Birger, who, in addition to being curators of the show are also artists, will teach Dutch men how to date women, Russian-style. Both ladies were shocked by the European way of dating and the ways in which men and women interact. ‘A man doesn’t have to be all macho, but I do like it when a guy opens the door for me,’ Birger says. ‘It’s a small sign of attention.’ After all, they say dating is an art too.

Gastarbeider Dating, 27 January-16 March, Mediamatic, Oosterdokskade 5, 638 9901, www.mediamatic.net.

people here were Surinamese. But because of The tokos are still open. On the pavement, the football competition and ‘something with dark-skinned people are standing in the cold, a king’, they now know that men from the chatting. Next to a high-rise, these narrow tokos up the street are actually Ghanaian. shops form the entrance to a small residen‘What did we know?’ laughs Joop. They also tial area. thought all darker-skinned people in De ‘Those sordid shops aren’t part of it, eh,’

By Corine Nijenhuis Bijlmer lived off welfare. But in fact, by seven laughs Fenny. ‘Our neighbourhood begins Painting by Brigitte Mulders in the morning, most of their fellow residents where the bike path is.’ This newly-built area have long since left for work. only has one-family houses. Fenny and Joop Fenny and Joop feel safer here than in have been living in their owned home beside their old neighbourhood. They laugh at their a little green square since the spring of 2006. visiting acquaintances who remove docuThe square is actually a hill with two chickments from their car ‘because there are all ens and a yellow plastic cat, which all those black guys walking around here.’ But suddenly appeared while Fenny and Joop Joop likes watching the different figures and were on vacation. glittering gold. ‘I’ve been looking at white A lot has changed since they gave up people for seventy years now,’ he says. ‘That their rental house in Watergraafsmeer and just doesn’t do it for me anymore, you know?’ moved to De Bijlmer. They knew the area He takes immense pleasure in the pecualready—their daughter lives here, to much liarities of some Bijlmerians. For example, satisfaction. Her husband advised his parsome often walk on bike paths. He once ents-in-law to buy a house, and their bank asked someone why, and the answer left him made it clear during the first appointment speechless. The man did not want to get his that with their budget, it would have to be De new shoes dirty.

Bijlmer. For them, that seemed ideal. Only In short, Fenny and Joop are happy. Only their financial advisor thought they might the council is a constant source of irritation. regret their decision.

Complaints or requests are never acknowlJoop wanted to move into a high-rise for edged. The playground that was promised the view. But Fenny thought: ‘You don’t sit by never came; the rubbish drifts down on the the window all day anyway, right?’ So a onestreets daily. The housing corporation has family house it was, in an area yet to be built. tried to solve the problem by collecting the They didn’t worry about their future neighrubbish more frequently—they’re happy it’s bours: they knew similar areas that were also not being thrown off the balconies anymore. home to a ‘more or less selected company’.

And then there are the cars driven on the The opposite homes are rentals, and bike paths. After five years of correspondence with the council, there are still no bolalthough the people living there are quite of another kind (‘not inferior, of course, but lards. ‘Because of accessibility for the fire brigade,’ Joop says. ‘But in front of the different, more easy-going’), Fenny and Joop get along well with everyone and enjoy mosque there’s at least ten of them—apparently that, they’ll just let burn.’ the village vibe, a result of everyone moving in around the same time. If someone starts They hope that a planned residents’ group will be able to take legal action against working on a new fence, you just give them a hand. But Fenny and Joop add that it’s a the council, forcing them to comply with demands. Then nobody would have to go to bit of a pity that the fences get higher, blocking the openness that made it easy to sit the police anymore, who only offer one solution: ‘Madam, why don’t you simply move together in each other’s gardens. house?’

On the street, people greet each other. This is one of the 10 rules of Zuidoost thought up by Ms Sweet (‘the lady who thinks she’s the mayor’). The second rule states Nieuw in De Bijlmer is a project by artist Brigitte Mulders who has spent a year docuthat you can’t play loud music, but a few Surinamese neighbours don’t follow that rule. menting a group of newcomers to De Bijlmer. Her weblog is at http://zo2007.web-log.nl.

Joop shrugs: it doesn’t really bother them. They like variety amongst their neighbours.

An exhibition runs until 28 February at CBK Zuidoost. [Translation by Sarah Gehrke] And they’ve learned a lot too. Before moving here, Fenny and Joop thought all black

New in De Bijlmer:

Fenny and Joop

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I

t would be safe to call Hans Beerekamp (born in 1952) the eminence grise of Dutch film criticism.

For 26 years, he was the film editor of NRC Handelsblad, earning a reputation for his encyclopaedic film knowledge, before becoming the paper’s TV critic in 2003—‘I no longer have to choose between just five or six releases every week.’ In 2007 he toured Europe in search of a ‘European identity’. The future of cinema, he says, is in Romania.

How did you get interested in film?

When I was about 13-years-old I became a film addict and started spending most of my pocket money going to the cinema five to eight times a week. This was connected to a certain shyness, I think. You see that with a lot of film buffs: we want to get an idea of what the world looks like, but don’t actually want to participate. And it was more of a secret passion. I always preferred going alone, because then I didn’t have to discuss the film with anyone afterwards.

I never thought it was going to be a profession. I started studying psychology in 1970. I was also involved in the student movement and political work and saw all that as being far more important than cinema. But somewhere deep inside I knew I really liked films more than anything else.

When did you start to think about becoming a film critic as a profession?

I had already started systematically reading about film. Not in a very usual way. I bought some film encyclopaedias and started to read them from A to Z [laughs] and I remembered most of the things I read, so I had this database in my head, not only about current cinema, but also its history. I still wasn’t very interested in film reviews. I mostly loathed them, because I hardly ever agreed with the film critic and hated them for the spoilers.

But then in 1976, there was this television show, Voor een briefkaart op de eerste rang, that mostly consisted of a film quiz involving all these kinds of guys like me: shy and nerdy film buffs who would amaze the audience with their knowledge. And [after I appeared on the show], overnight I became this sort of phenomenon that people recognised as that strange guy with very long hair and a beard who knew everything about film.

Around the same time, I had become a member of the Dutch Communist Party, who had their own daily newspaper, called De Waarheid—‘the truth’. They said, ‘Comrade, since you know so much about film, why don’t you become a volunteer film critic?’ Besides giving me a press card which got me into the cinema for free, they made one thing very clear: We may be communists, but we believe the worker is entitled to a good James Bond film every once in a while, so we don’t want all this arty-farty stuff. That was okay with me. So there I was: an overnight film critic. Unpaid but professional.

Was there anyone early on who had a big impact on your career?

I did like one film critic, Ellen Waller, who worked for NRC Handelsblad and was sort of the doyenne of film criticism. She was an older Jewish lady who had survived the concentration camps, and was very modern and open to the new. She also knew about history and had a wider education. You could describe her as the

Amsterdam Weekly Dutch Pauline Kael—only a little less naughty. Anyway, she read everything, and she even read this small daily communist newspaper and started to notice what I wrote. So when an opening came up in the film section of the NRC, she invited me to come and talk to her. I was very flattered. I started reviewing for them, and a few years later, I became the editor. But it was a very difficult transition. It took a while before there was enough trust politically. After all, at the time NRC was really the big ‘business’ paper and hence the polar opposite of De Waarheid.

So what kind of films best represent your own personal taste?

Whenever I am asked about my all-time favourite films, I tend to refer to my balanced and reasoned list that’s online [www.nrc.nl/dossiers/50_filmklassiekers/50_filmklassiekers]. But at gunpoint, I would mention Singin’ in the Rain [1952]. The reason is that the Hollywood musical is my favourite genre, the MGM musicals from the Arthur Freed Unit are the best film musicals ever made and this

between editorial and advertising.

How have things changed for film critics today?.

Since 1999, I’ve been giving a sort of master class on film criticism almost every year at the University of Groningen, training aspiring critics. There are a number of things I always stress. One of them is that you have to be convinced that your opinion matters because you have seen more films, have a better inside perspective and can discriminate. You also have to allow yourself to watch your emotions: if you never cry or laugh in a cinema, then you’re a bad critic, because a good review is always a reflection of what you experienced when you watched that film. The difference between a critic and non-professional reviewer or an internet reviewer, is that the critic enjoys a certain authority.

Not only do you believe in yourself, the readers believe in you. You have to earn that authority with the readers.

But you can also acquire negative authority. There have always been critics that I love to disagree with. I can almost trust that if this critic is positive about a

HANS BEEREKAMP The Netherlands’ best-known film critic weighs in the responsibilities of the trade, the Dutch film climate and the local film mafia.And how do the Dutch fit into ‘European film culture’?

BY STEVE KORVER PHOTOS BY DENIS KOVAL

Gene Kelly movie is the best product from that unit. Moreover, it is a film about film and it was made in my year of birth. A more personal favourite would be La chambre verte [1978], because it is a film by my favourite director after Hitchcock, his admirer Francois Truffaut, and because it deals with the notion that the dead live on forever in cinema. My favourite Hitchcock film by the way is North by Northwest [1959]. And the most daring Dutch film ever made was De witte waan [1984], a rather obscure choice. It was directed by the genius Adriaan Ditvoorst, who committed suicide a few years later.

Admittedly this selection is quite eclectic: a sing-along musical, an inquiry into death and a feasible form of eternal life, a very entertaining thriller about identity and a very very black comedy about a conceited junkie. But any canon should be eclectic.

With the rise of citizen journalism, everybody’s a film critic now. Also there’s the continued blurring

film, I will be negative about it—or vice versa. Even if you love to disagree with them, they still have a form of authority.

On the internet, what you see is that there are completely different reasons for being trusted, such as whether you are a likeable person, or whether you have an entertaining style of writing, which of course, always matters. The famous example is this American site, Ain’t It Cool from Harry Knowles, who is a very strange character, but he is so offbeat, so weird that that, in itself, is a reason to grant him authority.

Is there any give-and-take relationship between film journalists and film-makers?

None. In this master class I give, I get my students to watch four different films for which they write reviews. Then I tear apart what they wrote in the class. One of these films is always a Dutch-made documentary, and I always encourage the students to put themselves in the filmmaker’s shoes. Why is it made this way and not another way? They really start to

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identify with the film-maker, which is useful but also dangerous because you can completely misinterpret the film-maker’s intentions. Still, I think it’s important to try.

Later, I ask them, ‘If you knew this film-maker personally would you have written it differently?’ And since some of them are quite cocky, they say, ‘Of course not!’ Then I say okay, so you don’t mind if this maker reads your review. And they say, ‘Why not?’ Then I say, ‘Okay, come on in.’ And then, the director comes in, carrying all these reviews he’s read, with lots of notes since I’d told him to be really quite frank and say what he thinks is bullshit.

And of course all the students start to blush and shiver. I then tell them: you must remember this feeling for the rest of your life if you want to be a critic. Whatever you write, you must keep in mind that the person who made it may one day read it. So you have to be so sure of yourself and so honest that you can look him in the eyes and say, ‘This is what I stand for.’

What’s your position on the negative review?

You can be very harsh, but you should always do it in an honest and decent way.

You shouldn’t be derogatory or negative for its own sake. Otherwise you can’t defend it. But I’ve done it. Every critic has done it—made fun of a film just because it is so easy to make fun of something you don’t approve of. But that always comes back to you. People remember that, and in the end you’ll be taken less seriously than if you do it in an open, decent way.

What’s the function of a good review?

A good review has two functions. One is consumer information. If I go to a cinema this weekend, which film should I pick?

The other function is to look at a film from a broader perspective. Does this film matter? Will it still be watched fifty years from now? And you sometimes see a film that is completely consumer-unfriendly and not in the least entertaining. But somehow you sense that this film may change the world. So it’s your duty to note it.

Aside from bad reviews, how else have you pissed people off?

Oh, in many different ways [laughs]. The most famous times were probably with the Dutch films that won Oscars for best foreign film. That has happened three times, and two of the films, Antonia and Karakter, were really not good. I thought they were overwrought, bombastic and not very sincere. I wrote that when the films came out. I even wrote that Karakter is exactly the sort of film that wins best foreign film. And then when it did win, the director was interviewed by the New York Times and while talking about our film climate, he said the critics are so evil that one even wrote that it may win an Oscar, it’s so bad. Meanwhile, I wrote again that I still believed it wasn’t a good film. And that was perceived as really rubbing it in. [laughs] What is your opinion on the Dutch film climate?

The Dutch have a very complicated relationship with film. They are the worst cinema-goers of all Europe. I think it’s now 1.4 visits per person a year, but traditionally it’s always been 1.0. I think only Portugal is lower. This may be because there has always been a tradition in the Netherlands

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‘They said,“We may be communists, but we believe the worker is entitled to a good James Bond film every once in a while, so we don’t want all this artyfarty stuff.” That was okay with me. So there I was: an overnight film critic. Unpaid but professional.’

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of mistrust of the image. It can be related in a certain way to Calvinism. Iconoclasm.

We don’t trust the carved image—these Catholics with their beautiful angels and Jesus on the cross. In the Calvinist church there’s only a cross, with no Jesus on it, because that’s too graphic. The word, the ‘Holy Word’, is what’s important. So that’s one reason, maybe.

Another reason is that there’s a general suspicion of theatrics, of anything dramatic. When foreign colleagues ask about Dutch film, I always explain: when a couple breaks up here, they don’t start hitting each other, they go and visit each other and say, ‘Let’s talk about how this all came about.’ We have relatively few crimes of passion in the Netherlands. In fact, few radically dramatic events have happened here since World War II—and that’s why so many Dutch films have been made on that subject.

But there are certain areas where Dutch film really stands out. Of course, the children’s films are very good, because we are a people of educators, just like the Scandinavians. Also animated films, because there, the whole realism debate has been solved. The Dutch always say film must be realistic. If it’s a fantasy or too far from reality, then it’s not to be trusted. But with animation, anything goes, so our animated films are quite good. And of course, the third area that really stands out is documentaries—the ‘real’. And then there are a number of filmmakers who have defied the ideas of education and realism. Paul Verhoeven is a very obvious example. He is so much against good taste and reality that he can only be a rebel Dutchman. [laughs] I believe that within Europe, the Netherlands, after the UK, is the closest country to America. You’ll very rarely find a Dutch person who admires the rest of Europe. This is in contrast with Belgium, where there’s a deep mistrust of anything Atlantic and a real openness towards the outer edges of this continent.

I personally like a balance between the two: the combination of the soul searching of the Europeans with the entertainment value of the Americans.

Are there any film-makers here seeking this ideal combination?

I think Paul Verhoeven is a rare example of someone who has proven that he’s able to combine the two. A film like Starship Troopers is a masterpiece. Completely underrated. Because it is a very clever attempt to make a ‘shoot ’em up’ movie in the style of Leni Riefenstahl, the brilliant maker of Nazi propaganda films, and thereby implicitly equating the first Gulf War with white supremacy.

Anybody else?

Documentary-makers, of course. But in fiction film there was only a short wave in the 1980s, when there was a young strain, sort of almost burlesque film-making made by people outside the mainstream, who were, well, weird. Alex van Warmerdam has made some films in that vein.

He’s really an outsider. Their sense of humour is related to certain 17th-century paintings, particularly Jan Steen. There was also Jos Stelling and Orlow Seunke. It was a very short list, and I believe they’ve all been influenced by Buster Keaton. The Dutch seem to have a special relationship with deadpan humour and taciturn, boyishly clumsy heroes. And most of the films

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cinema was produced in the beginning of the second half of the 20th century. From there it went down again to something more simple and palatable.

So the European art film has become a...

Dinosaur.

What’s taking its place, besides the Hollywood approach?

The most vibrant European film culture right now is in Romania. They are looking for a national identity after 50 years of Communism, but they don’t have something as ready-made as Catholicism is for the Polish. They don’t know what it means to be Romanian. So then you start making films about your own life and your own history to define what it means to be Romanian. This often happens when a country is in transition and looking for an identity. In Iran, after the fundamentalists took over, the cinema suddenly became very vibrant, and not specifically religious but more generally about the search for an identity. We saw it in Poland during the Solidarity period. Also, a mild repression, without very severe censorship, can help a film culture. Since you can’t say everything you’d like to say, film-makers are forced to use metaphors. And cinemagoers love their metaphors!

‘So if you go to the Dutch film festival, you can really observe the behaviour of rats in a small, overcrowded cage with too little food.They start biting each other.And you can hardly blame them...’ of this ‘Dutch School’, as it was called, have very little dialogue.

support, and unfortunately that doesn’t happen.

So, who rates as the ‘Dutch film mafia’?

The Volkskrant comes up with an annual top 30 most influential people behind the scenes in Dutch cinema, and always in the top five there is the director of the Film Fund, and the government officials. The list also includes one or two producers; San Fu Maltha is an example. He’s half Chinese, half Jewish. A real Dutch producer! [laughs].

But you cannot pin down a real old boys’ network of people who divide subsidies among themselves. That isn’t the case. What is the case is there is a lot of envy, much more than in other art forms, or even in other cinema cultures in Europe, as far as I know, because there are too many film-makers, too many producers, and too few subsidies. So if you go to the Dutch film festival, you’ll observe the behaviour of rats in a small, overcrowded cage with too little food. They start biting each other, they start becoming very unpleasant to each other. And you can hardly blame them, because I know that for film-makers to make a living in the Netherlands is next to impossible. There are something like 500 professional directors who have each made one feature film and they all believe they are entitled to continue to do this for the rest of their lives with government

You travelled in Europe a lot last year.

What did you notice about European film culture on a larger scale? Can we speak about a ‘European film culture’?

Well, there was the ‘European art film’ but it’s out of fashion now. It did exist once.

When I show my students an old Godard or nouvelle vague film, it’s too difficult for them. They just don’t understand that complicated grammar anymore, since film language is now all defined by Hollywood.

If there’s talking now on film, the only way people understand it is if they take a close up of the person ‘over-my-shoulder’ and then cross-cut that. Only then is it believable, because that’s the Hollywood grammar. And nouvelle vague did something completely different. As Godard said, ‘A film has a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.’

But that just doesn’t work anymore.

It’s similar to the grammar of painting in the seventeenth century. That had a very complicated, refined set of rules, and the people who looked at these paintings understood every symbol and what it stood for. But today, we haven’t got the faintest idea what these symbols mean.

It’s lost. The same goes for cinema of the 1960s and the Euro art film; young people look at it and haven’t got the faintest idea what it’s talking about. So you could say that the most complicated grammar of

What’s your take on the Rotterdam Film Festival?

It started as a very intimate event with one cinema only and one bar. You watched the film and then had a beer with Wim Wenders and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It was really sort of avant-garde in the literal sense. A few people who were interested in these sorts of film got together with the few people who made them.

