Volume 5, Issue 7
14 - 20 FEBRUARY 2008 Love is all around (the world)
FREE
The travel issue
www.amsterdamweekly.nl
Your favourite holiday photos pages 4-9
damnwelookedgood.jpeg - Summer 2004 - England There we were. Two crazy kids in love. We had just shared some fish and chips from Bardsley's and this picture summed up our happy and carefree vibe. Even the couple we saw a few moments later publicly humping down on the beach did not break the spell. EXHIBITION: Not big fans of psychiatry p. 13 / FILM: Coen Brothers mangle genres into a new epic p. 18
Short List . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Music/Clubs . . . . . . . . . .14 Gay & Lesbian . . . . . . . .15 Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Dining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Classifieds/Comics . . . .21
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ATTACHMENTS In this issue and... Big thanks to the very many people who sent in their favourite vacation snaps. It’s a shame we could only print a small portion. Curiously, none of the pictures were of famous sights—apparently the smaller moments matter more. And while the selection was being made last Monday, an interesting study was released that revealed that Amsterdam is the world’s third most dangerous place to visit for relationships. Yes: Amster love damage—we’ve all been there. The British travel agent Teletext Holidays, who sponsored the study, blamed the Red Light District and coffeeshops as the main diverting cause for break-ups among visiting couples. At number one, the worst place is the seemingly unlikely Paris because it’s ‘grey’—people get lost (and therefore argue) and then they have to deal with rude service. Strangely, the study does not go on to explain why Marrakech is the number two worst spot. However, that’s neither here nor there. But maybe next time we should ask our readers to send in their favourite breakup pictures. Happy Valentine’s Day!
On the cover WITNESSING HOLIDAY LOVE Photo by Steve Korver
Next week Hot media and cold cases
Letters Got an opinion? We want to hear it. inbox@amsterdamweekly.nl
Amsterdam Weekly BV De Ruyterkade 106, 1011 AB Amsterdam Tel: 020 522 5200 Fax: 020 620 1666 www.amsterdamweekly.nl General info: info@amsterdamweekly.nl Agenda listings: agenda@amsterdamweekly.nl Advertising: sales@amsterdamweekly.nl Classifieds: classifieds@amsterdamweekly.nl PUBLISHER Todd Savage EDITOR Steve Korver ASSISTANT EDITOR Nina Siegal AGENDA EDITOR Steven McCarron FILM EDITOR Julie Phillips COPY EDITOR Mark Wedin EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Sarah Gehrke ART DIRECTOR Bas Morsch PRODUCTION MANAGER Karen Willey PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Mattijs Arts, Russell Joyce SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Carolina Salazar ACCOUNT MANAGERS Marc Devèze, Simone Klomp, Floortje Mennen OPERATIONS MANAGER Monique Gruter FINANCE ASSISTANT Simone Choi DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Patrick van der Klugt FINANCIAL ADVISER Kurt Schmidt (Veresis Consulting) PRINTER Corelio Printing Amsterdam Weekly is published every week on Wednesday and is available free at locations all over Amsterdam. Subscriptions are available for €60 per six months within the Netherlands and €90 per six months within Europe. Agenda submissions are welcome, at least two weeks in advance. New contributors are invited to visit Amsterdam Weekly’s website for contributor guidelines. Contents of Amsterdam Weekly (ISSN 1872-3268) are copyright 2008 Amsterdam Weekly BV. All rights reserved.