Over time it evolved into a mass event.

Now, there are so many films and so many different audiences that if you have a beer at the festival, it’s very hard to talk about the film you just saw because everyone has seen a different one. On the one hand, this is an amazing evolution. I believe it’s now the largest cultural event in the Netherlands—and for that sort of avantgarde cinema, that’s quite a rare feat. Of course, those of us from the old guard feel a bit lost.

Here in Amsterdam there seem to be a million smaller film festivals popping up. Perhaps they fill that more avantgarde role?

If you start a new event, most of the time there is one charismatic leader, who has the ideas, takes care of the guests, and is the image of the event. Often this person then leaves, retires, dies or disappears.

Then you get the second generation, but with the power separated between a commercial director and an artistic director.

Almost always the commercial director, who is in charge, is chosen for having the fewest enemies on the staff. And that does not make for an environment where courageous, or inspired, decisions are made. So the person who starts it makes it interesting and then it’s downhill from there...

Hans Beerekamp holds a monthly reading/screening, Het Schimmenrijk, every last Sunday of the month (16.00-18.30) at the Filmmuseum where he eulogises directors, actors, choreographers, screenwriters and anyone else related to cinema who has recently died.

24-30 January 2008

Amsterdam Weekly

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SHORT LIST

Snehasish Mozumder, Saturday, KIT Tropentheater

FRIDAY 25 JANUARY

SATURDAY 26 JANUARY

Film: Amsterdam in Beeld

World: Snehasish Mozumder

This series of eight short films about Amsterdam is formulated as ‘messages to the new Stadsdichter’, a referral to the fact that the ubiquitous reign of poet/novelist/columnist Adriaan Jaeggi as the city poet is coming to an end after two years. The new city poet will be announced on 30 January in the Paradiso as part of Weerwoord (see below). But meanwhile, these films are made by both Amsterdammers and fresh-eyed foreign artists alike and include ‘Rimbaud in Amsterdam’ by Dick Tuinder that portrays four youth struggling with a drunk, ‘Amsterdam CS’ by Robert Hamilton that examines the chaotic ballet that is human traffic, ‘Your Blood is as Red as Mine’ by Julika Rudelius that reflects upon the futility of prejudice when it comes to modern life in De Bijlmer, and ‘Amsterdam Reconstruction’ by Jerome Schlomoff that is a pinhole camera view of the cultural ruins of the city. In short, there’s plenty of visuals for the new poet to muse out on. (Steve Korver) De Balie, 20.30, €7. Until 26 January.

Indian classical musicians have long shown a striking malleability when it comes to stretching the tradition by including new instruments, like guitar or saxophone, and jerry-rigging those western axes to meet the demands of the raga. Although it was the virtuosic U Srinivas—these days an occasional collaborator of jazz guitarist John McLaughlin—that first pioneered the use of the sweet-sounding mandolin to the fluid rigors of Indian classical music in the late ’70s, he’s no longer the only practitioner of the instrument. Calcutta’s Snehasish Mozumder emerged a decade later with a cooler, more sedate sound that, like his predecessor, removes any trace of western affiliations. Mozumder plays a slightly larger version of the mandolin most of us are familiar with and, equipped with thick bass strings, the instrument produces an almost oud-like tone. But his notes flow into lengthy, deeply lyrical phrases that quietly dissolve any initial novelty factor. (Peter Margasak) KIT Tropentheater, 20.00, €18.

Festival: Weerwoord Winter: a time that is best spent by curling up at home with a lot of good books to avoid the blistering cold (or, in these climate-changing days, the tepid grey rain that is a continuation of the summer—see below). Another possibility is to go out and get some colour into dreary winter life by visiting a festival and have other people read to you. And so it’s that time of year again when the city’s poets, novelists, playwrights and all the rest of both literate and literary Amsterdam get to celebrate themselves and each other at the Weerwoord Festival. Among the many things that go down at this fourth edition are performances by wordsmiths such as Micha Hamel, Armando, Wim T Schippers, Gerrit Komrij and Marcel Vanthilt. Further events include a lyrical and musical tribute to Elvis, a research into the poetics of Dutch rap, and the Bad Sex award for the worst (written) sex scene. The highlight, like every year, will be the Gedichtenbal, where after two years we will have to say goodbye to city poet Adriaan Jaeggi and witness the nomination of his successor.

(Sarah Gehrke) Theater Bellevue, Paradiso, Melkweg, Stadsschouwburg, De Balie, various times and prices. Until 31 January.

SUNDAY 27JANUARY Event: Streetlab Sunday Afternoon It’s fashion week, ladies and gentlemen, and fashion likes the street. It looks onto it for inspiration and then finds its products back on the (high) street. One could say, thus, that the first runway is the new street. And then the street is the new runway. Oh, the confusion! One thing for sure: The influence of street -art and -fashion on the world of haute couture is of such dimensions that it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference anymore—a development that could possibly trigger a long list of novelties. If the street is the new runway, then tags are the new labels and neon is the new black, trainers are the new Blahniks, the Eighties are the new Eighties, and a chilled-out Sunday afternoon is the new fashion show. And so be it: the Streetlab guys bring us an afternoon full of design, style, music and fashion... of the streetwise kind, of course. And because De Baarsjes has been the new Centrum for quite a while now, the whole shebang takes place at this neighbourhood’s recently opened cultural centre Meneer de Wit. (Sarah Gehrke) Meneer de Wit, 17.0021.00, free. See www.streetlab.nl.

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24-30 January 2008

Metal: Entombed Legendary Swedish death ’n’ roll outfit The Entombed is coming to the Netherlands for three shows. And that’s good news for metal fans and people who recognise themselves in lyrics like: ‘most of my teeth feel loose / I stare at the walls / get angry at myself for a while / life’s a kick in the head’. It’s been a while since their acclaimed Wolverine Blues hit the metal circuit, and of course many fans still miss former member Nicke Andersson, who chose to settle permanently with his mistress The Hellacopters in 1997, but The Entombed proved to have a long-lasting and ferociously vile breath.Their latest album Serpent Saint—The Ten Amendments from 2007 boasts at least some killer tracks in the best death ’n’ roll tradition. If you’re ready to see what lurks beneath Sweden’s polished IKEA surface, check out The Entombed. After all: ‘it’s so easy to crack / I’m dying in my heart / I’m afraid I’ll become a vegetable…’ (Jaro Renout) Patronaat, 19.30, Haarlem, €14.

Jazz: Pharoah Sanders Quartet Let’s hope he doesn’t play ‘The Greatest Love of All’. Tenor saxophone legend Pharoah Sanders has puzzled many a jazz audience in the recent past by trying in vain to revitalise the tune that Whitney Houston forever ruined. The man who ascended to stellar regions with John Coltrane in the 1960s and who filled LP sides with spaced out sonic excursions like ‘The Creator Has A Master Plan’, disappointed critics since the 1980s when his music started to sound a little too much like new age. With William Henderson on piano and Joe Farnsworth on drums, he recorded a new version of ‘The Creator...’ in 2003 and since these sidemen will be present at this Bimhuis double date, together with bassist Nat Reeves, it is likely they will revisit the classic Afro-American anthem. Even though songs on his set list tend to be lengthy, Sanders always keeps his audience alert through his powerful technique. (Marinus de Ruiter) Bimhuis, 21.00, €24. Also 28 January.

Singer/songwriter: Iron & Wine Subpop folkie Sam Beam named his band after a protein supplement, ‘Beef, Iron and Wine’ but perhaps figured his highly visual and harmony-drenched songs were strong enough without packaging it with any more excess meat. Think Nick Drake but then somebody who isn’t terrified of people. Beam’s stripped-back songs may come across as intimate, almost whispery, on first listen but they somehow end up cutting to the bone. In a positive way. That said, however, his latest album, That Shepherd’s Dog, features a fuller, more lush sound—probably inspired by his recent collaboration, the EP In the Reins with Calexico. Either way, once Beam starts strumming at Paradiso for this concert, the crowd will fall silent. Melancholy that works as a kick to the ass is where it’s at—and yes, it does go fine with wine.

And beer. (Steve Korver) Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 21.00, €14 + membership.

WEDNESDAY 30 JANUARY World/Blues: No Blues The cryin’ and moanin’ of the blues can be traced back to ancient folk music all over the world, even to those regions now under the reign of radical Islam. Like Ry Cooder, who mixed the American blues with African and Cuban styles, the Dutch guitarist Ad van Meurs and his group No Blues have discovered a successful blend, which they have dubbed Arabicana. On Ya Dunya, their latest CD, the whiskeycoated pipes of Van Meurs can be heard alongside the elastic vocal cords of lute player Haytham Safia, on moody rearrangements of traditional Arabic tunes, like ‘Rageen Rambling’. Special guest on three of the album’s tracks is Tracy Bonham, the New York singer and violin player who alternative rock fans might know from her 1996 hit single ‘Mother, Mother’. Even though No Blues made an impression on festivals all over Europe, they have rarely played in Amsterdam, so catch them before they start ramblin’ again. (Marinus de Ruiter) Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 21.00, €8.50 + membership.

Event: Ijssculpturen They’re telling us the globe is warming up and the poles are melting. Different ways to react to such shocking news offer themselves: you could accept it, assume it’s too late anyway, and take pleasure in the fact that it’s not so bloody cold anymore in winter. Or you could refuse to believe it and make up elaborate conspiracy theories involving those evil environmentalism lobbies, Greenpeace as a sect that was founded by aliens, and Al Gore. You could also try and fight it. The first step to the latter option is to create awareness of the problem. With her latest project, artist Albertien Enthoven wants to do just that. And because the project is mainly aimed at children, she makes it particularly clear. Two large ice sculptures will be erected next to the Multatuli statue on the Torensluisbrug at 7am. The sculptures will then spend the rest of the day melting, leaving behind only the sad and soppy pom-pons that looked so nice and colourful once they were embedded in the ice. Look, kids!

This is what’s happening to the poles and to all the cute polar bears! There will also be a prize question involving a theme-related eight-letter word. So that’s what they call learning by playing. (Sarah Gehrke) Torensluisbrug, from 7.00, free.

Send details and images for listing consideration at least two weeks in advance to agenda@amsterdamweekly.nl.

24-30 January 2008

Amsterdam Weekly

MUSIC Send listing suggestions at least two weeks in advance to agenda@amsterdamweekly.nl.

Full listings at www.amsterdamweekly.nl.

Thursday 24 January Classical: Takács Quartet Regarded as one of the finest string quartets in the world, the Hungarian outfit—now based at the University of Colorado—are in Amsterdam for a series of performances revolving around works by Haydn, Brahms and Bartók. The latter is the subject of a special programme on Friday, featuring guest vocalist Marta Sebestyen. Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 20.15, €35.50 Rock: Creature With the Atom Brain These Belgians go wild for a set of big riffs and rock attitude. They’re fresh from a US stint supporting The Jesus and Mary Chain and are enjoying critical comparisons with the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, The Melvins and their local peers Millonaire. So what have they got to complain about? Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 20.30, €10 + membership World: Hussein Al Bechari A mystical African performance by the Egyptian poet, singer and oud player.

He is accompanied by percussionist Mohamed Abou Zyed. KIT Tropentheater, 20.30, €16 Contemporary: Schönberg Kwartet Performing Bob Zimmerman’s First String Quartet (written for this outfit), and works by Shostakovich and Reger.

Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €20 Experimental: Season Opening Concert Electronic and acoustic experimentalism from Rafael Toral (Spain), Byungjun Kwon and Cor Fuhler.

STEIM, 20.30, €5 Singer-songwriter: Arthur Adam, Leine Studio K, 21.00, €7

Creature With the Atom Brain, see Thursday

Opera: Castor et Pollux De Nederlandse Opera performing one of Rameau’s finest works. A tragédie en musique, it features the mythological tale of the twin brothers Castor and Pollux, one mortal, the other divine, and is presented with the underworld and battle scenes requisite at that time. Het Muziektheater, 20.00, €15-€90 Pop/Rock: Subbacultcha! Featuring the Sixtyniners and The Bluegrass Boogiemen. De Nieuwe Anita, 20.00, €6 Classical: Het Brabants Orkest Performing Stravinsky’s Jeu de cartes, Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D, and Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony; conducted by John Axelrod, with violinist Yossif Ivanov. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €26.50

Big band: Metropole Orkest Vince Mendoza leads the acclaimed big band orchestra. Bimhuis, 21.00, €14

Classical: Robert Schumann The sound of love and melancholy, performed by baritone Bob Kauffmann and pianist Frans van de Velde. Bethaniënklooster, 20.15, €10

Electronica/Jazz: Electric Barbarian Blending drum & bass, jazz rock and hiphop. Badcuyp, Noordpool, 21.30, €8

Classical: Takács Quartet (See Thursday) Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 20.15, €35.50

Hiphop: Cilvaringz Dutch-Moroccan rapper/producer from Dordrecht, which is certainly unusual for a hiphop talent connected to the Wu-Tang Clan. Also featuring Haarlem MC Sluwe Voszz. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 22.00, €10 + membership

Classical: De Nederlandse Bachvereniging Works for pianoforte by Mendelssohn and those infamous Bach boys. Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €22.50 Folk: Stefka Spanish-Arabian sounds fronted by singer Stephanie Ruijsenaars. In the programme En el fondo del mar they’ll perform new songs inspired by the texts of Argentine writer Alfonsina Storni. Pleintheater, 20.30, €9 World: Live from Buena Vista Venturing into the world of Cuban son with the latest batch of respected Buena Vista players. Julio Alberto Fernandez and Teresa Garcia Caturia will provide the voices for this event.

Tickets only available for extra midnight performance.

Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 20.30, 00.30, €27.50 + membership

Extince, Club 3voor12 Pop/Rock: Club 3voor12 Live radio and TV session featuring sets from Extince, the Hospital Bombers and 2nd Place Driver. Desmet Studios, 22.00, free, tickets: www.3voor12.nl Pop/Rock: Moodwave Eclectic and theatrical guitar pop. Cafe Pakhuis Wilhelmina, 22.00, €5 Hiphop: Xeno Zaandam hiphop formation. Winston Kingdom, 22.00, €5 Rock: Off the Record With T-99 and Woody & Paul.

Comedy Theater, 22.30, €7.50

Friday 25 January Classical: Lunch Concert Students from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Bethaniënklooster, 12.30, free Folk: Thao Nguyen Indie folk, blues and sparkling pop from this up-and-coming American artist. With new album We Brave Bee Stings And All out on Kill Rock Stars next week, she’s one to watch for 2008. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 19.00, €6 + membership

Saturday 26 January Big band: Metropole Orkest Performing a tribute to Viennese jazz keyboardist Joe Zawinul, who passed away last autumn. Special guests are bassist Victor Bailey, pianist Jim Beard, drummer Peter Erskine and percussionist Alex Acuña. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 14.15, €28 Festival: Stofpop Six young bands flaunt their talents.

Sugar Factory, 19.30, €5

Treehouse, Cottage Industry Records presents Pop/Rock: Cottage Industry Records presents Lo-fi entertainment from Harry Merry, Treehouse, The Wooden Constructions and many more. And as a bonus, The Wu-Tang Brothers cover outfit delves into the history of hiphop. Winston Kingdom, 20.00, €5 World: Snehasish Mozumder Snehashish Majumdar makes the mandolin a fully fledged instrument within the classical Indian idiom. His technical brilliance means he is even able to mimic the sound of the oud.

See Short List. KIT Tropentheater, 20.00, €18 Classical: CREA Orkest Performing Mahler’s Second Symphony with help from the Nederlands Concertkoor; conducted by Bas Pollard. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €18

Rock: Escape Everyday, Amagi, Fire Walk With Us Diverse guitar rock and indie. Winston Kingdom, 21.00, €5

Classical: Igor Ruhadze & Job ter Haar Baroque sonatas by Tartini. English Reformed Church, 20.15, €12.50

Singer-songwriter: Gavin Mee, Fabiana ‘t Blijvertje, 21.00, free

Classical: Takács Quartet (See Thursday) Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 20.15, €35.50

Jazz: Tarhana & Theodosii Spassov With his crossover band Tarhana, Dutch/Turkish percussionist Sjahin During mixes traditional melodies from the Balkans and Turkey with Afro-Anatolian grooves, Ottoman soundscapes, Sufi soul and North African rhythms. Guest artist is composer/flautist Theodosii Spassov. This Bulgarian is an unparalleled player of the kaval (shepherd’s pipe), having personally introduced this instrument to the jazz world. Bimhuis, 21.00, €14

Classical: Johannette Zomer & Fred Jacobs Soprano and theorbo duo. Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €20

Pop/Rock: MKM! Featuring the jazzy electro pop of Italian experimentalist Valerio Cosi, Portuguese jammers Os Loosers and Empee Holwerda of local prog indie band Solbakken. OCCII, 21.30, €5 Rock: Creedence Clearwater Revival Tribute Rockin’ a rootsy passage back through time with Ross Curry and help from Ellen ten Damme’s backing band.

Cafe Pakhuis Wilhelmina, 22.00, €7.50 Electro rock: Electric Trash With those saucy Belgian late-night party loons Vive la Fête. Patronaat, Haarlem, 22.00, €15 Rednose in Cuba Rednose Distrikt take a Cuban trip with drummer Liber Torriente, Jos de Haas and Ramón Valle. Sugar Factory, 22.30, €10 World: Yinka Expect a funky Afrobeat experience.

Badcuyp, Noordpool, 23.00, €8

Pop/Rock: Two Way Radio Guitar pop from Hilversum. Tonight marks the launch of their new CD, which is included in the entry cost. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 20.30, €10 + membership Hiphop: Double Talk 11 Getting wordy in the BBoy Chronicles, with appearances by Nederhoppers King Bee, DuvelDuvel and Extince. Part of Weerwoord. See Short List. Paradiso, 21.00, €12.50 Jazz: Jacques Schwarz-Bart Saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart grew up in Guadeloupe, but has been living in New York since the late ’90s where he plays in the band of soul star D’Angelo and regularly works with artists such as Roy Hargrove, Erykah Badu, Meshell N’degeocello and Danilo Perez. With his own group he presents a unique blend of Gwoka, jazz and soul. Bimhuis, 21.00, €14 Hiphop: Blaxtar Nederhop which flips between thick bass grooves and soulful hiphop balladry. The gig marks the launch of new disc ChronozBaäl, with guest slots from Typhoon, Manu, Bang Bang and a special surprise. Melkweg, The Max, 22.00, €10 + membership Pop/Rock: Hotel Local outfit which embraces a diverse range of worldly sounds in their songs, from Latin ska to Balkan rock. Cafe Pakhuis Wilhelmina, 22.00, €7.50

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Amsterdam Weekly

24-30 January 2008

The Darjeeling Limited

From the latest Coen Brothers to a blackand-white animation set during the Islamic revolution: it’s a full film plate.

TAKE THE FILM TRAIN TO ROTTERDAM FILM

Hemel boven Holland

International Film Festival Rotterdam 23 January-3 February Various locations around Rotterdam Films reviewed by Massimo Benvegnu (MB), Angela Dress (AD), Jonathan Rosenbaum (JR), Marinus de Ruiter (MdR) and Bregtje Schudel (BS).

Today, 23 January, is opening day for the 36th International Film Festival Rotterdam. After it kicks off with the unconventional Hollywood teen comedy Juno, the festival will run until 3 February, highlighting original, independent film-making from all over the world. To help you find your way in one of the year’s top cultural events, below are a few of our critics’ recommendations.

For complete movie listings, see www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com. Tickets are €9 (or €6 with the €15 Tijgerpas discount card), available online or at the festival box office, located at the Willem Burgerzaal entrance of De Doelen, Kruisstraat 2, Rotterdam, open 09.0023.00. For information call 010 890 9000.

The Darjeeling Limited Sometimes you travel through life with some extra baggage. In the case of the Whitman brothers, it’s a luxury leather set designed by Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, which 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, the Darjeeling Limited, 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 start to fall away. Film-maker Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tennenbaums), much like his characters, has found his grown-up voice. This delicious curry comedy is a rich plate for filmgoers, entertaining and poignant, just like it should be. (MB)

HKU-graduate and film-maker Rolf van Eijk must have paid close attention to Gus Van Sant’s imposing Elephant, inspired by the Columbine killings. Van Eijk based his final project for film school, Hemel boven Holland (‘Heaven Above Holland’) on the life of Mohammed Bouyeri, the killer of Theo van Gogh. The story is filmed backwards with long handheld shots, beginning with the sound of an ambulance and ending months (or even years?) earlier with Mohammed playing an innocent game of football. The long shots are reminiscent of Elephant, but an even stronger similarity lies in its lack of explication. We are witness to some major influences in Mohammed’s life—the death of his mother, the constant frustration of his well-meant plans—but in the end (or beginning) we still don’t know what made a social worker into a Muslim extremist. (BS) I’m Not There

Director Todd Haynes and singer Bob Dylan have more in common than it may seem. They are both reinventers, Haynes of the genres in which he works, Dylan of himself. Just as his 2002 feature Far From Heaven was simultaneously like and unlike a Douglas Sirk melodrama from the 1950s, I’m Not There will probably be the most un-biopic-like biopic you’ll ever see. The film is based on the

Amsterdam Weekly

24-30 January 2008

Mio fratello e figlio unico

many identities and songs of Bob Dylan, who is played by six actors—including an African-American boy and a woman— even though none of their characters are called Bob Dylan. The film is weirdly fascinating and certainly well acted: Cate Blanchett just received a Golden Globe for her impersonation. However, at least a cursory knowledge of Dylan’s life and songs is absolutely mandatory. (BS) Mio fratello e figlio unico Accio Benassi (Elio Germano) feels like he is 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 by provocation. He is no more a serious fascist than his socialist brother Manrico (Riccardo Scamarcio) is a saint. Mio fratello e figlio unico (‘My Brother Is an Only Child’) is a lighter, less portentous version of La Meglio gioventu—also focusing on two brothers in turbulent Italy. The writers of LMG even co-wrote Mio fratello. Daniele Luchetti directed. (BS) No Country for Old Men The Coen brothers’ latest film gives us a faithful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel, with the screenplay lifted straight from the page. In this perverse version of a cops-and-robbers film, Tommy Lee Jones excels as the laconic small-town sheriff Bell, while Javier Bardem terrifies as professional hitman Anton Chigurh.

Both are chasing the same man, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), across a bleak Texas landscape. (The cinematographer, longtime Coen collaborator Roger Deakins, frames the action beautifully.) Moss has stumbled on the carnage of a drug deal gone wrong along the Tex/Mex border, and figured it would be a good idea to take off with millions of dollars in cash.

Sheriff Bell wants to keep Moss safe from the inevitable consequences of his

No Country for Old Men

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Persepolis

actions: someone wants their money back. The fall-out is bloody, the body count increasing in almost every scene.

There is no denouement as such—yet the film leaves you wanting to sleep with the lights on. It’s rightly hailed as a demonstration of the Coens’ mastery of the medium. (AD) Paranoid Park

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 primitive fundamentalist state. Even a denunciation from the Iranian government couldn’t stop the screening of this irresistible and intelligent charm offensive. A note for celebrity-sensitive people: Persepolis has the stamp of approval from red carpet heavyweights such as Catherine Deneuve, Sean Penn and Iggy Pop, all of whom have voiced the English version that is being shown at the festival.

There is one screening planned of the original French version. (MdR) The Rebirth

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 like he did in his previous films, Gerry, Elephant and Last Days. Among the teenagers who frequent the skate park of the title is Alex, a 16-year-old who seems more interested in writing than anything else. During the course of the film, Van Sant shows similar scenes from different vantage points, gradually revealing that Alex has a horrible secret, which he tries to articulate in his writing. In the beginning Alex seems emotionally flat, but later 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) Persepolis This black-and-white animated feature made waves at Cannes last May by winning the Jury Prize. It’s a satisfying adaptation of the autobiographical 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

Ai No Yokan (‘The Rebirth’) is a numbing and almost unbearable cinematic experience, but a worthwhile one. Japanese cult director Masahiro Kobayashi, receiving special attention at IFFR as one of this year’s Film-makers in Focus, created a film that convincingly reflects the traumatised life of its protagonists. Kobayashi himself plays a factory worker who silently goes through the same rituals over and over again. In a similarly repetitive fashion, the film portrays a woman who prepares food at the restaurant where Kobayashi eats, day after day. The viewer knows that the two share a harrowing experience involving the death of their children. As the condemned parents slowly try to regain grip on their lives they develop feelings of affection towards each other. Kobayashi uses no dialogue and minimal visual means, endlessly repeating the same scenes. Still, The Rebirth leaves a lasting impression on those who make it until the end. (MdR)

Le Voyage du ballon rouge

Redacted

It’s hard for me to remember a film I’ve felt more conflicted about than Brian De Palma’s low-budget effort about the Iraq occupation, based on the real-life story of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who was raped and killed by American soldiers. It shows rare courage in protesting the widespread abuse of innocent Iraqis, but its pseudodocumentary form is full of awkward misfires (such as a protracted use of theme music from Barry Lyndon) and its acting is often terrible. In some respects, as a remake of De Palma’s Casualties of War (1989), which was derived from a real-life atrocity committed by American soldiers in Vietnam, this film goes much further in its rejection of American justifications for war, but it’s also a good deal coarser in much of its overall conception as well as its style. (JR) Le Voyage du ballon rouge With this first French-language feature, Chinese master Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Cafe Lumiere, Three Times) delivers a quaint and touching little movie. It’s loosely based on Albert Lamorisse’s 1956 classic Le Ballon rouge, in which a young boy makes friends with a red balloon. Here the balloon and the story follow young Chinese film-maker Song (Song Fang), who moonlights as a nanny in the house of Suzanne, an emotionally unstable voice actress (another brilliant, subtle role by Juliette Binoche). Suzanne is continually on edge due to all her responsibilities, her lousy ex and her neighbour, an old acquaintance who hasn’t paid his rent in over a year. Her son and the babysitter bond, but still there’s something missing, symbolised by the presence of the self-willed red balloon, which peeks through windows and peeps around corners. (BS)

Amsterdam Weekly

14

24-30 January 2008

Sunday 27 January

Friday 25 January

Opera: Castor et Pollux (See Friday) Het Muziektheater, 13.30, €15-€90

Materialgirl The ‘Women Beat Men’ edition with Miss Sugaware, Yasmin LeBon and Brown’s Sugar teaching those pesky male DJs a thing or two. The Mansion, 21.00-03.00, €10

Classical: National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico Last week, they were at Muziekgebouw for an exotic Mexican performance. This week they’re joined by pianist Anna Fedorova for a more European concert, featuring works by Wagenaar, Tchaikovsky and Dvorák. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 14.15, €30 Classical: Manoeuvre Male choir. Posthoornkerk, 15.00, €12 Classical: Toets des Tijds Pianist Jack de Bie and singer Andrea Wittchen perform compositions by Grieg, Kjerulf, Vea, Ravel, Dvorak, Turina, De Falla and Lorca which are inspired by folk songs. Werkgebouw Het Veem, 15.00, €10 Classical: Marlene Hemmer With the young violinist presenting her debut CD; a batch of Brahms Violin Sonatas. Bethaniënklooster, 16.00, €10 Heavy: Entombed Epic Swedish metal. See Short List.

Patronaat, Haarlem, 19.30, €14 Jazz: Spinoza Bites Music students of Amsterdam’s Spinoza Lyceum are set loose to create aural jazz chaos from a dancefloor perspective. Sugar Factory, 19.30, €7.50 Singer-songwriter: Marc Broussard ‘Bayou Soul’ from this Louisiana performer, so expect a rich blend of blues, funk and pop that highlight his Southern roots. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 20.00, €10 + membership Classical: Ruysdael Kwartet Works by De Arriaga, Turina, Mompou and Ravel. Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 20.15, €31 Classical: Vesselina Kasarova A vocal performance with the acclaimed Bulgarian mezzo-soprano performing works by Gluck, Rossini and Bizet, backed by the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €43.50/€51.50 Singer-songwriter: Iron & Wine Delicate and soothing music from enchanting songwriter Sam Beam. Or, at least that’s how it was when he first rolled into Paradiso in 2004. His most recent album The Shepherd’s Dog is more of a band affair, and while still suitably dreamy, he should raise enough of a din to silence any disrespectful talkies at the back this time. See Short List. Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 21.00, €14 + membership Jazz: Pharoah Sanders Quartet Renowned for possessing one of the most unforgettable tenor sax sounds in the history of jazz, Sanders got his major breakthrough collaborating with his former mentor John Coltrane between 1964 and 1967. The legend is in town for two shows with pianist William Henderson, bassist Nat Reeves and drummer Joe Farnsworth. See Short List. Bimhuis, 21.00, €24 Jazz: Ready for Freddy Fresh grooves from Jos de Haas (New Cool Collective), Stefan Schmid (Zuco 103), Alex Oele (Yinka), Stefan Kruger (Zuco 103) and special guests. Badcuyp, Noordpool, 21.30, €5 Rock: Two Cow Garage Good ol’ bar-room rock trio from Columbus, Ohio, who know how to nail a pop melody and drop back into a stomping beat. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 22.30, €7.50 + membership

M. Janowski, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Classical: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra One of the great orchestras in North America, legendary Polish-born conductor Marek Janowski leads the symphony for Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D and Symphony No.4. Featuring Greek virtuoso violinist Leonidas Kavakos. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €85.50

360 Spiralling towards an early morning crash with Nathan Fake (UK), Patrice Bäumel and Nuno dos Santos. 11, 22.30-04.00, €12

Singer-songwriter: Lucky Fonz III Sometimes folky, sometimes lost in a poppy daydream, and oh-so-occasionally a street troubadour, Lucky Fonz III seems to be enjoying having awards thrown at him from all angles these days—one of the latest being an Essent Award.

Back in autumn, he launched his album Life is Short in the kleine zaal, and now he’s back for a seated show in the main hall. Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 20.30, €10 + membership

Freitag The Transition edition, with DJ 3000, Jacen Solo (live), Dr Phlox and Vahid. Flex Bar, 23.00-05.00, €10

Pop/Rock: The Making Of A Video Three bands battle for the best video performance. Winston Kingdom, 21.00, €5 Blues: Ian Siegal An established blues performer in his native England, Siegal has already established a respectable Dutch following thanks to successful Paradiso and Eurosonic Festival performances in the past. He is regarded by fans of proper blues guitar as the real deal. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 22.00, €10 + membership

Wednesday 30 January Opera: Castor et Pollux (See Friday) Het Muziektheater, 20.00, €15-€90 Electronica: Underworld Banging dance tunes from this popular British electronic duo. Breaking into the mainstream during the mid-’90s due to their inclusion in the film Trainspotting, they’re still known for their hypnotic beats, although the songs often exist in an unusual state that’s part subtle, part anthemic.

Heineken Music Hall, 20.00, sold out Classical: Asko Ensemble Emilio Pomárico conducts the Asko Ensemble and the Nederlands Kamerkoor in a programme of choral works by Richard Ayres and Leosˇ Janácˇek, and the Piano Concerto by György Ligeti.

Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €20.50/€24.50 Jazz: Calefax Reed Quintet, Trio Tony Overwater Performing two suites by Duke Ellington. Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 20.15 Classical: The Amsterdam String Quartet Keepin’ it real traditional and flute friendly with works by Mozart, Haydn and Boccherini. Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €20 World: Jam Session For raï, funk and rock. Volta, 21.00, free Blues: No Blues Folk blues with Arabian influences, which has since been tagged ‘Arabicana’.

See Short List. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 21.00, €8.50 + membership

Monday 28 January Opera: Castor et Pollux (See Friday) Het Muziektheater, 20.00, €15-€90 Jazz: Pharoah Sanders Quartet (See Sunday) Bimhuis, 21.00, €24 Experimental: DNK-Amsterdam Weekly concert series for new live electronic and acoustic music. This time with electro flute tunes from Shackle and trombone turntablism with Paul Hubweber and DJ Sniff.

OT301, 21.30, €5

Tuesday 29 January Heavy: Korn Just over a decade ago, they were being lauded as the future of heavy metal at the forefront of the nu-metal movement. For 2008, these noisy Californians are mainly still stuck in the same angst-loving sub-bass groove, which in one sense is good—if you always thought a police record was ‘Walking on the Moon’, you should hear Korn Unplugged, which is surely one of the worst crimes to heavy metal in an age, so they really shouldn’t toy with their formula.

Heineken Music Hall, 20.00, €35 Classical: Nederlands Blazers Ensemble Getting old fashioned with lute maestro Mike Fentross, cymbalist Vasile Nedea and Neva Özgen on kemençe.

Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 20.15, €28.50

Fok Stijl Burning down the fashion house with Frankie D & Trailertrash and Sleurhuthonden (live). Club 8, 22.00-04.00, €5/€7

CLUBS Thursday 24 January

The Basement Celebrating four years of kickass hiphop, R&B and soul with the usual crew.

Melkweg, The Max, 22.30-late, €17 + membership, €4 before 00.00

klinch: Crackhouse met Nôze A progressive house party with guests Nôze (Paris), Carlos Valdes and Mesjokke. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 23.00-late, €13 + membership Minimaal Feestmaal Dress in grey and strap a pingpong ball to your forehead. With Dulac & Zomar, Tiberius, Florian Rath, Matthijs Groos and more. Studio 80, 23.00-late, €6 SP & De Reiger Hiphop, funk and soul that’s so fat, tomorrow it’s off to Weight Watchers. Bitterzoet, 23.59-04.00, €7.50 Via Brasil Kindred Spirits once again go global in the quest for the best sounds. Rednose Distrikt join the Brazilian party tonight, promising a carnival filled with Latin tastiness. Sugar Factory, 23.59-05.00, €10

Saturday 26 January Au10tique With Rutger Docter and Nuno dos Santos.

De Kring, 22.00-04.00, €8 Club Amsterdam Because Amsterdam can and Amsterdam will. Featuring Mike van Loon, Isis, Frederik Abas, Steven Quarré (Hed Kandi), Peter Kan, Fountain, MC Knowledje and Saxy Mr S. Hotel Arena, 22.0004.00, €18 Kiss Escort presents Papaya Featuring Dirty Dim Browski and the Kloncks, with special guests The Vizibles. Bitterzoet, 22.00-04.00, €7.50 Rebel Up! Soundclash Diasporic sounds from the global underground: mestiza beats, gypsy funk, roots, Arabic, African rhythms, Latino, Asian and gritty electronics. As always, profits go to charity. OCCII, 22.30-04.00, €4 Static Shocking electro, techno and house sounds with Bart Skils going it completely alone. 11, 22.3004.00, €12 Amstereo Galaxy With the Beesmunt Soundsystem, Rogerseventytwo, The Walk and a catwalk show by Luisa Pusone. Flex Bar, 23.00-05.00, €8 Free Saturdays Get in quick before the price shoots up. With Ricky Rivaro, Max Morel, Chris Rox and Issie Star. The Powerzone, 23.00-05.00, free Rex...Electronation Live A Be As One Imprint label night, with Shlomi Aber, Gel Abril, Chymera (live) and Nick DK. Sugar Factory, 23.00-05.00, €15 Bassline With DJs SP, Abstract, Lil Vic and Cream, plus live sets from hiphoppers Sjaak and GMB. Special guest upstairs is DJ Tes-la-Rok (Finland). Paradiso, 23.59-late, €12 Gemengd Zwemmen Two rooms of swimmingly diverse noise. In The Max, it’s classic hiphop and funk; in the Oude Zaal, there’s alternative dance, pop, rock and indie hits, as always. Melkweg, 23.59-late, €9

Huiskamerhits Electro, rock and indie dancefloor hits.

Bitterzoet, 22.00-03.00, €5 Club Bangkok A weekly shot of indie electro pop for music junkies. Club 8, 22.00-04.00, €5 Anti-Fashion Party Anyone can be a coat hanger if they wish, which tonight is being encouraged by Menr Broekjevol, Mevr Bloesjevol and Mr Wix. Flex Bar, 23.00-04.00, €5 Franchise Student party with Jordi Bouman, Technick and Easy Ryan. Escape, 23.00-04.00, €10

Sunday 27 January Cheeky Monday True skool jungle and drum & bass, featuring players from the local and international scenes. Winston Kingdom, 22.00-03.00, €6 Hipperdepip Fashion freaks go wild at the end of Fashion Week, so don’t forget to look your unique best. Club 8, 22.00-late, €5

Poptrash Three decades’ worth of rock, electro and hiphop with The Punchout DJs and guests. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 23.00-05.00, €5

WickedJazzSounds Jazz, hiphop, broken beats, nu-jazz, funk and Afro sounds, as classic vinyl collides with live musicians. Sugar Factory, 23.00-05.00, €9.50

Vreemd Just a regularly weird Thursday night down at the Factory, with Zender, Le Chien Perdu, Sandrien and The Colour of Sin. Sugar Factory, 23.00-05.00, €8

Wednesday 30 January

Riot! Aural disobedience with Willie Wartaal, Dunca de la Funk and Hitmeister D. Studio 80, 23.59-late, €7.50

Black Star Wednesday Prepare for a dub reggae shakedown. Bitterzoet, 21.30-03.00, €5

Amsterdam Weekly

24-30 January 2008

15

GAY& STAGE LESBIAN Opening

Edited by Willem de Blaauw.