3 SETS OF POSTCARDS Submitted by René Nuijens
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DSC05277.JPG - September 2007 Scottish Highlands The Highlands have the most beautiful views I have seen in my life, with different colours and shapes and a special kind of light. There you can hear the voice of the wind and feel the strength of these wonderful and friendly people. (Ana Wolf)
Kledinghangers_jpeg - 2005/2006 - Thailand This hanger is smart. It has chosen a hangout with a wonderful view. (Anouk Kruithof)
Dsc00959.jpg - New Year’s Eve, 2007 Nairobi, Kenya We flew into Nairobi the night after the elections in Kenya. Blissfully unaware of this event, we expected to be woken up by traffic noise. But we slept late into the morning, finding a completely deserted city as we walked out of our hotel. (Frank Kok)
RIMG0370 - March 2007 - Gili Air, Indonesia Every time I feel I’m working too hard, I have a look at this picture. My then-girlfriend took it when we were at a place called ‘water island’. Why it is my favourite should not be too hard to understand. (Martin Draax)
Clockwise from top left Afterthepass.jpg - May 2007 Annapurna circuit, Nepal, This deserted mountain slope, after a horrible 5000m pass, is only crowded with us, and porters getting their ponies home. crete 10.07 037.jpg - October 2007 Preveli, Crete This beach can only be reached by way of an almost vertical, rocky path. It’s where the river meets the sea, and where in World War II resistance fighters were rescued by submarines with help from the monks at a nearby monastery. (Terri J. Kester) Kingscanyon.jpg - January 2008 Kings Canyon, Australia We started up the canyon in the dark so we could try to beat the heat, though at 5AM it was still above 30 degrees. But it was worth the early start though to see dawn break at the top of the canyon. (Marie Diamond) IMG_0443.jpg - January 2007 Thorsmork Nature Reserve, Iceland Check out the size of the buses which are crossing the river floor. (Jeanne Tan)
OUT OF TOWN LAST WEEK WE ASKED READERS TO SEND IN THEIR FAVOURITE HOLIDAY SNAPS. HERE ARE SOME OF THEM...
IMGP0544.JPG - 1 April 2004 - Mount Fuji, Japan For a week it was raining and storming like crazy so we gave up on our original plans and instead spent a whole night drinking with friends. However, when I got back to the hotel at five in the morning, the clouds cleared and suddenly Fuji was visible from my window on the 35th floor. So, still drunk, we grabbed a map and got on a train. When we arrived we convinced a cab driver to spend the day with us, drive around the mountain and make a ridiculous amount of stops for photo ops on the way. It was a weird and beautiful day. (Karl Grandin)
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Cow!.tif - February 2003 - Goa, India At roughly the same time every morning, this big, confident bull cow would come strolling past our ‘beach breakfast’ place. And would then get completely bullied by this gang of annoying dogs. He didn’t give a shit. I liked his nonchalance in this kind of spontaneous, yet repetitive ritual. (Clare McNally)
majoor.jpg - February 2008 - Durban, South Africa The cockroach took revenge however: ten minutes after having been swallowed, the gecko had to take a shit and gave birth to two living baby cockroaches. Eat or be eaten! (Bart Majoor)
FN_beach.tif - July 2006 - Sankt Peter-Ording, Germany A mile-long hike from the dunes to the shore, that for some felt like being stranded in the Sahara. (Felicia Nitzsche)
IMG_0363.jpg - September 2007 - Barcelona, Spain It was a perfect warm day and we had walked all over Barcelona. It was the first time our dog (who we rescued from the local Amsterdam shelter) had seen the ocean and he was mesmerized. (Leila Coe)
rafael_rio_sea.tif - 2007 - Rio, Brasil. This is one of those photos that you never thought would happen. (Rafael Rozendaal, photo by AnnaLouisa Peeters)
P1010285.jpg - October 2007 - Goa, India. I was chilling out on the beach behind this man who had already spent his daily two hours in meditative state when a cow joined him in his spiritual moment—only to loudly grunt him out of it a second after I took the picture. The next morning he meditated on the deck instead. (Susanne Schreve)
Texel.jpg - August 2006 - Texel This photo is as simple and peaceful, as the holiday itself was. The kids were endlessly fascinated by the little crabs and shrimps they were catching in the nets. And yes, we did put them all back. (Carolyn Ridsdale)
She does it.jpeg - Summer 2006 - Muziekgebouw aan het IJ It was an incredibly hot day and we wanted to dip our feet in the river but the terrace was just too high. Ultimately I got so frustrated, and the sun was driving me mad, so all of a sudden I decided to take the plunge in my vintage Versace dress. Turned out it was a bit transparent when I came out and the terrace behind us was packed with people. Another unforgettable holiday ;-) (Mo Veld)
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Puja 001.jpg - Bihar, India Everybody gathered down by the river where it is very wide and shallow to celebrate Hindu puja for Misra the sun god. First hop or slither down the muddy bank and wade in up to your knees until you can find a suitable sand bar and build a little mini shrine with the family, recite appropriate prayers (my thoughts were devoted to all the nasty waterborne beasts that want to make you their home). Despite all this, it was still party time. (Simon Fernando)