Friday 25 January Club: Dirty Dancing Find out if you’ll have the time of your life. It won’t cost you a bob: no cover charge, no dress-code, no themes and no pretentions. And hopefully no Patrick Swayze look-a-likes. Just (dirty) dancing to the sounds of DJs Hero and Dikky Vendetta. Supperclub, 23.0004.00, free

Saturday 26 January Party: (Z)onderbroek Drop your pants, dance and prance around at this popular men-only afternoon dance & cruise party, with a different DJ each edition. This time: DJ Benjamin (White Party).

Dresscode: underwear. If the organisers would charge an extra couple of euros for those wearing AussieBum underwear, they could make a (huge) packet... Club La, 16.00-20.00, €8 Sex club: Club Trash Men-only leather/fetish dance & sex party. Strict dresscode: leather, rubber, army, skin. No jeans! As it’s held at the Thermos Day Sauna, you’ll have five floors to cruise and explore. Thermos Day Sauna, 22.00 -04.00, €20-25 Party: UNK Monthly gay/mixed dance party, which is always a good bet. DJs Lupe and Lava spin the decks, plus a live-set by singer/producer ZoeXenia. Club 8, 22.00-05.00, €8

Sunday 27 January Music: Winterconcert Special winterconcert by Amsterdam Gay Men’s Choir Manouevre. They will be joined by Weespertrekvaart Mannenkoor.

Expect anything from Eurovision Contest songs, to Dutch torch songs, to French classics. Doors open 14.30. Tickets: www.manoeuvre.nl. Posthoornkerk, 15.00, €12

Tuesday 29 January Music: Pinball Pool Porn No dull disco ditties when bartender Tim works behind the bar (Tue till Sat).

It’s strict late ’70s and early ’80s gems from The The, The Cure, OMD, Yazoo, Scritti Politti, Joy Division, Spandau Ballet, with more recent stuff like Ladytron thrown in for good measure. Name one other place where you’re likely to hear Kiss Me by Stephen TinTin Duffy nowadays? Ah… memories…. Spijker, 17.00-01.00, free

Theatre: Zeeuwse Nachten 3 Volksoperahuis’ third theatre production about the mythical Dutch heroes Hans Brinker and Jan van Speijk, blazing a trail of Hollands Glorie. In Dutch. Frascati, (Thur-Sat, Tues, Wed 20.30), €12 Theatre: STOCK-à-DEUX All week Dood Paard are showing off duets from their recent repertoire of works.

On Thursday, Bazel delves into money and lust in the art world; on Friday and Saturday, the black comedy Schuur is about a yuppie couple escaping from Amsterdam’s Grachtengordel and attempting to start afresh on a small island; and on Tuesday and Wednesday there’s Deconstructie. In Dutch. Frascati, (Thur-Sat, Tues, Wed 21.00), €12 Theatre: O_REX A new multimedia performance by Eric Joris and his experimental collective CREW. With technology and media as its starting point, it takes inspiration from Stravinsky’s Oedipous Rex. In Dutch.

De Brakke Grond, (Fri, Sat 20.30), €12 Performance: ZIDMIXT Zondag MultimediaJam A dialogue between different artists from different disciplines—video, music/sound, dance, performance and fine arts. They are challenged to trigger each other with their talent and improvisation skills, resulting in a new instant performance. ZID Theater, (Sun 14.00), free Performance: Lolita Urban Myth are set to play with the themes of love and poetry, with Nabokov’s Lolita as the central inspiration. In Dutch. Part of Weerwoord. Stadsschouwburg, (Sun 20.00), €10 Music/Theatre: Keet Big band virtuosity from a theatrical perspective. Meervaart, (Sun 20.15), €17 Music/Dance: Alameda A rhythmic and explosive flamenco performance by Grupo Flamenco La Primavera. Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, (Mon 20.15), €28.50

Cows in Space, see Ongoing

Ongoing Theatre: Fortuyn Helmert Woudenberg’s impressive solo performance in the role of assassinated politician Pim Fortuyn has earned him a nomination for the Louis D’Or—the country’s most important prize for male actors. In Dutch. Theater Bellevue, (Thur 20.00), €16

Dance: Cows in Space With the audience seated on a virtual train, watching a passing landscape filled with cows, this choreography by Thomas Hauert and his group Zoo is surely one of the theatrical highlights of 2008. It should be moo-tastic. De Brakke Grond, (Tues, Wed 20.30), €12

Performance: CREA Eindpresentaties A busy series of entertaining presentations, including pop music, dance, theatre, cabaret, singer-songwriters, comedians and the like. See www.crea.uva.nl. CREA Theater, (Thur-Mon), €3 Comedy: Comedy Explosion New and used stand-up comics doing their thing. In Dutch. Comedy Theater, (Thur-Sat 20.30), €12.50

Music/Theatre: Snow White, Tragic Operetta in Three Acts Nationale Reisopera with Micha Hamel at the helm transform the old fairytale into a modern opera. Stadsschouwburg, (Tues 20.15), €20-€40 Music/Theatre: Vernon God Little A musical from Huis aan de Amstel satirising trailer park residents, the media, and most of all, those who believe that life in the US is just like what they see on the TV news. Based on DBC Pierre’s Booker Prize winning novel about a teenager in Texas whose friend kills six bullying peers and himself. In Dutch. Rozentheater, (Tues, Wed 20.00), €12.50

Theatre: Rouw siert Electra Toneelgroep Amsterdam’s take on Eugene O’Neill’s 1931 play, based on the Greek tragedies The Oresteia. In Dutch. Stadsschouwburg, (Thur, Fri 19.30), €12-€25

Comedy: Comedytrain A lively selection of standup comics. In Dutch. Toomler, (Thur-Sat 20.30, Sat also 00.00), €13.50/€15 Comedy: Now&Lauw: Urban Improv Comedy Weekly ha-ha with Wilko Terwijn and Nabil Aoulad Ayad. In Dutch. Comedy Theater, (Fri 23.30), €10 + membership Improvisation Theatre Festival Festival: Improvisation Theatre Festival The 13th International Improvisation Theatre Festival, featuring a cast of players from Austria, Israel, the US and, of course, Holland and Belgium. Theatre improv is the name of the game, promising weird, wonderful and sometimes shocking results. All performances in English. Until 26 January. Rozentheater, (Thur-Sat 20.30), €12.50

Dance: Open Stage Young talents show off their latest works. DanceStreet, (Sat 20.00), €5 Performance: Tease-à-GoGo Amsterdam’s Burlesque entertainment night. Expect a diverse mix of comedy, varieté and live music, all with a ’50s rock ’n’ roll nightclub atmosphere. Comedy Theater, (Sat 23.59), €17.50 Music/Theatre: Bloedband Another humorous musical adventure from Orkater. In Dutch.

Stadsschouwburg, (Wed 20.15), €12- €23

Amsterdam Weekly

16

24-30 January 2008

You Are Invited, see Opening

Museums

ART Full listings at www.amsterdamweekly.nl.

Opening You Are Invited 24 promising, talented students of the VAV-department of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie reflect on the topic of gentrification. The participants use the venue as a laboratory and place for communication and discourse about the role of visual arts in the process of urban renewal. Their question is, how can they benefit from these mechanisms themselves?

De Service Garage (Wed-Sun 13.00-18.00), opens Thursday, until 3 February

Bogotá—The Proud Revival of a City Some 20 years ago, the Columbian capital was in a seemingly hopeless state while undergoing rapid growth. In the relatively short space of time since, Bogotá has triumphantly managed to deal with the problems caused by such growth.

ARCAM (Tues-Sat 13.00-17.00), closing Saturday China Now Featuring 75 works by 40 artists, many of which come from the Essl Museum in Vienna, this exhibition aims to highlight some of the best examples of contemporary Chinese avant-garde art. CoBrA Museum (Tues-Sun 11.00-17.00), closing Sunday Van Gogh en Bernard: een kunstenaarsvriendschap Revealing the significant friendship between the crazy painter and Emile Bernard, with paintings, drawings and letters that display their unrelenting exchange of ideas and art. Van Gogh Museum (Mon-Thur, Sat, Sun 10.00-18.00, Fri 10.00-22.00), closing Sunday Joost Vandebrug Raw fashion photography. The series New Faces features photos of five boys aged 13 to 17 from different European countries, all recently scouted by modelling agencies. Foam (Sat-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur, Fri 10.00-21.00), closing Sunday Alberto De Michele: Adriano An installation focused on an Italian bank robber, who for a period of time was hiding in Amsterdam. De Appel (Tues-Sun 11.0018.00), until 3 February Richard Hawkins: Of Two Minds, Simultaneously Presenting the first comprehensive retrospective in Europe of the American artist Richard Hawkins. De Appel (Tues-Sun 11.00-18.00), until 3 February Video Vortex.2 A sequel to the exhibition Video Vortex, which responded to the Web 2.0 phenomenon.

Montevideo/Time Based Arts (Tues-Sat 13.00-18.00), until 3 February 30 Jaar Metro in Amsterdam All you need to know about Amsterdam metro’s past, present and future.

Centrale Bibliotheek (Daily), until 4 February

For Love, Money, and Horses For Love, Money, and Horses Last week Rachel Brennecke and Bagua Jody moved into Chiellerie to live, sleep and create new works for this opening. Now the public can see what all the fuss was about—and even watch online. Chiellerie (Tues-Sun 14.00-18.00), opens Friday, closing Thursday Annette Huizing, Wieke Ververs Objects and paintings. Ververs Gallery (Thur-Sat 12.00-17.30), opens Saturday, until 8 March Gastarbeider Dating A project about identity, feeling at home, being foreign and meeting each other. And the start of a new dating site for the Netherlands.

Immigrant Dating features 10 artists from seven different countries who’ll each stay for one week and bring in their friends to help explore their national and personal cultures. See article, p. 4. Mediamatic (Wed-Sun 16.00-20.00), opens Saturday, until 16 March Marco Gasparri: Simpelweg Mooi Realist oil paintings. Galerie Ei (Sat 12.00-17.00), opens Saturday, until 23 February Op zoek naar het Noordgevoel Capturing and presenting the essence of the Van der Pekbuurt in Amsterdam-Noord via interviews, photography and films. Anemoonstraat 27 (Wed-Sun 14.00-18.00), opens Saturday, until 17 February Tomas Hillebrand: A mon seul Désir Glass objects.

Galerie Smits (Wed-Sat 13.30-17.30), opens Saturday, until 27 February

Modern Masterworks from Moscow Paintings and drawings made by Russian-Jews living under the rule of Stalin, displayed for the first time in the Netherlands. Joods Historisch Museum (Daily 11.00-17.00), until 10 February Rembrandt, the Etcher Around 100 portraits, landscapes, figure studies and bible scenes showcasing the famous etching techniques of the old master.

Rembrandthuis (Mon-Sat 10.00-17.00, Sun 11.0017.00), until 10 February Jacqueline Hassink: The Power Show A retrospective from this New York-based Dutch photographer in which power is the predominant theme. Huis Marseille (Tues-Sun 11.00-18.00), until 24 February Document Nederland: Fans The tenth annual Document Nederland photography exhibition. The title of this year’s exhibition is Fans, and looks at the enthusiasm for a range of subjects, not only for famous singing stars, but also for Ajax, the Royal family, TV show Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden and saucy gothic culture. With photos by Raimond Wouda. Huis Marseille (Tues-Sun 11.00-18.00), until 24 February Ulla von Brandenburg—La Maison A Docking Station event featuring a labyrinthine three-dimensional structure composed of textile-clad panels, the colours of which are inspired by the colour schemes of the Bauhaus and the Lüscher Colour Test. At the heart of the labyrinth is a new 16mm film called 8 (2007) which leads the viewer through a different kind of maze: an endless series of rooms. Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.00-18.00), until 24 February

Aap, vis, boek. Linnaeus in Amsterdam Celebrating the 300th birthday of the renowned botanist in style, by displaying extremely rare books and other treasures of the period Linnaeus spent in Amsterdam. UvA: Special Collections Library (Mon-Fri 10.00-17.00, Sat, Sun 13.00-17.00), until 25 February Well-Cast: 5000 Years of Bronze Archaeological exhibition highlighting the origins and use of bronze over the ages. Allard Pierson Museum (Tues-Fri 10.00-17.00, Sat, Sun 13.00-17.00), until 2 March 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 11.00-17.00), until 2 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 12.00-17.00), until 3 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), until 3 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. His uncompromising and unprettified photographs have an immediate, almost violent impact. They show crimes and accidents in the New York of the 1930s and 1940s, but also document life and events on the streets of the city. Foam (Sat-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur, Fri 10.00-21.00), until 5 March 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 Karel Du Jardin Italian landscapes and aristocratic portraits by the 17th century painter. Rijksmuseum (Daily 09.00-18.00), until 16 March 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-of-view within the borders of the US. She examines a culture through careful documentation of diverse subjects from the realms of science, government, medicine, entertainment, nature, security and religion. Foam (Sat-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur, Fri 10.00-21.00), until 6 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, most of which were ‘rediscovered’ in 2004 in the vaults of the Central Bank in Kabul. Nieuwe Kerk (Fri-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur 10.00-22.00), until 20 April Art Nouveau The best of French and Russian art nouveau. Hermitage Amsterdam (Daily 10.00-17.00), until 5 May

24-30 January 2008 Eyes Wide Open The Stedelijk Museum presents a selection of recently acquired paintings, photographs, examples of film and video art, sculptures and graphic works by artists working in the Netherlands or elsewhere. These acquisitions represent the realisation of the museum’s plans to expand the collection, in particular in the field of narrative painting, paintings that reflect on the medium, and contemporary photography and film. Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.00-18.00), until 1 June

Galleries Femke Hiemstra: La Fenêtre Secrète A debut solo show from Hiemstra featuring paintings and drawings from her fantastical imagination. KochxBos Gallery (Wed-Sat 13.00-18.00), closing Saturday Ketra: Skinky A collection of sumptuous PVC corset panels and fetish art dolls,realised by this Italian artist who’s always toying with seduction and dark humour. Red Stamp Art Gallery (Tue-Sat 13.0018.00), closing Saturday ...EXP-O-LAB...2 Featuring Yellow Brick Road Works

by Paul Glazier, which is an audio-visual abstract piece inspired by The Wizard of Oz. Meneer de Wit (Wed-Sun 14.00-18.00), closing Saturday Droomstad Sandra Hoogeboom’s dreamlike photos of the changing city, typically taken from public transport. Start this art/window route at Kwakersstraat 3. Bellamy Etalage Project (Daily), closing Sunday Niemand is ooit verdwaald A cinematic installation, in which twelve young artists get to create a film set which will house their diverse multidisciplinary artworks. These form the film’s narrative, but who’s directing and who gets to play the lead? P/////AKT, closing Sunday Maibaum + Molekülo Works by Manja Hunger and Daniela Bershan. Horse Move Project Space (Fri-Sun 14.00-20.00), closing Sunday Mark Beerens: The Art of Storytelling Old meets new with visually striking results. Galerie Bart (Thur, Fri 11.00-18.00, Sat 12.00-17.00), until 2 February Raymond Taudin Chabot: That Place Presentation of the film That Place, which features an immaculately suited man being driven around an industrial estate. 2x2projects (Wed-Sat 13.00 -18.00), until 2 February Platform21=Joyriding This winter, take a visual road trip into the imagination. Not a car show but an aesthetic joyride, it’s about form and feeling rather than engineering. Platform 21 (Wed-Sun 12.0019.00), until 3 February Notes of Space Works by Tamara Zahaykevich (NY), Josef Schulz (D) and Gerwin Luijendijk. Gist (Wed-Fri 13.00-17.30, Sat 14.00-17.00), until 3 February Katja Sonnewend: Wenn ich einmal groß bin The Polish-German artist presents photos from her ongoing project, tackling the theme ‘When I Grow Up’.

See Short List. Melkweg Galerie (Wed-Sun 13.0020.00), until 3 February Is The World Flat? A multimedia group exhibition tackling internationalisation, art marketing and modern technologies. Arti et Amicitiae (Tues-Sun 13.00-18.00), until 3 February Az I mojat kufar (Me and My Suitcase) Examining the relationship between Bulgarian arts & crafts and contemporary European design. Lloyd Hotel (Daily), until 7 February Henri Plaat Featuring 25 collages on paper by the Amsterdam artist. Galerie Roger Katwijk (Wed-Sat 12.00-18.00), until 9 February Cevdet Erek Video and sound installation. Akinci (Tues-Sat 13.00-18.00), until 9 February Marielle van Uitert: De Krakersbeweging Breda Photos and texts. IISG (Mon-Fri 09.00-17.00), until 15 February Thomas Struth: Family Portraits Literally family portraits by acclaimed German photographer Struth.

Galerie Paul Andriesse (Tues-Fri 11.00-18.00, Sat 14.00-18.00), until 16 February

Amsterdam Weekly

17

Exploring ’08 Looking forward into 2008 with diverse paintings by gallery favourites Arjan Brentjes, Aquil Copier and Anneke Wilbrink. AYAC’S (Fri, Sat 13.00-17.30), until 16 February

so to get a full grasp of what’s going down on a daily basis, see www.leidsepleintheaters.nl and Short List.

Until 31 January. Theater Bellevue, Paradiso, Melkweg, Stadsschouwburg, De Balie, (Fri-Wed), various prices

Galerie Smits Fokke Simonszstraat 29, 06 43001833

Tell Me A group exhibition with works by Pedro Bakker, Daniele Buetti, David Kramer, Enrique Marty, Lalla Essaydi, John Isaacs and Michael Scoggins. Witzenhausen Gallery 2 (Thur-Sat 12.0018.00), until 16 February

Market: International Record and CD Fair For those music lovers either seeking that rare piece to finish a collection, or maybe just those who gobble up everything so long as it’s cheap. RAI, (Sat 10.00-17.00), €6

Hermitage Amsterdam Nieuwe Herengracht 14, 530 8751

Poetry: Sharrif Simmons Benefit A special benefit for American spoken word artist Sharrif Simmons, who was shot last year. Part of Weerwoord. Paradiso, (Sat 20.00), €12.50

Ignatiushuis Beulingstraat 11, 679 8207

Fashion: Streetlab Sunday Afternoon Part of Fashion Week, the Streetlab peeps are back to mix up performances and displays from the hottest Dutch talents, fresh from the streets. Of course, all talk and no music wouldn’t make for a fun party at all, so expect tunes from Roquefort, Beesmunt Soundsystem and The Walk & Rogerseventytwo. See www.streetlab.nl and Short List. Meneer de Wit, (Sun 17.00-21.00), free

KIT Tropentheater Mauritskade 63, 568 8711

Nieuw Group show. Lumen Travo (Wed-Sat 13.0018.00), until 16 February Bloody Beautiful (Part 2) A curious and exotic group show tackling our real relationship with animals: in one hand, we’re devastated when a family pet dies, in the other, we’re happy to consume vast quantities of meat. Ronmandos (Wed-Sat 12.30 17.30), until 16 February Winterlicht Diverse works by Dineke Blom, Jacqueline van den Bos, Chris de Bueger, Pieter Holstein, Els ter Horst, Sipke Huismans, Rosa Lachenmeier, Jaring Lokhorst and others. AdK Actuele Kunst (Wed-Sat 12.30-17.30), until 17 February Aboriginal Art Colourful and spectacular works by aboriginal artists such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Minnie Pwerle and Barbara Weir. Feel Gallery (Thur, Fri 12.00-19.00, Sat 11.00-19.00, Sun 12.00-18.00), until 17 February Tijdloos Naakt Nude, nuder and nudist. De Kunstfabriek (Tues-Fri 12.00-18.00, Sat, Sun 12.00-17.00), until 20 February Beacons Vivid oil paintings by American artist Justin McAllister. Torch Gallery (Thur-Sat 14.00 18.00), until 23 February The Art of Fashion Including works by Alexander Fielden, Mathilde Cabral, Berber Soepboer and street artist Snar. ArtOlive (Mon-Fri 11.00-17.00, Sun 12.00-17.00), until 24 February I Know the World Group exhibition exploring how the production of art can be influenced by experiences abroad. Featuring Tamar Guimarães, J&K, Søren Lose, Tanja Nellemann Poulsen & Grete Aagaard and Daniëlle van Zuijlen; curated by Lise Nellemann. SMART Project Space (Tues-Sat 12.0017.00), until 1 March 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), until 1 March 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 (Wed-Sat 13.00-18.00), until 1 March

EVENTS Fashion: Amsterdam International Fashion Week Fashion, fashion and more fashion. And even if you’re not a runway model or haute couture designer there’s still a variety of fun things to do during this fab-ric-ulous week. Besides all those fancy labels displaying their newest creations in fabric to a closed audience, there are workshops, exhibitions, film screenings and, of course, countless trips down the catwalk as part of the Down Town public programme. For the full whack see www.amsterdamfashionweek.com. Until 27 January.

Various locations, (Thur-Sun), various prices Literature Festival: Weerwoord 08 Amsterdam’s festival of words—sung, spoken, written or depicted— is back for a fourth edition. More than 100 writers from all over the world will contribute to the wide-ranging programme, which features the Dutch premiere of De Dunne Komrij, Dutch poetry for Elvis, Poetracks, an Urban Myth special inspired by Lolita, the prize ceremony for the bad sex prize and, of course, the grand Gedichtenbal at Paradiso. It really is action-packed,

Discussion: Women Inc Weekly talk show highlighting specific female issues. In Dutch. Pakhuis de Zwijger, (Mon 20.00), free Comedy: Quiet Night In The best of new British TV comedy presented on the big screen. Throw in some live sketches by the QNI Players, DJs and VJs, and while it may be a quiet night in, it won’t be a dull one. Comedy Theater, (Mon 20.30), €5

Gist Veemkade 364 Heineken Music Hall ArenA Boulevard 590, 0900 300 1250 Horse Move Project Space Oosterdokskade 5 Post CS Hotel Arena ’s-Gravesandestraat 51, 850 2400 Huis Marseille Keizersgracht 401, 531 8989 IISG Cruquiusweg 31, 668 5866 Joods Historisch Museum Jonas Daniel Meijerplein 2-4, 531 0310 KochxBos Gallery 1e Anjeliersdwarsstraat 3-5, 681 4567 De Kring Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 7-9, 623 6985 De Kunstfabriek Polonceaukade 20 (Westergasfabriekterrein), 488 9430 Lloyd Hotel Oostelijke Handelskade 34, 419 1840 Lumen Travo Lijnbaansgracht 314, 627 0883 The Mansion Hobbemastraat 2, 616 6664 Mediamatic Post CS, Oosterdokskade 5, 638 9901 Meervaart Meer en Vaart 300, 410 7777 Melkweg Lijnbaansgracht 234A, 531 8181 Melkweg Galerie Marnixstraat 409, 531 8181 Meneer de Wit Postjesweg 2, 616 3680 Montevideo/Time Based Arts Keizersgracht 264, 623 7101 Muziekgebouw Piet Heinkade 1, 788 2010 Het Muziektheater Amstel 3, 625 5455 De Nieuwe Anita Frederik Hendrikstraat 111, 06 4150 3512

ADDRESSES 11 Oosterdokskade 3-5, 625 5999 2x2projects Veemkade 350, 489 7471 AdK Actuele Kunst Prinsengracht 534, 320 9242 Akinci Lijnbaansgracht 317, 638 0480 Allard Pierson Museum Oude Turfmarkt 127, 525 2556 Anemoonstraat 27 De Appel Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 10, 625 5651 ARCAM Prins Hendrikkade 600, 620 4878 Arti et Amicitiae Rokin 112, 624 5134 ArtOlive Polonceaukade 17, 675 8504 AYAC'S Keizersgracht 166, 638 5240 Badcuyp 1e Sweelinckstraat 10, 675 9669 De Balie Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10, 553 5151 Bellamy Etalage Project Bellamyplein Bethaniënklooster Barndesteeg 6, 625 0078 Betty Asfalt Complex Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 282, 626 4695 Bijbels Museum Herengracht 366-368, 624 2436 Bimhuis Piet Heinkade 3, 788 2150 Bitterzoet Spuistraat 2, 521 3001 De Brakke Grond Nes 45, 626 6866 Cafe Pakhuis Wilhelmina Veemkade 576, 419 3368

Nieuwe Kerk entrance on the Dam, 638 6909 OCCII Amstelveenseweg 134, 671 7778 OT301 Overtoom 301, 779 4913 P/////AKT Zeeburgerpad 53, 06 5427 0879 Pakhuis de Zwijger Piet Heinkade 179-181, 788 4444 Paradiso Weteringschans 6-8, 626 4521 Patronaat Zijlsingel 2, Haarlem, 023 517 5858 Platform 21 Prinses Irenestraat 19, 344 9449 Pleintheater Sajetplein 39, 665 4568 Posthoornkerk Haarlemmerstraat 124 The Powerzone Spaklerweg, 681 8866 PRIK Spuistraat 109, 06 4544 2321 RAI Europaplein 22, 549 1212 Red Stamp Art Gallery Rusland 22, 420 8684 Rembrandthuis Jodenbreestraat 4, 520 0400 Rijksmuseum Jan Luykenstraat 1, 674 7000 Ronmandos Prinsengracht 282, 320 7036 Rozentheater Rozengracht 117, 620 7953 De Service Garage Stephensonstraat 16 SMART Project Space Arie Biemondstraat 107-113, 427 5953 Spijker Kerkstraat 44, 620 5919 Stadsschouwburg Leidseplein 26, 624 2311

Casablanca Muziek Zeedijk 26, 06 1220 0519

Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam Rozenstraat 59, 422 0471

Centrale Bibliotheek Oosterdokskade 143, 523 0900

Stedelijk Museum CS Oosterdokskade 5, 573 2911

Chiellerie Raamgracht 58, 320 9448

STEIM Utrechtsedwarsstraat 134, 622 8690

Club 8 Admiraal de Ruyterweg 56B, 685 1703

Studio 80 Rembrandtplein 70, 521 8333

Club La Kerkstraat 50-52

Studio K Timorplein 62, 692 0422

CoBrA Museum Sandbergplein 1-3, Amstelveen, 547 5050

Sugar Factory Lijnbaansgracht 238, 627 0008

Comedy Theater Nes 110

Supperclub Jonge Roelensteeg 15, 344 6400

Concertgebouw Concertgebouwplein 2-6, 671 8345

Theater Bellevue Leidsekade 90, 530 5301

Consortium Veemkade 570, 06 2611 8950

Thermos Day Sauna Raamstraat 33, 623 9158

Cotton Club Nieuwmarkt 5, 626 6192

Toomler Breitnerstraat 2, 670 7400

CREA Theater Turfdraagsterpad 17, 525 1400

Torch Gallery Lauriergracht 94, 626 0284

DanceStreet 1e Rozendwarsstraat 10, 489 7676

Tropenmuseum Linnaeusstraat 2, 568 8200

Desmet Studios Plantage Middenlaan 4A, 521 7100

Under the Grand Chapiteau Next to ArenA, 621 1288

English Reformed Church Begijnhof 48, 624 9665 Escape Rembrandtplein 11, 622 1111

UvA: Special Collections Library Oude Turfmarkt 129, 525 2141

Feel Gallery Frans Halsstraat 40

Van Gogh Museum Paulus Potterstraat 7, 570 5200

Flex Bar Pazzanistraat 1, 486 2123

Ververs Gallery Hazenstraat 54

Foam Keizersgracht 609, 551 6546

Verzetsmuseum Plantage Kerklaan 61, 620 2535

Frascati Nes 63, 626 6866

Volta Houtmankade 334-336, 628 6429

Galerie Bart Bloemgracht 2, 320 6208

Werkgebouw Het Veem Van Diemenstraat 410

Galerie Ei Admiraal de Ruijterweg 154, 616 3961

Westergasfabriek Haarlemmerweg 8-10, 586 0710

Galerie Juliette Jongma Gerard Douplein 23, 463 6904

Winston Kingdom Warmoesstraat 129, 623 1380

Galerie Paul Andriesse Withoedenveem 8, 623 6237

Witzenhausen Gallery 2 Elandsstraat 145, 644 9898

Galerie Roger Katwijk Lange Leidsedwarsstraat 198-200, 627 3808

ZID Theater De Roos van Dekamaweg 1, 488 8449 ‘t Blijvertje Derde Oosterparkstraat 64h

Amsterdam Weekly

18

‘Waauw!’ to Blaauw Blaauw Hoofd Hendrik Jonkerplein 1, 623 8723 Open daily: Sun-Thur 15.00 -01.00; Fri-Sat 15.00-03.00 Cash, PIN. I was honoured to have been invited out by poet Donald Gardener and his charming kindred spirit, Celise, to dine at the Blaauw Hoofd opposite Squash City.

I shuttled along via Bus 21, just past Haarlemmerplein, and walked through the tunnel with its interesting acoustics. Was that sound the train rumbling overhead or just my stomach?

The eetcafe radiated a welcoming glow through its windows. I peered in and saw it was packed full with unwinding people. My heart sank: unless we booked, we were in the soup.

My friends arrived—who had indeed been smart enough to book ahead—and we entered the ‘Head’. Our eager senses were assaulted with a hubbub of cheery conversation, delicious cooking smells coming from the kitchen and curling after-dinner cigarette smoke. We seated ourselves and I rubbernecked around to see what was written up on the big board commanding the general attention of the whole restaurant.

Tonight it offered a homemade wild boar pâté with cranberry compote, the idea of which immediately twitched my old salivary glands. The blood rushed to my head as we made the decision to share as starters this pâté along with Catalan mussels, done with tomato, white wine and garlic oil.

But what about the main course? A grilled beef tornado topped with slices of smoked duck breast in a red wine and shallot sauce ( €16.50)

THE UNDERCOVER GLUTTON The mussels laid invitingly in a sizzling hot earthenware tapas bowl. They melted on the tongue like seafood Catholic host crackers. accompanied with green veggies and homemade fries beckoned Donald’s interest. Celise chose the vispotje ( €13.50), a seafood combination of mussels, salmon, cod and prawn poached in a

Noilly Prat sauce. Meanwhile, I opted for the comfort that a lamb stew ( €12.70) with mashed potato and green vegetables would provide. All dishes included a side salad.

24-30 January 2008

We waited, deep in animated conversation about the sublime and ridiculous, while enjoying the warmth of friendship just like the rest of the diners. At last, our starters arrived. The mussels laid invitingly in a sizzling hot earthen-ware tapas bowl. They melted on the tongue like seafood Catholic host crackers, before the chilli aftertaste kicked in. Hallelujah!

My wild boar pâté choice was spot on. It was traditionally French in its classic flavour, depth and artistry, complete with subtleties of garlic, aromatic spices and cognac. It was bliss at each bite. The texture was slightly rough, but perfect for spreading onto the provided crispy crusted bread slices. The cranberry compote wasn’t too sweet, and the garnishing capers added that needed edge of sour. Bravo chef!

The grilled beef tornado proved too rare for our personal tastes. And while the meat was of a wonderful quality, it was just too chewy. However, the smoked slices of duck added magic wings to the excellent red wine and shallot sauce. The infused flavour was gastronomically memorable.

Celise’s vispotje was subtly light and would have even lifted fish guru Rick Stein out of the deepest of depressions.

My slow simmered lamb stew came served in a deep soup plate with three ice cream scoops of mashed potato, dividing the plate up into three contrasting parts. The lamb pieces were buttery soft, crumbling in the rich brown gravy. I barely had to chew. What a great meal!

The harmony of excellent kitchen, easy ambience and kindly service makes this a ‘hoofd’ point to visit. However, it would be best to book ahead to avoid disappointment. With the menu changing almost daily, there must be local regulars who visit at least two or three times a week.

After all why cook alone at home when you can dine on elegantly rustic meals like this?

All I can say is ‘Waauw!’

Amsterdam Weekly

24-30 January 2008

Cloverfield

FILM Edited by Julie Phillips.This week’s films reviewed

by Massimo Benvegnù (MB),Don Druker (DD), René Glas (RG),Luuk van Huët (LvH),JR Jones (JJ),Dave Kehr (DK),Marie-Claire Melzer (MM), Mike Peek (MP),Julie Phillips (JP),Bart Plantenga (BP),Gusta Reijnders (GR),Jonathan Rosenbaum (JR),Marinus de Ruiter (MdR) and Bregtje Schudel (BS).All films are screened in English with Dutch subtitles unless otherwise noted. Amsterdam Weekly recommends.

New this week Cloverfield Expectations were monumental after an unprecedented viral campaign that made fanboys froth at the mouth. Luckily, golden child du jour JJ Abrams, who produced this, doesn’t disappoint… too much. While a giant beastie rampages through New York, a small group of yuppie Yankees go on a quest to save a trapped girlfriend, as captured on a digital camera. While the found-footage gimmick is fresh and effective, and there are a couple of neat tricks, the film requires a bit more suspension of disbelief to rise above the level of escapist entertainment. Not as good as The Host, but at least it’s no Godzilla. (LvH) 90 min.

Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt Lust, Caution Ang Lee’s latest has been compared to Zwartboek, but it’s actually more akin to the first time you visit a new girlfriend’s parents. Everybody is on their best behaviour, the pleasantries seem to go on forever, you’re forced to watch an endless amount of vacation slides, and it’s only partly made up for by the screwing. Or, to ditch this forced metaphor: solid acting by Tony Leung and debutante Tang Wei, beautiful cinematography and incredible sex scenes can’t compensate for the clunky flashback structure, plodding narrative and absurd length. Could someone get Mr Lee a new editor, please? (LvH) 156 min. Cinecenter, The Movies, Pathé Tuschinski Mala Noche Before his Hollywood breakthrough, Drugstore Cowboy, director Gus Van Sant debuted with this low-budget, black-and-white gay buddy movie. Shot in Van Sant’s hometown, Portland, Oregon, Mala Noche (1985) sets a scene in which the white, male protagonist reports in diary style about young Mexican immigrants trying to make a living. As he develops a crush on one of them, he starts to realise that he will never understand their world of poverty and that the relationship is bound to fail. Van Sant paints a bittersweet portrait of city life in this gritty, realistic cult classic. (MdR) 78 min. Filmmuseum

Nightwatching Nightwatching Peter Greenaway’s much-awaited return to feature film-making after his Sternesque Tulse Luper trilogy, Nightwatching tells an imaginary tale about the making of Rembrandt’s painting. The English director’s aficionados will quickly realise that the plot is nothing more than a reworking of his past hit The Draughtsman’s Contract (painter conceals hints of a murder in his painting), with the addition of some humorous critique of the Dutch 17th century bourgeoisie and excellent interior lighting to simulate the beloved Hollands licht. Martin Freeman (The Office) does a fine job portraying the Dutch master in the film’s long, elaborate takes, which can be both demanding on actors and hard on audiences. (MB) 134 min. The Movies

19

Lust, Caution

We Own the Night One of Hollywood’s mouldy oldies—brothers on opposite sides of the law—gets yet another spin in this lead-footed crime drama by James Gray (Little Odessa, The Yards). Robert Duvall is a venerable deputy chief of police for the NYPD, Mark Wahlberg is his locked-and-loaded cop son, and Joaquin Phoenix is the leather-clad black sheep of the family, who sleeps with a Puerto Rican dish (Eva Mendes) and works at a Russian-owned nightclub that fronts for a sinister drug lord (Alex Veadov). The story takes place in 1988 in the Brighton Beach neighbourhood of Brooklyn, but why? With its pitiless gangsters and virtuous boys in blue, it could have been set anywhere. (JJ) 117 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt

Still playing 12 Angry Men Watching 12 sweaty guys arguing

for an hour and a half might not sound like much fun, but if 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

12 Angry Men 2 Days in Paris New York sweethearts Marion (Julie Delpy) and Jack (Adam Goldberg) are on holiday in Europe, and by the time they reach Paris to visit Marion’s parents, the culture clash is overwhelming. Every man in the city seems to have had an affair with Marion, and her family’s sense of humour is driving Jack crazy. 2 Days in Paris is the exact opposite of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, the bittersweet films that brought Delpy modest fame. She wrote and directed this movie herself, showing the other side of love and relationships: the side that hurts, annoys and drives people apart even if they seem destined for each other. Laugh-out-loud funny and, in a surprisingly tender finale, very touching as well. (MP) 96 min. De Uitkijk 4 maanden, 3 weken en 2 dagen Romanian cinema seems to have found a niche for sober, socially committed dramas. After The Death of Mr Lazarescu (the failing health care system) and 12:08 East of Bucharest (the revolution of 1989), Cristian Mungiu’s 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days focuses on the ban on abortion under Ceaucescu. Student Otilia agrees to help her roommate Gabita with the preparations for an illegal termination of her pregnancy. But to see 4, 3, 2 only as an anti-abortion film would be to miss the point. Their act is merely the tool with which the two women’s friendship is tested and proven. The film won this year’s Palme d’Or in Cannes. In Romanian with Dutch subtitles. (BS) Het Ketelhuis, Rialto Aliens vs Predator 2 A sequel to a craptastically derivative film that underwhelmed audiences a couple of years back? One that was made with the sole purpose of slurping money out of the wallets of impressionable teenagers? That can’t amount to anything, can it? Well, it’s no Dostoyevsky, but if you feel like watching two familiar monstrosities duking it out with each other while reducing a throwaway cast of unknowns to bits and kibble, this is the film for you. AVP 2 pulls very few punches, showers everything with buckets o’ gore and is smart enough to know how dumb it has to be. (LvH) 94 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt

Alles is liefde Alles is liefde (‘Love Is All’) doesn’t even try to hide the fact that it copied its structure

directly from that other affection-obsessed ensemble piece, Love Actually. But in this case, it’s actually an improvement. Again people are lovelorn during the holiday season (with as Dutch flavour Sinterklaas instead of Christmas). Screenwriter Kim van Kooten and director Joram Lürsen (In Oranje) actually manage to make the story tight and focused, sentimental but not overly melodramatic. The film boasts a nice ensemble cast (Carice van Houten, Anneke Blok, Thomas Acda), with the real show-stopper Michiel ‘Jiskefet’ Romeyn as a gruff substitute Sint. In Dutch.