Oud en nieuw.jpg - Summer 2005 - Sigesuera, Romania People like to pose for pictures in Romania. I don’t know what this girl thought she was posing for, but together with her mother (?) in the background it made for quite a funny picture. (Kurt van Aert)
026.jpg - February 2007 - Bombo, Uganda My first visit to Africa last year took me into a remote village in Uganda. These two girls had never seen a white person and the look of sheer amazement on their faces is priceless. (Melody Rocca)
Medias Meisjes.jpg - July 2000 - Medias, Romania I found them waiting for a car that would take them to the wedding. (Rob Philip)
paloma_serge.jpg - October 2007- Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris After visiting Jean Seberg’s grave, and having to explain why America’s CIA and/or FBI killed her (‘someone so beautiful!’), Paloma is now standing in front of the grave of Serge Gainsbourg. She has listened to me explain who he was and why he’s important and why he has so many more flowers and relics on his grave—she finds it sad for those graves with no flowers and quickly snatches a few from Gainsbourg’s to lay on some lonelier graves. She was dancing to his ‘Aux Armes Et Caetera Dub’ on the Ipod and wearing Minnie Mouse ears in a light drizzle. We then proceeded to Baudelaire’s and Man Ray’s graves. (Bart Plantenga)
Simon Favourite Snapshotpsd.tif - November 2007 - Samoa I discovered this photo of my friend Rory through Flickr during a harsh winter evening in Amsterdam. He has been travelling through the South Pacific for about a year and it was great to see what he’s been up to. Seeing him on a paradise island, in his little hut playing a turquoise guitar, made me really wonder what I was doing in this cold, wet country. (Simon Wald-Lasowski)
IMG_1467-full.jpg Coz its funny. (Arie Reizinger)
Festival.jpg - July 2007 - near Leh, Ladakh, India Typical tourist integration on a festival in a monastery; the locals didn’t even have enough space to celebrate their festival; clicking cameras and bored tourists blocked the way. (Ananda van der Pluijm)
mamallapuram_beach240.jpg - February 2008 - Tamil Nadu, India A man selling fresh coconuts passes a group of women bathing in their saris at Mamallapuram Beach. (Suzanne Blanchard)
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7 little mermaid.jpg - 2006 - Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida This spot is an old-style family tourist attraction where live mermaids do two shows daily in season. (Ruth Jarvis)
Foto1.jpg - 2007 - Guadeloupe Paradise beach, very strong currents, reef is a no go... (Marc Deveze)
DSCF0099 - September 2007 - Northern Brazil Casual capoeira... one of the guys is the one doing the BBQ, the other one the caipirinhas and the little one looking is selling the fake CDs! (Carolina Salazar)
DSC01723.JPG - August 2007 - Samotraki, Greece This shows ancient times nowadays. People used to walk naked here. And they still do. Nothing has really changed. (Voin de Voin)
Gorges du Verdon I.jpg - Summer 1998 - France We were in a rental car in search of nothing less than paradise. We found it here but have since forgotten where it was. (Lard Buurman)
Veilig gevoel.jpg - 2006 - Egypt Since the 1997 tourist massacre by Islamists in Luxor, travelling in certain parts of Central Egypt in 2006 still involved armed guards. That said, these two uber-friendly little chaps with their antique popguns didn’t exactly look like they were able to protect me against a horde of religious fanatics with automatic weapons. Even more so because it was doubtful if they actually had any bullets. (Floris Dogterom)
people10.jpg - 2007 - Tuscany, Italy This is exactly what holiday fun is about. The moment was spontaneous and in the middle of the night. It’s actually freezing outside but there was nothing else to do. (Isabella Rozendaal)
Picture215b.jpg - April 2005 - Tucson, Arizona Posing as Jawas in the Sonoran desert is great fun and all. But it’s always worth remembering that a minute later there’s a good chance a Jumping Cholla Cactus is going to casually stick in the heel of your shoe, then jam into the next fleshy leg it brushes past. What a scream that was. (Steven McCarron, photo by Daniel Taylor)
Holiday-snap.jpg - 2006 - Sardinia, Italy Beach holidays can be tedious, which is why I always bring a large number of felt-tip pens. Often, however, I forget paper so I’m forced to draw on the next available flat surface. This is usually my son’s back. This image is a typical result. Of course, many people assume I’ve given a very young boy a very elaborate tattoo. Their horror and disgust helps cure my boredom. (Erik Kessels/KesselsKramer)
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Christmas.jpg - December 2005 - A small island in Thailand We stayed in a hut/shack, the temperature was 35 degrees, and we decorated our hut in Christmas-style—as a reference in paradise to reality. (Krista van der Niet)
travel07.jpg - 2007 - Tuscany, Italy We were walking by in our towels and I took a picture of the faint light, thinking the feeling of it would never translate to film. Lucky for me, it did. (Isabella Rozendaal)
Lamp2.jpg - August 2006 - Cote d’Azur, France See Table1.jpg on the facing page.