(BS) 110 min. Het Ketelhuis, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski, Studio K American Gangster Two of Hollywood’s acting juggernauts, Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, star as bad guy and supercop; Ridley Scott was the lucky guy who got the directing job. The result is an ethically dubious but cinematographically impressive look at New York in the corrupt 1970s. With Ruby Dee and Chiwetel Ejiofor. (RG) 157 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Cow-

ard Robert Ford Brad Pitt delivers his performance as James with exactly the right mix of magnetic charm and lingering malice, while Casey Affleck is convincing as Ford, James’s admirer who joins his gang and eventually kills him. The dreamy visuals with golden lighting help to re-create the myth of the heroic train robber; the story, however, is interestingly out of sync with the visuals, often contradicting them by showing James’s nasty, violent side. Director Andrew Dominik does a brilliant job of dissecting the aura around the famous outlaw while at the same time reviving it. Look out for Nick Cave, who did the music and has a small part as, well, himself, had he been born a century ago, in the Wild West. (MM) 160 min. Kriterion

Atonement Based on the novel by Ian McEwan, adapted by Christopher Hampton and directed by Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice), Atonement tells the story of a single tragic lie with horrendous consequences.

This genre-melding film opens in 1935, when 13-yearold fledgling writer Briony Tallis accuses her older sister’s boyfriend of a crime he didn’t commit. Five years later, at the start of the Second World War, the young man is released from prison on the condition he join the army. In 1999, Briony as a dying novelist still feels she has to atone for bearing false witness. Starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Vanessa Redgrave, Atonement is one beautiful film. (GR) Cinecenter, Cinema Amstel-veen, The Movies, Pathé De Munt, Studio K 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, Pathé Tuschinski

Away from Her El Baño del Papa Smuggling, usually by bicycle, is a way of life in the Uruguayan village of Melo, on the Brazilian border—until the Pope chooses the sleepy town for an upcoming visit. The excited villagers start coming up with creative ideas for making money off the visiting crowds. One man, Beto, decides to build a real flush toilet (baño) in front of his house and charge the pilgrims money to use it. César Charlone, the cinematographer on Cidade de Deus and The Constant Gardener, wrote and directed this heart-warmer together with Enrique Fernández. Rialto

Five-Word Movie Review

HUNGARY’S ANSWER TO SOUTH PARK The District, OT301

Bloedbroeders In 1961, the body of a 14-year-old

boy was found behind a mansion in Baarn and three of his friends were charged with murder. According to Arno Dierickx’ fictionalised account of the crime, the victim, Ronnie (Sander van Amsterdam, a terrifying and energetic presence in the film), first befriends and then blackmails the perps. These are two spoiled, rich brothers (Mathijs van de Sande Bakhuyzen and Derk Stenvers) and their smart, shy friend (Erik van Heijningen), who desperately wants to belong to the club. An excellent character study that allows you to keep hoping that what you’re seeing is just child’s play, even though you know the outcome from the first scene.

(MP) 95 min. Het Ketelhuis

Caramel

Caramel Layale’s beauty salon in Beirut is a shab-

by 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 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

Control In this biopic on singer/songwriter Ian Cur-

tis, photographer and video director Anton Corbijn dares to be critical: Ian isn’t a tragic hero, but a bit of a wimp who uses his band as an escape from his own incompetence as a husband and father. The film is beautifully shot in black-and-white, though the stark contrasts and grey hues serve mainly to underline the desolation of the Manchester suburbs, and of Ian himself. (BS) 119 min. Filmhuis Griffioen, Melkweg Cinema, The Movies The Diving Bell and the Butterfly The latest from painter-turned-director Julian Schnabel (Basquiat) is a poetic, moving filmed version of the memoir by Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who at age 43 suffered a stroke that paralysed his entire body except his left eyelid. With Mathieu Amalric and Emmanuelle Seigner. In French/English with Dutch subtitles. 112 min. Studio K

Earth This full-length documentary version of the British TV series Planet Earth follows a polar bear family, a herd of elephants and two humpback whales in their daily struggle for survival. Directed by Alastair Fothergill (Deep Blue) and Mark Linfield. 96 min. Cinema Amstelveen, The Movies, Pathé Tuschinski, De Uitkijk

Eastern Promises Superficially, this latest endeavour by Canadian cult favourite David Cronenberg is a supremely made gangster flick with great performances and ditto production values. But underneath the surface, the director explores his familiar obsessions: identity, violence and the human body. When

20

Amsterdam Weekly

Hitman

nurse Anna (Naomi Watts) starts investigating the life of a young Russian prostitute who died giving birth, she soon attracts unwanted attention from local mob boss Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), his mercurial son Kirill (Vincent Cassel) and his mysterious driver Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen). While the cast is top-notch, Mortensen is stellar, baring body and soul for the part.

(LvH) 100 min. Kriterion, The Movies Elizabeth: The Golden Age Director Shekhar Kapur’s sequel to Elizabeth, the film that cemented Cate Blanchett’s status as a great actress, certainly looks effulgently royal, but all its luster cannot compensate for the directionless script. It ambulates from proper period drama to romantic comedy, stopping off at political intrigue and getting lured into a historical battle along the way, never finding a consistent tone.

Even though Blanchett is, as always, a compelling and alluring screen presence and the ladies will probably enjoy Clive Owen in tights, the narrative meandering, the historical inaccuracies and the way the film extols the virtues of English imperialism make this a mediocre effort. (LvH) The Movies, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski, De Uitkijk

Enchanted Enchanted Disney tries to kill two birds with one stone with this good-hearted story about an animated princess who suddenly finds herself in unfriendly New York, where nobody lives happily ever after. The movie desperately wants to be both a mild parody and a sincere fairy tale. Director Kevin Lima (who did the Disney Tarzan) has some fun with this Snow White with a twist: when princess Giselle (Amy Adams) cleans up a New York apartment she enlists the help of local vermin. But despite all its efforts it works mostly as a fairy tale, rather than as a clever hybrid à la Rob Reiner’s Princess Bride.

With the voices of Julie Andrews, Susan Sarandon and Timothy Spall. (BS) 107 min. Pathé De Munt The Flock Uninspired thriller about two US agents (Richard Gere and Claire Danes) tracking down a sex

24-30 January 2008

Moordwijven

offender. Directed by Wai-keung Lau; with Avril Lavigne. 101 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt The Golden Compass Philip Pullman’s story concerns Lyra Belacqua, a young orphan living at Jordan College in Oxford, who goes on a quest to save her best friend from a shadowy group of kidnappers known as Gobblers. On the way she enlists the help of the barge-dwelling Gyptians, a Texan aeronaut, flying witches and an armoured polar bear. The Golden Compass dazzles with its elaborate production design and special effects: the computer-generated dæmons are almost all full of life, and the panserbjørne are impressive in a riveting fight scene. The performances—from Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliot and newcomer Dakota Blue Richards—are top-notch as well. Yet while the makers clearly hold the source material in high regard, the film feels rushed and ultimately lacks spark. (LvH) Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt

Gone Baby Gone Adapted from a novel by Dennis

Lehane (Mystic River), this powerful mystery centres on the disappearance of a four-year-old girl whose life has already been sadly defined by her vile single mother and grim working-class Boston neighbourhood. The girl’s aunt hires a pair of private detectives (Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan) to assist the police, and as they get closer to the truth, even the child’s rescue begins to seem like a tragic fate. Ben Affleck directed; his biggest gamble was casting his irksome little brother as a pistol-whipping tough guy, but the picture is so superbly executed in every other respect that Casey seems more quirky than miscast. With Amy Ryan, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. (JJ) 104 min. Kriterion, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski

Hallam Foe The boy named Hallam Foe could have

been a second Norman Bates: he’s effeminate and reclusive, with voyeuristic tendencies and a strong bond with his dead mother. But instead, Hallam (played with great charm by Jamie Bell) turns out to be one of the most endearing ‘freaks’ we’ve seen in a long time. It has been two years since his mother died, but Hallam still hasn’t come to terms with her ‘accidental’ death. After a run-in with his stepmom, he flees to Edinburgh, where he meets Kate, the spitting image of his mother. Much is owed to director David Mackenzie, who displays a real compassion for his delicate quirky characters. Even Hallam’s stepmother Verity isn’t the prototypical stepmom from hell, but just a very compli-

cated person. It’s refreshing to find a movie where a character can be eccentric without being a psychopath. (BS) 95 min. Cinecenter, Kriterion

her suspect. Directed by Iglika Triffonova, who also made the Bulgarian road movie Letter to America. In Bulgarian with Dutch subtitles. 105 min. Filmmuseum

Heimatklänge 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, Het Ketelhuis

The Kite Runner After his poignant Monster’s Ball, his pensive Finding Neverland and the daringly different Stranger than Fiction—unreleased here—director Marc Foster offers us a solid and visually arresting but emotionally drained adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. One of the obstacles is the protagonist, Afghan-born Amir (played by Scottish-Egyptian actor Khalid Abdalla), who, in his sullen grownup version, doesn’t evoke much sympathy—or any other emotion. When he was young, he shared a close friendship with servant boy Hassan, the kite runner of the title, but later fell out with him. Still heavily conflicted about his misconduct as a youth, the adult Amir returns to Afghanistan to ‘be good again’. In English/ Dari/Pashtu/Urdu/Russian with Dutch subtitles. (BS) 128 min. Cinecenter, The Movies, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski, Studio K

Hitman Don’t be alarmed! The baldy in the suit is not the reanimated corpse of Pim Fortuyn, hell-bent on revenge, it’s Agent 47 from the video game Hitman. And while most films based on games have been thoroughly lame, Hitman the movie manages to titillate and entertain.

Steely-eyed Timothy Olyphant provides just the right mixture of ruthlessness and style to the genetically engineered assassin, and even though Olga Kurylenko was brought in solely to model slinky outfits, that’ll be enough for the intended audience of this flick. If the inevitable sequel focuses more on 47 and less on convoluted plotting, I’m game. (LvH) 93 min. Pathé ArenA I Am Legend Will Smith plays an army scientist and survivor of a human-caused pandemic that has turned most of the world’s population into zombies. Living in a ruined New York City with only his dog as company, he tries to come up with a vaccine that could save the human (and canine) race. This third cinematic adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic 1954 science fiction novel (the earlier two were The Last Man on Earth and The Omega Man) gets the Dumb Hollywood Blockbuster treatment—CGI and a right-wing political agenda erase most of the ethical, philosophical and logistical questions that arose from its pages. As good as Smith is, Vincent Price must be rolling in his grave.

Avoid this like the plague. (MB) 100 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt Investigation A psychological thriller, set in Sofia, about the battle of wills between a police detective and

The Kite Runner

Lady Chatterley In the hands of Pascale Ferran, and in French, D. H. Lawrence’s classic novel becomes an almost spiritual film about the transforming power of love and sex. The first time Constance Chatterley (Marina Hands) and her gamekeeper Parkin (Jean-Louis Coullo’ch) do it, things are a bit clumsy—and they both remain fully clothed. Their growing intimacy is shown by their increasing lack of garments, until, by the end of the film, we see them not only completely naked but dancing around in the rain, and feel we have gotten to know them. In Hands’s brilliantly natural, César-winning performance, Lady Chatterley is both funny and moving: you can’t help feeling for her. Hands has moved Lawrence’s novel past the pornographic and the feminist to the human level. (MM) The Movies, Rialto

Das Leben der Anderen This Oscar winner by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck mostly deserves all the

Special screenings Amsterdam in Beeld Short films about the city. See Short List. De Balie Blind While actress-turned-director Tamar van den Dop may have based her feature debut on a cheesy expression—‘love is blind’—the execution is dead serious. The physically and psychologically damaged Marie (Halina Reijn) finally finds love with a visionimpaired young man (Joren Seldeslachts). But when he regains his sight, will his love still be blind? Van den Dop takes full advantage of the serene snow-clad landscapes of Bulgaria (posing for Belgium) and Reijn’s perfectly restrained body language, but is more concerned with the dichotomy between seeing and being seen than with a bona fide storyline. In Dutch.

(BS) 98 min. Pathé Tuschinski Dam Street Director Li Yu is not afraid to take on sensitive subjects. Her first film, Fish and Elephant (2001), was a lesbian love story. Her second, Dam Street, is about the fate of China’s unwed mothers and unwanted children. When the teenager Yun gets pregnant, she can forget her future as an opera singer. Scorned by friends and family, she becomes a singer in a third-rate provincial band. Her only close contact is with a little boy who lives across the river.

In Mandarin with Dutch subtitles. 93 min. Kriterion The District This absurdist and über-funky animated film tells a Romeo and Juliet story amid rival Roma gangs clashing in Budapest. The kids decide they need money and travel back in time to put an oil field under their ‘hood. Eventually George Bush, the

Pope and Bin Laden get involved. A warped comedy billed as ‘Hungary’s answer to South Park’. In Hungarian/Romany with Dutch subtitles. 87 min. OT301 Les Enfants du paradis Set in the 1840s and filmed during the occupation in Paris, Marcel Carné’s 1945 masterpiece about the undying love of Garance (Arletty) and the mime Deburau (Jean-Louis Barrault) is a breathtaking study of the relationships between life and theatre, mime and tragedy, the real and the imagined, sound and silence. Introduced by Andrée van Es. In French with Dutch subtitles. (DD) Rialto Hersenschimmen An older Dutch man (Joop Admiraal), living with his wife (Marja Kok) in Nova Scotia, slowly succumbs to Alzheimer’s in a snowy winter landscape. Directed by Heddy Honigmann (1988). In Dutch.

115 min. Cavia Mrs Dalloway Marleen Gorris (Antonia) made this elegant but not deeply memorable 1997 adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel, starring Vanessa Redgrave in the title role. The film is faithful to the novel’s spirit, but the visual language of the costume drama works against Woolf’s modernity. (JP) 97 min. Rialto Ober Absurdity reigns once again in Alex van Warmerdam’s latest feature, a hysterical tale about the many bizarre misfortunes of a waiter named Edgar (played by the director himself), who also happens to be the main character of a manuscript in the making. Reality and fiction coalesce even further when the badgered Edgar complains to his creator about all his mishaps and

demands restitution. Van Warmerdam’s characteristic grim sense of humour and the many hilarious guest appearances by renowned Dutch thespians make this a film you’re not likely to forget. In Dutch. (BS) 97 min.

Pathé ArenA

Princess Half Japanese-style animation and half

live action, this Danish cult film tells the violent story of a priest’s bloody quest through the sex film industry to avenge the death of his porn star sister and the abuse of her five-year-old daughter. Princess is relentless in its portrayal of porn as a life-ruining business, raising the issue whether its director, cartoonist Anders Morgenthaler, should have toned down his moral judgement.

Highly recommended for those not allergic to controversy. In Danish with Dutch subtitles. (MdR) 90 min. OT301 Sex and Fury In this 1973 Japanese ‘sexploitation’ picture, a little girl sees her father murdered and grows up with the ambition to search for her father’s killers. It probably provided some of the inspiration for Kill Bill, though it has things Tarantino’s film doesn’t, like naked swordfighting. Directed by Norifumi Suzuki. In Japanese with English subtitles. 93 min. De Nieuwe Anita Three Times Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien has been one of the hidden treasures of the Taiwanese New Wave for quite some time, and will hopefully pick up a lot of new fans with his excellent first and third acts in Three Times.

The first tender love story and the last gritty one sure hit the spot, but the second one is a regular trip to Snoozeville. If you don’t let the stagnant second act get to you, but instead grit your teeth and take one for cine-

ma, you’ll be greatly rewarded. If all else fails, bring an alarm clock or friendly neigbourhood insomniac.

In Mandarin/Taiwanese with Dutch subtitles. (LvH) 132 min. KIT Tropentheater, Kleine Zaal Touch of Evil In Orson Welles’s last Hollywood film, from 1958, he makes transcendent use of the American technology his genius throve on; never again would his resources be so rich or his imagination so fiendishly baroque. Welles stars as the sheriff of a corrupt border town who finds his nemesis in visiting Mexican narcotics agent Charlton Heston; the witnesses to this weirdly gargantuan struggle include Janet Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, Akim Tamiroff and Joseph Calleia, who holds the film’s moral center with sublime uncertainty.(DK) 138 min. Kriterion Video Inferno: Animationmania A two-day programme of alternative European animation, from Dutch stop-motion kids’ animation (Fabeltjeskrant) to Svankmajer’s Faust, the Hungarian film The District (See above) and Christian Volckman’s French SF film Renaissance. OT301 Witness for the Prosecution Billy Wilder’s 1957 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s stage thriller. The artificial plotting is all Christie’s, but the film eventually becomes Wilder’s—thanks to a trick ending that dovetails nicely with a characteristic revelation of compassion behind cruelty. With Charles Laughton (bombastic) as the defense attorney, Tyrone Power (nicely feckless) as the accused, Marlene Dietrich and Elsa Lanchester. (DK) 116 min. Filmmuseum

24-30 January 2008

Amsterdam Weekly

My Blueberry Nights

praise and admiration it has received. A study in the dehumanising effects of state surveillance, it focuses on two men living in East Germany in 1984: a playwright (Sebastian Koch) who attracts the interest of the state and a Stasi officer (Ulrich Mühe) whose loyalty to the socialist cause is starting to erode. Predictable and slightly distant, but also disturbing and effective. In German with Dutch subtitles. (LvH) 137 min. Het Ketelhuis, Rialto Moordwijven At least one thing is constant: in the 12 years since Dick Maas (De Lift, Amsterdamned) made his last Dutch-language feature his sense of humour hasn’t changed. Unfortunately for him, our appreciation has. In Moordwijven we find the same lewdness and political incorrectness he already—and more successfully—employed in Flodder (1986). The story: three rich-brat housewives plan to assassinate one of their adulterous husbands. The film does have some funny moments (especially one concerning a pool boy one of the gals picks up at a refugee centre) but overall Moordwijven is a relic, a memento of more shabby days, when a pair of bare breasts were considered nice assets. (BS) 100 min. Het Ketelhuis, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt My Blueberry Nights Wong Kar Wai’s films have always depended on subtle communication, both spoken and unspoken. In his Hollywood debut, My Blueberry Nights, it’s clear that he’s underestimated the problems of translating those subtleties into English. The singer Norah Jones stars as a New Yorker on a soul-searching journey through America. Excellent performances by Rachel Weisz and David Strathairn (as an alcoholic couple) and Natalie Portman (as a Las Vegas poker addict) can’t make up for Jones’s blankness, or for the uninspired, glossy-mag-

FILM TIMES Thursday 24 January until Wednesday 30 January.

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 Amsterdam in Beeld Fri, Sat 20.30.

Cavia Van Hallstraat 52-I, 681 1419 Hersenschimmen Thur, Fri 20.30.

Cinecenter Lijnbaansgracht 236, 623 6615 Atonement daily 16.00, 19.00, 21.45, Sun also 13.30 Away from Her daily 16.15, 19.30, 22.00, Sun also 11.00, 13.45 Hallam Foe daily 16.30, Sun also 14.15 The Kite Runner daily 15.45, 18.45, 21.45, Sun also 11.15 Lust,Caution Thur, Sun-Wed 19.30, Sun also 11.00, Fri, Sat 18.30, 21.45.

Cinema Amstelveen Plein 1960 2, Amstelveen, 547 5175 Atonement Thur-Sat 20.30, Thur also 15.00 Earth Sun 16.30, Tues, Wed 20.30 Gandhi, My Father Sun 14.30 The Golden Compass (NL) Sat, Wed 15.30, Sun 14.00 Losse Filmlezingen over de Filmtheorie Tues 19.00 De Wonderwinkel van Mr Magorium Sat, Wed 13.30, Sun 12.00.

Filmhuis Griffioen Uilenstede 106, Amstelveen, 444 5100 Control Thur, Fri, Tues 19.30.

Filmmuseum Vondelpark 3, 589 1400 12 Angry Men daily 19.15, Fri, Mon, Wed also 21.15 Heimatklänge Daily 17.30, Sun also 15.45 Investigation daily 17.15, 19.30 Mala Noche daily 21.30, Sun also 15.30 Mijn vriend Thur, Sun 21.15 Pinkeltje Sun, Wed 13.45 Sven en zijn rat en het Ufomysterie Sun, Wed 14.00 Witness for the Prosecution Sat, Tues 21.15.

Het Ketelhuis Haarlemmerweg 8-10, 684 0090 4 maanden, 3 weken en 2 dagen daily 16.45, 21.00 Alles is liefde daily 17.00, Thur-Mon, Wed also 21.15 De Avonturen van het Molletje Sat, Sun, Wed 13.15 Azur & Asmar Sat, Sun, Wed 13.00 Bloedbroeders Thur-Mon, Wed 19.15 Heimatklänge daily 19.00 Das Leben der Anderen Sat, Sun, Wed 14.00 Moordwijven daily 19.30

21

Sleuth

azine script by Wong and Lawrence Block. (MdR) 111 min. Rialto, Studio K The Nanny Diaries In this pseudoethnographic exercise, a New Jersey girl (Scarlett Johansson) is hired as a nanny by rich New York monsters (Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti). The characters are instantly reversible—the bratty kid turns out to be a sweetie pie, the mother just needs to be told off. Only Giamatti, as the clichéd businessman husband, is irredeemable, and he’s offset by the heroine’s dreamy beau (Chris Evans), who lives in the same building. Formulaic.

Written and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (American Splendor). (JR) 106 min.

Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt National Treasure: Book of Secrets This sequel, like the first National Treasure, is a Disney romp with several stars (Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight and Harvey Keitel from the first movie, plus Ed Harris and Helen Mirren) appearing in and around various international monuments as they pursue a centuries-old treasure with arcane clues and sliding panels. Leave it to co-producer Jerry Bruckheimer to revive the Indiana Jones cycle without the period setting, the camp elements or Spielberg’s efficiency. Instead, director Jon Turteltaub just plods along. (JR) 124 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt P.S. I Love You Yet another movie about a live woman (Hilary Swank) in love with a dead man (Gerard Butler). What is Hollywood trying to tell us? Directed by Richard LaGravenese (Freedom Writers); with Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon and Kathy Bates. 120 min.

Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski

third sequel to James Wan’s 2004 horror movie. Darren Lynn Bousman directed; with Tobin Bell and Donnie Wahlberg. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt

Sicko In order to speak more credibly on the Amer-

ican health care system, Michael Moore decided to drop a few pounds himself. While he was at it, he also got rid of many of his cheap editing tricks, throwing out most of his manipulative voice-overs and goofy montages and replacing them with poignant personal drama. Both the leaner look and the calmer style were excellent choices, resulting in a much tighter documentary than any he’s made previously, and probably also his best. (MB) 123 min. Kriterion Sleuth Embittered actor Milo Tindle (Jude Law) visits successful, ageing crime novelist Andrew Wyke (Michael Caine) in his beautiful, hi-tech country mansion. The reason? Tindle may have swiped the writer’s wife. The pair subsequently stage a verbal cat-andmouse chase with only Wyke’s house as decor.

Director Kenneth Branagh attempts to diverge here from his usual Shakespearian canon. He has help from a script by the late Harold Pinter, who re-adapted the famous Anthony Shaffer play, 35 years after the original screen version in which Caine played the struggling Tindle to Laurence Olivier’s Wyke. The result is shorter and sleeker, even if not fully satisfying. But if you like unusual kammerspiel fare, and typical British acting-school braggadocio, just step inside the house.

(MB) 86 min. Kriterion, Pathé Tuschinski

Tussenstand Roos (Elsie de Brauw) and Martin

Saw IV Jigsaw reaches from beyond the grave in this

(Marcel Musters) are facing a tough challenge. Their son Isaac (Stijn Koomen) has stopped communicating and Roos feels parental intervention is in order. But that means they have to listen to each other, some-

Sven en zijn rat en het Ufomysterie Sat, Sun, Wed 15.15 Trigger Sat, Sun, Wed 15.00 Tussenstand daily 17.15 Waitress daily 21.30 Willie en het wilde konijn Sat, Sun, Wed 12.45.

KIT Tropentheater, Kleine Zaal Linnaeusstraat 2, 568 8500 Three Times Tues, Wed 20.30.

Kriterion Roetersstraat 170, 623 1708 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford daily 21.30 Bee Movie (NL) Sat, Sun 15.00, Sun also 13.15 Dam Street Wed 17.00 Eastern Promises Thur-Sun, Tues, Wed 22.00 Gone Baby Gone daily 17.30, 20.00 Hallam Foe daily 17.45, Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed also 19.45 Mijn naam is Eugene Sun 11.00, Wed 15.00 Sicko daily 19.00, Sat, Sun, Wed also 14.30 Sleuth Thur-Mon 22.15, Fri, Sat also 0.00 Sneak Preview Tues 22.15 Touch of Evil Mon 22.00 De Wonderwinkel van Mr Magorium Sat, Sun, Wed 15.30.

Melkweg Cinema Lijnbaansgracht 234A, 624 1777 Control Fri, Sat 19.00 Wicked City Mon 19.00.

The Movies Haarlemmerdijk 159-165, 638 6016 Atonement daily 16.15, Fri, Sat also 23.45, Sun also 11.30 Bee Movie (NL) Sat, Sun, Wed 14.45 Control Fri, Sat 0.35 Earth daily 21.45, Sat, Sun, Wed also 14.15, Sun also 11.00 Eastern Promises Fri, Sat 0.30 Elizabeth:The Golden Age daily 17.00, 19.30, Sun also 12.30 Juno Fri, Sat 0.00 The Kite Runner daily 16.30, 19.00, 21.30, Sat, Sun, Wed also 14.00 Lady Chatterley daily 18.45 Lust, Caution daily 16.00, 18.45, 21.45, Sat, Sun, Wed also 13.00 Nightwatching daily 22.00.

De Nieuwe Anita Frederik Hendrikstraat 111, 06 4150 3512, Sex and Fury Mon 20.30.

OT301 Overtoom 301, 779 4913 Best of Zagreb Animated Film Sun 16.00 The Brothers Quay Sat 16.00 The District Sun 20.00 Eyes on Il Luster Sat 18.00 Faust Sun 22.00 Frank & Wendy Sun 18.00 The Marathon Family Tues 20.30 Not Pikachu, It's Paulus! Sun 14.00 Princess Sat 22.00 Renaissance Sat 20.00 Time Masters Sat 14.00 Video Inferno:Animationmania Who's That Singing Over There Tues 20.30.

Pathé ArenA ArenA Boulevard 600, 0900 1458 Aliens vs Predator 2 daily 15.30, 19.50, 22.10, Thur, Sat-Tues also 17.40, Thur, Mon, Tues also 13.20, Fri, Wed also 17.50, Sat also 0.20 Alles is liefde daily 17.05

American Gangster Sat 22.50 Bee Movie (NL) Fri-Sun, Wed 13.15, 15.15, 17.15, Sat, Sun, Wed also 12.40, 14.50, Sat, Sun also 10.30, 11.10 Beyaz Melek Sun 16.55 Cloverfield daily 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00, 17.00, 18.00, 19.00, 20.00, 22.00, Thur-Tues also 12.00, Thur-Mon, Wed also 21.00, Fri also 0.00, Sat also 10.00, 11.00 Enchanted (NL) Fri, Sat, Wed 15.40, Sat, Sun, Wed 12.50, Sat, Sun also 10.15, Sun also 15.50 The Flock Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.05, 22.05, Thur, Fri, Mon-Wed also 14.20, Sat 10.10, 12.30, 17.30, 23.50 The Golden Compass (NL) Sat, Sun, Wed 13.15, Sat, Sun also 10.30 The Golden Compass daily 19.20, Thur, Fri, Mon-Wed also 16.40, Thur, Mon, Tues also 13.45, 16.20, Sat also 14.45, Sun also 14.20 Gone Baby Gone daily 18.20, 20.50, Thur-Tues also 13.10, 15.40, Sat, Sun also 10.40 Hitman daily 21.45 I Am Legend daily 21.55 I Am Legend (Imax) daily 11.50, 14.10, 16.30, 18.50, 21.10, Sat also 23.30 In the Valley of Elah Sat 23.40 K3 en de Kattenprins Fri-Sun, Wed 11.50, 13.40, Sat, Sun also 10.05 The Kite Runner daily 12.20, 15.05, 17.50, 20.40 Maskeli Besler - Cyprus daily 12.15, 14.30, 16.50, 19.15, 21.40, Sat, Sun also 10.00 Moordwijven daily 15.50, 18.15, 20.30, Thur, Fri, Mon also 13.20 The Nanny Diaries daily 16.45, 19.20, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 13.50 National Treasure: Book of Secrets daily 18.30, 21.20, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 12.50, Thur, Mon, Tues also 15.40, Sat also 23.30 Ober Tues 13.30 P.S. I Love You Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 19.30, Sat 20.15 Saw IV daily 19.40, 21.50, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 12.40, 14.50 De Scheepsjongens van Bontekoe Sat, Sun, Wed 13.50, Sat, Sun also 11.00 Sneak Preview Tues 21.00 We Own the Night daily 16.10, 18.45, 21.30, Thur, Mon, Tues also 13.30, Sat also 0.10 De Wonderwinkel van Mr Magorium Fri-Sun, Wed 11.55, 14.05, Sat, Sun also 9.50.

Pathé De Munt Vijzelstraat 15, 0900 1458 Aliens vs Predator 2 Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.15, 14.30, 22.00, Thur, Fri, Sun, Tues, Wed also 17.00, 19.30, Mon also 19.40, Sat 10.30, 13.00, 15.30, 18.00, 20.30, 23.10 Alles is liefde Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 18.45, Sat 18.50 American Gangster Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 20.00, Sat 21.50 Atonement daily 21.10 Bee Movie (NL) Sat 10.15, 12.15, 14.30, Sun, Wed 13.00, 15.15, Sun also 10.45 Cloverfield Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 13.15, 14.15, 15.45, 16.45, 18.15, 19.15, 20.45, Thur, Fri, Sun, Mon, Wed also 21.45, Thur, Fri, MonWed also 12.00, Sat, Sun 11.00, Sat also 10.15, 12.30, 13.30, 14.45, 16.00, 17.15, 18.30, 19.45, 21.00, 22.15, 23.30 Elizabeth:The Golden Age Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 13.20, 18.40, Sun also 10.50, Sat 12.00, 17.50 Enchanted Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 13.15, 16.00, Sun also 10.40, Sat 10.50, 13.40, 16.20 Enchanted (NL) Fri, Sun, Wed 12.45, Sun also 10.20, Sat 11.45, 14.15 The Flock Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 17.50, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 13.00, 15.15, Sat 16.40, 19.00 The Golden Compass Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 19.10, Thur, Fri, Sun-Tues also 16.30, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 13.00, 15.15, Sat 15.00, 17.30

thing these two exes have never done. Director Mijke de Jong skillfully paints two different worlds: the hectic surroundings of the parents, who are constantly distracted by themselves and external stimuli; and the calm realm of Isaac, who retains the serenity of a Buddha, even while trespassing. It’s an impressive movie with confident camerawork and excellent acting. In Dutch. (BS) 80 min. Het Ketelhuis Tuya’s Marriage In this 2007 Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear winner, director Quanan Wang takes us to Inner Mongolia, where industrial expansion is threatening the traditional nomadic way of life. We meet the headstrong Tuya, who dislocates her back one day and opts for divorce—on the condition that her new husband care not only for herself and her two young children, but also for her current, disabled husband Bater. Suitors come and go, providing some comic relief against the panorama of the Mongolian countryside. If you liked The Story of the Weeping Camel, you’re bound to love this film. I for myself sometimes got the feeling that the Mongolian steppe was overpowering Tuya’s fate, doing the story no good. In Mandarin with Dutch subtitles. (GR) 86 min. Rialto Waitress The late Adrienne Shelly, best known for her roles in Sleep With Me and Hal Hartley’s Trust and The Unbelievable Truth, wrote and directed this tangy, resourceful comedy-drama. Keri Russell plays a gifted pie baker and abused wife who waits tables at a diner along with two romantically frustrated coworkers (Cheryl Hines and Shelly) and unexpectedly finds herself pregnant. The film isn’t averse to reaching for Hollywood fantasies, but there’s a lot of what seems to be hard-earned wisdom here about women in bad marriages. (JR) 104 min. Het Ketelhuis

Gone Baby Gone Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 15.30, 18.30, 21.15, Thur, Mon, Tues also 12.45, Sat 16.45, 19.15, 22.00 I Am Legend Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 13.45, 16.15, 19.00, Thur, Fri, Sun, Mon, Wed also 21.30, Sun also 11.30, Tues also 21.45, Sat 12.45, 15.45, 18.15, 20.45, 23.15 In the Valley of Elah Sat 22.40 K3 en de Kattenprins Sat 10.25, 12.20, Sun, Wed 12.50, Sun also 10.30 The Kite Runner Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.10, 14.50, 17.40, 20.30, Sat 10.15, 13.15, 16.30, 19.30, 22.30 Moordwijven Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.30, 14.40, 17.15, 19.45, 22.05, Sun also 10.15, Sat 11.20, 13.45, 16.15, 18.45, 21.15 The Nanny Diaries Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 14.45, 17.30, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 12.15, Sat 14.20, 16.50, 19.20 National Treasure:Book of Secrets Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.20, 15.00, 18.00, 20.15, 21.00, Sat 11.10, 14.00, 17.00, 20.00, 21.30, 23.00 P.S. I Love You Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 15.50, Sat 15.15 Saw IV Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 21.50, Sat 20.15 Sneak Preview Tues 21.30 We Own the Night Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 21.40, Sat 21.45 De Wonderwinkel van Mr Magorium Sat 10.35, 12.50, Sun 11.45, 14.10.

Pathé Tuschinski Reguliersbreestraat 34, 0900 1458 Alles is liefde daily 20.45 Away from Her Fri-Wed 15.30, 18.15, Fri, Mon-Wed also 12.45 Bee Movie (NL) Sat, Sun 13.15 Blind Thur, Tues 13.30 Earth daily 19.10, Fri-Wed also 12.10, 14.30, 16.50 Elizabeth:The Golden Age daily 21.30 Gone Baby Gone Thur, Sat-Wed 13.00, 15.50, Thur also 18.45, 21.45, Sat-Wed also 18.30, 21.15 The Kite Runner daily 12.00, 15.00, 18.00, 21.00 Lust, Caution daily 13.10, 16.30, 20.00 P.S. I Love You daily 19.20 Sleuth daily 17.00, 22.10, Fri-Mon, Wed also 12.30, 14.45.

Rialto Ceintuurbaan 338, 676 8700 4 maanden, 3 weken en 2 dagen Fri, Sun-Wed 19.15, Fri, Sun also 15.00, Sat 19.30 El Baño del Papa daily 19.30, Fri-Sun, Wed also 15.15 Caramel daily 21.30, Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed also 17.15, Sat, Sun also 13.00 Les Enfants du paradis Sat 16.00 Lady Chatterley daily 19.45, Fri, Sat, Wed also 14.30, Sun also 12.45 Das Leben der Anderen Sat, Sun 12.30 Mrs Dalloway Sat 11.00, Wed 15.00 My Blueberry Nights Fri-Wed 17.30, 21.45 Tuya's Marriage Thur-Sat, Mon-Wed 17.45.

Studio K Timorplein 62, 692 0422, Alles is liefde daily 19.00, Sat, Sun also 16.15 Atonement daily 19.15 Bee Movie (NL) Sat, Sun 14.15, Wed 16.00 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Sun-Wed 21.45 The Kite Runner daily 21.15 My Blueberry Nights Thur-Sat 21.45 Ratatouille (NL) Sat, Sun 13.45, 16.30, Wed 16.15.

De Uitkijk Prinsengracht 452, 623 7460 2 Days in Paris daily 21.30, Sun also 15.00 Earth daily 17.00, Sat also 14.45, Sun also 13.00 Elizabeth:The Golden Age daily 19.15.

Amsterdam Weekly

22

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.

Salary OTE 40-70k P.A. Please send your CV to Ken Gillings GRAFFITI REMOVALGraffitiweg cleaning up A’dam. Con- at kgillings@eng-nl.com. Tel tact us at Graffitiweg@ gmail.com or call 06 1753 7063 305 0950, www.eng-nl.com.

GERMAN NATIVE Are you paint and do laminate floor. a German native? Are you JOBS Pays €10/hr. If interested con- looking for a fun job at a fun HAIRSTYLISTWe are a team tactmaria200840@yahoo.com. company in the centre of of experienced, independent PARTIJ ZOEKT VROUWEN A’dam? Do you have a few hair stylists in the buzzing city http://www.mijn-partij.nl/ge- hours per day, a few days per centre of A’dam and need one zocht.shtml. week available? Then GUIDmore hairdresser to join the ION might be able to offer team. If interested please con- PROPERTY FIRMFast grow- you the right job. €10 per ing property firm, located on tact me at maria200840@ the Prinsengracht in A’dam. hour. Interested? Send an yahoo.com.

Fulltime job, fluent English, email to ironken@guidion.nl BIKE TAXI DRIVERS flexible, team player & sense (Ingrid).

WANTED We’re in business of humour. No prior experi- BUSINESS RESEARCH 365 days a year! Are you ser- ence needed. Help newly Global consulting firm lookvice-oriented, independent, arrived expats and after sales ing for an internet researcher responsible, flexible & service. alec@youramster- to support our Asia/Pacific unafraid of Dutch weather? damhousing.com. region. Ideal for recent uniClimb on the bandwagon this versity graduates. Fluency in MASHUA SEEKS STAFF winter & get priority for best Japanese and English needRestaurant Mashua looking summer shifts. We offer weeked. Send CV to skim@spencerfor kitchen staff & table attenly introduction sessions. Condants. Experience, good com- stuart.com. tact 06 3882 2683/info@wielmunication skills & repre- MASHUA OFFERS JOBS ertaxi.nl/www.wielertaxi.nl. sentative appearance (for Restaurant Mashua is lookHARD ROCK WANTS YOU! waiters M/F) required. Wide ing for kitchen staff and table We are currently hiring for & varied range of activities attendants. Experience & all staff positions, including in modern, stylish restau- good communication skills dishwashers, cooks and rant. Remuneration accord- required. Must be Dutch & kitchen supervisor. If you like ing to Dutch standards. 06 English speaking. Wide & varto work with fun and pas- 5371 8057/lili@mashua.nl. ied range of activities in modsionate people, this is the job SALES OPPORTUNITY ern, stylish restaurant. Remufor you! No appointment nec- Inside sales position with neration according to Dutch essary, just come in and ask leading A’dam-based Con- standards. Contact 06 5371 for an application form.Max ference Company. Business 8057 or info@mashua.nl.

Euweplein 57-61 level English required togeth- THE SECRET TO WEALTH

AD OF THE WEEK

plan for 2008? www.geldformule.com.

ASIAN SINGER PERFORMER wanted for Caravan Stage Company, a Canadian Ship Theater now touring Greece. Original theater & music performed on a 30m sailing boat. April to Sept 2008. www.caravanstage.org.

Please send CV and photo to caravanstage@yahoo.com.

TÉLÉCONSEILLERS Prise en charge de tous les contacts clients, téléphone, email ou messagerie instantanée pour l’assistance commerciale et SAV. Résolution de problèmes pour nos clients, vous devez être autonome, flexible et proactif. Envoyer votre CV à Virginia@guidion.co.uk ou appeler 520 5360.

24-30 January 2008

Talen: Nederlands en Engels. facing living room & quiet bedRijbewijs B. Email yas- room. Kitchen & balcony. min@kasumibar.com. €825/month all incl. Avail 1 Feb. Also washing machine 4 HOUSING FOR RENT sale. Ph 06 1433 4695.

MAGICAL HOUSEBOAT APT W/ GARDENFurnished Beautiful little houseboat and recently renovated loft available for immediate sub- 80m2 with full bathroom, bedlet through end of March. room & garden on south. WashLocated on Lijnbaansgracht ing machine, dryer, dishoff of Vijzelstraat, 100m from washer, combi microwave, tram lines, in the heart of TV/adsl wireless, floor heatAdam. Quiet little canal, inte- ing. Area: A’dam Oosterpark. rior is all wood, super cozy Price: €1050 excl water & and magical, breathtaking. electricity. info@mediwaward@yahoo.com. alounge.nl.

AMSTELVELT APT 1 bdrm HOUSING WANTED furnished apt is available on the Reguliersgracht with beau- STUDIO WANTED!Working tiful canal view as well as a couple is looking for 1-bdrm view on Amstelvelt. Apt is apt/studio in A’dam, preferbrand new and fully equipped. ably Noord area ASAP! If you are interested drop me €600/mth... Please, contact a line: essiz@hotmail.com. with us by email on fruzsiVACATION RENTAL in na21@yahoo.com!Thank You! A’dam centre. Very nice penthouse/apt in A’dam on one of the canals! It’s only vacation rental for 1, 2 or 3 days…

One week maximum. €125/night. 3 nights for €350!

If you prefer to stay in a nice apt instead of a hotel, please call 06 1808 6427.

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, centrally located, close to shops & police station, quiet neighbourhood. Call 06 1021 8271 or email info@tulipany.nl for info.

WAREHOUSE MGR/ASST ANTFast-growingplantnutrient distributor needs an accurate,detail-orientedwarehouse mgr/assistanttothedirector.Variedtasksincludereceiving,confirming,inputing,packing/palletizingcustomerorders,inventorycontrol.MSoffice&English & Dutch required, FR, SP, Ger a+. info@an-europe.com.

1BDRMFURNAPT50m2 apt SHIFT MANAGER KASUMI & 15m2 storage. In De Baarsjes, Voor een sushi bar in 12 min cycle to Central StaAmstelveen, shift manager tion & 2-5 min walk to shops.

CAN YOU PAINT AND...? er with the ability to work I have made €120,000 part- voor 4-5 dagen per week (incl Secure courtyard/garden with Looking someone who can fulltime, 5 days per week. time in 2007. What is your weekends) van 15.30-22.15. covered bike parking. South

1-2 BDRM APT 2 non-smoking, tidy professionals looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom apt in A’dam or Haarlem. We are happy to negotiate the length of lease and starting date. Rent to €900. Please email Julia at missjulesb@gmail.com.

1 BDRM APT Hi, I am an 32 y.o. man looking for a 1 bdrm aptinA’dam.Unfurnishedwould be appreciated. Max €750.

Pleasecontactme:0645140711.

SHARED HOUSING

OTHER SPACES WATERSIDE WORK SPACE Join the Allies, 8 freelance writers and media pros in a 2-storey studio on Nieuwendammerhaven marina, across the IJ just 10 mins from Central Station. The €300/mth rent includes desk, phone and internet connections, coffee and more. Call/mail Frank van Wijck: 06 2461 2396, frank@evatekst.nl.

PHOTO STUDIO For amateur and professional photographers. Can also be used as meeting or gathering space. 100m2, €150/day. Possible to rent photo equipment. High ceilings, good, natural light and located on WG Plein, adjacent to Overtoom. For appointment and more info contact D. Ingel: 06 2883 4224.

OFFICE ON THE SINGEL Space available in unique office on the Singel canal.

Small group of freelancers looking for 2 like-minded people to join. We offer a professional but relaxed atmosphere to work in amongst good company. €350/mth, includes desk, ph/fax, internet, insurance & use of facilities. sarah@ spheredesign.biz.

A’dam. We are looking for people to share office space with our film production company. 1 desk available. Shared kitchen. Building offers reception service, bike garage + cleaning. €250/mth ex BTW. info@godmotherfilms.com.

FOR SALE FURNITURE ETC. We are moving abroad and need to get rid of all the IKEA furniture bought just in Sep ‘07: bed, baby crib, sofa, tables, book shelves, closets, etc. Also a washingmachine,amicrowave owen and a fridge for sale. Have to be picked up in A’dam OudZuid. If interested email miljala@yahoo.com.

1936 RARE BOAT Albin kaminga enclosed bakdekker built in 1936 has everything original. Engine starts first time. Great investment. Must sell. Was €12,500. I now will take €7,500. Can be kept on central A’dam canal where it is. Call 06 1753 7063.

DESIGNER FURNITURE Must sell all due to moving. Italian sofa. BnO TV. Artmide and floss lamps. Cappeline things.

Beautifullpaintingsandpieces.

Kitchen things. Large table and chairs. Will sell all. Worth €35000 & will take €15000.

Or will sell pieces separately.

OFFICE SPACE SpiegelkCall David: 06 1753 7063. wartier/Weteringbuurt.

Shared office in character- AMERICAN FOODS!Get all istic building in the centre your favorite American foods of A’dam. Ground floor and/or mailed direct to your door! basement unit(s) available. Take advantage of the cheap Mezzanine occupied by dollar! Cereals, drinks, cangraphic designer. Kitchen, dy, baking goods and more. storage space, WC and spare www.eatusonline.com. room (library) to share. More WASHING MACHINE Ignis info on 06 2471 1401.

AWP 093 washing machine 3,5

FRIENDLY ENGLISHMAN FLAT WANTED! Hi, my name is Andy, and I’m looking for a flatshare in A’dam for Feb and possibly March. I’m a 26 y.o. English teacher who likes frisbee, good music and conversation and can get on with pretty much anyone. Please contact me! Thanks! Andy: DESK/WORKSPACE FOR y.o. in good working order adredwood@gmail.com or RENT for rent within cre- and condition. Very reliable ative collective in heart of machine which we must sell 06 2414 6144.

Amsterdam Weekly

24-30 January 2008 due to relocation. We are living in A’dam West. €100 or nearest offer. Please phone 06 1433 4695 or d_morison@hotmail.com.

SERVICES DOG STYLISTDoes your dog need a professional groom?

Breed standard styling, bespoke tailoring, free dental sticks, holistic shampoos, leave in coat conditioners, city paw massage, nail clipping and lots of love are all part of the service at Rita’s Place. Call 420 5171 Tues-Sat 10.00-18.00.

ENGLISH MAN WITH VAN 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.

BUDGETTAXIfor tailor-made private day tours and other long distance taxi services with reservation (>50 kms; in NL or to/from abroad). Spacious, no-nonsense taxi (airco/GPS) for 1-4 passengers and lots of luggage. Dutch driver speaks English, German some French.

Tel 613 8048 or check www.dagtoertaxi.nl.

MANICURE&PEDICURE Do you like to carry yourself well? Get a mani or pedi? Call us at 626 3942 or check www.partnersinhair.com.

QUALITY PHOTOGRAPHY Im specialized in architecture, portrait, music and fashion photography. www. andres photography.com. Contact me for more info at andresinbox@gmail.com UNHAPPY AT WORK?Feeling stuck in your career? Isn’t it time to discover what you really want in life? Lost purpose, passion or goal? Do yourself a favour and give your coach a call: 06 4998 8986 or 400 4778. Email marianne@soul-at-work.com.

Soul at Work, A’dam.

STUNNING WEBSITES Experienced designer builds professional, unique sites, starting at €300. www.offminor.com/stunning_design.h tm. Contact Jordan: jordangcz@yahoo.com, 06 3034 1238.

LOST IN TRANSLATION? I am a translator English>Dutch and Dutch>English. I can translate all your documentation. Subjects: legal, marketing communication, policy, literature, culture and art.

Speed, accuracy and quality of work are at the top of my list. Interested? Feel free to contact me on mobile number: 06 4322 9466.

teaching experience. Learn with the music that you like.

Email diegonicolasrl@hotmail.com.

DOCTOR SERVICE Cambridge Medicals doctor service offers consultations,visits, prescriptions and email consultations for expats and tourists. Our service is covered by most insurance companies. EU health cards accepted. Address: 30 Rapenburg @ 112 Bloemgracht.

Call 427 5011 or 06 2723 5380.

Email doctor@planet.nl.

NEED TO MOVE? Door-todoor moving for only €35. We have 3 vans available with experienced drivers + extra removers. Also the perfect solution for delivering your new bought furniture. Book mail@deirdrehogan.com. online on www.vrachtver- Remember you’re in charge. huizer.nl or call 06 1514 9164.

EXPATRIATECOUNSELGRAPHIC DESIGNER/AD INGoffers professional coachprovidesvisualstrategiesforpro- ing, xounseling and therapy moting your business or non- in English, Dutch, Spanish profit initiative. If your need to and Japanese. Longer hours, haveanexcitingcorporateiden- weekends and the best sertity, logo, flyers, ads, magazine, vice. For more information book or want to develop your please visit www.expatriateinternet presence, we will help counseling.com or call 06 2824 you make a difference. Con- 4088 or email info@expatritact 2flowdesign@gmail.com atecounseling.com. or call 06 5090 0923.

VISION 2008 Workshop 25 HEALTH & WELLNESS Jan 14.00-18.00. Focus on & set your intentions for 2008.

YOGA,SUN AND SAILING Choose the road that takes 17-24 June. Enjoy a fabulous you where you want to go in week of Yoga, Sun & Sailing 2008. Discover the power of in the Mediterranean. www. intention. Learn how to manyogacruise.net. ifest abundance and prosALCOHOL PROBLEMS? Do perity. Create a vision seed youfeeltrapped?Maybewecan map, maximize your future. help. jeroen@strompf.com. 06 4665 5247, www.inspiredACUPUNCTURE Certified soulcoach.nl.

Americanacupuncturisttreats MASSAGE bothmenandwomenforawide range of ailments at two loca- IL CIELO STUDIO We offer tionsinA’dam.Coverageoffered different treatments such as bymanyhealthinsurancecom- craniosacral, dorn breuss maspanies.Call0627399789,email sage, holistic, ayurvedic and info@ acupunctuurnoordhol- foot massage. The treatments land.nl or visit www.acupunc- are reimbursed by many health insurances. Info: tuurnoordholland.nl. www.ilcielo.org, Unmani, 06 NOT AN ABORIGINAL? Do 3004 9738. you live and work in your natural habitat? Do you know FOR HEALTHand vital force. where you belong and your Meiso Shiatsu massage. Is life’s purpose? Don’t risk your effective as a health mainwell-being. Be smart: focus on tenance system. By therapist your heart and give your coach Monika Stepak. €30/1 hr. 06 a call: 06 4998 8986 or 400 4778. 5099 8032. NO SEX. Email marianne@soul-at- IT'S A PLEASURE The best work.com. Soul at Work, A’dam. visiting massage in town. Call THERAPY/COACHINGReg- Scotty on 06 1753 7063. istred at www.ngvh.nl, HOME IMPROVEMENT www.nap.nl. Many (supplementary) health insurance PAINTER - DECORATOR policies will cover the costs Fully qualified painter, decof integrative psychotherapy. orator. Highgrade quality work. Guaranteed timeline.

(Dutch/English) www.corakoorn-praktijk.nl Call 06 1120 8026. Mail jacobdecorator@hotmail.com. or 06 1488 1350.

WALK TALL WALK PROUD Don’t let life get you down.

LearntheAlexanderTechnique and bounce right back up. Your first lesson is FREE so call 06 1613 0964 or send an email to

23

ratie.com or 06 1753 7063.

PAINTING Professional painting and plastering, 25 years experience. For estimates and advice please call 06 2324 5957.

CONTRACTOR/RENOVATER Get it done right the first time.

24hour evergency Plumbing & Electricalservices.Handyman, complete remodels, repairs of all sizes & more. Home or business. High standards & excellent quality. English & Dutch speaking. MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS NOW AVAILABLE!sitew/email:www.ssrhino.com,06 2510 6271.

WWW.STUCDESIGN.NET work of quality and esperiencia. Email info@stucdesign.net.

UPHOLSTERYFor re-upholstering of all kinds of furniture, modern and antique, boat and caravan cushions recovered or made to measure, also curtains made to measure, all styles catered for, wide selection of fabrics to choose from in all price classes. Contact Sophie Filangi 06 4154 7557/www.alabonnechaise.nl.

RENO-BOUW-RAJCZYKDo you need cost-effective and high-quality full house renovation? Professional, experienced and with excellent references. Online links to past projects. Call now and ask for appointment: 06 4451 7410 or 331 6550, www.reno-bouw.nl, karol-rajczyk@hotmail.com.

COMPUTERS

PC HOUSE DOCTOR Specialised in virus/spyware removal, h/w, s/w repair, data recovery, wireless, cable/ADSL installation and computer lessons from friendly and experienced Microsoft professional TRADESMANRegisteredand for reasonable price. Contact insured Plastering and deco- Mario 06 1644 8230. rating. Promt and clean. 25 COURSES yearsexperience.FriendlyScotsman.Freequotes.ContactDavid HOW TO INSPIRE Public at www.decorstukrestau- speaking workshop (7 Feb).

practices designed around your learning needs. Led by native, experienced EFL instructor. Inexpensive,inforBELLY DANCE COURSE mal, in centrum. Info: Weekly lessons on Thur in jehrlichnl@hotmail.com.

A’dam West from 19.00-20.00. IMPROVE YOUR DUTCH! Visit www.zerzura.info or tel A fresh Dutch start in 2008?

681 0072 for more info. This Private classes, small study timeless woman’s dance groups, conversation, intenhelps create a positive body sive, etc at LINK TAAL STUimage regardless of age or DIO, Vijzelgracht 53, professhape. Why not come along sional approach. Call Anja and find out?

06 4133 9323, linktaalstuDRAWING AND PAINTING dio@gmail.com. workshops by professional DUTCH COURSES New artist, various techniques, all evening courses starting in styles, from scratch to paint- Jan and Feb, centre of A’dam. ing with oils. Contact €200-250 for 20 hrs. Visit joneiselin@hetnet.nl. www.mercuurtaal.nl or call UPHOLSTERY WORKSHOP 693 4250. in Westerpark! Recover and/or DUTCH CONVERSATION repair your own furniture with Conversatieweek Nederlands. the professional advice of Kom een weekje Nederlands Sophie Filangi. Every Tues spreken bij GLOSSA. One and Thur 19.00-22.00 (by appt week intensive fluency will only). Including use of tools, make your Dutch boost. More excluding materials. €30 per information and other trainsession. Call for information ing options www.glossa.nl or on 06 4154 7557. call 06 1471 5372.

SHIATSUCOURSELearn how INTENSIVE DUTCH to give a simple but efficient COURSES at JOOST WEET treatment. Introduction to the HET!Classes 4 times per week basic principles of shiatsu by during 4 hours. Good teachMonika Forster at the ‘Zen ers, fun classes and energetic Shiatsu Opleiding.’ 10 Wednes- athmosphere. Small groups, days from 9.30 to 11.45. Start Personal approach with 6 Feb. Info: www.zenshiat- Emphasis on conversation. su.nl; monikaforster@dds.nl; 2,3,4 and 8 wks courses. Price: Tel 693 7808. €8/hr. Visit www.joostweethet.nl. Email info@joostLANGUAGES weethet.nl. Tel 420 8146.

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