travel08.jpg - 2007 - Tuscany, Italy The chairs so casually arranged on the lawn reminds me of small groups of people, leisurely hanging about and having a chat. A very relaxing sight. (Isabella Rozendaal)
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Ural.jpg - 2004 -Yekaterinburg, Ural Mountains, Russia The building behind me says ‘Ural’ in Russian. I seem to look very ural too! (Johanna Ketola, photo by Guido van der Werve)
Table1.jpg - August 2006 - Cote d’Azur, France This was inside our rental Holiday Home. The cold glass table in the bedroom did not serve its purpose of letting you put stuff on it. But this was not a problem for the former tenants, because next to the romantic flower lamp (see Lamp2.jpg on the facing page) in the living room we found a bra, a tissue and a ripped condom wrapping stuffed behind a piece of wood. (Wyne Veen)
Tarifa_2001_VHauschke.jpg - 2001 Andalucia, Spain It’s me covered with my blanket just outside of Tarifa. The wind is strong enough to hold up the towel against my body. It is a very windy area and therefore full of kite surfers. At night you feel the hot Sahara wind blowing over from Morocco which is only about 15 km away. My lovely boyfriend Christian took the photo. (Verena Hauschke) Juul’s rug.jpg - Summer 1998 - France We were in a rental car in search of nothing less than paradise. (Lard Buurman)
for simon by constant in portugal.jpg - February 2007 - Portugal The memories of the party seem to be cooler then the party itself. (Constant Dullaart)
136 flip-flops_jpeg - 2005/2006 - Thailand We found 136 flip-flops on this beach, where we were supposed to search for turtles while uniting, or so the Lonely Planet told us. These are plastic tsunami leftovers. We arranged and organised them on this beautiful beach. And we left the place in quietness. (Anouk Kruithof & Jaap Scheeren)
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SHORT LIST
Benno Premsela—Show Yourself, Thursday, Stadsarchief Amsterdam
THURSDAY14 FEBRUARY Photography: MAGNUM Photos 60 Years Magnum is definitely a heavyweight. Over the last 60 years, the photo collective has consistently attracted the most talented photographers in the world and many of their pictures have become classics: the images become etched into our brains, part of our collective unconsciousness. Some are shocking, some breathtaking, some just plain entertaining. To commemorate its venerable history, Stedelijk Museum CS is showcasing the work of 83 photographers who have made Magnum the super-group of the photo world. There are of course greatest hits by Robert Capa and Henri Cartier Bresson, two of the famous founders, as well as work by more recent big guns including Martin Parr, Steve McCurry, Parke Trent and Carl De Keyzer. The exhibition is divided into two parts: history comes first—a timeline of Magnum’s activities over the years, complete with memorabilia—followed by an interactive exhibition of past and present Magnum photographers. (Iris Maher) Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.00-18.00), €9. Until 12 May.
FRIDAY15 FEBRUARY Design: Benno Premsela—Show Yourself Indeed the perfect title for the exhibition on the work and life of Benno Premsela (1922-1977). This Dutch designer wasn’t one to keep quiet and to stay in the shadows. Hell, no. As a young man during WW II he had to go in hiding and later in 1964, when he realised he was gay, he had no urge to hide again and so publicly came out on radio. In those days, this was a remarkable thing to do. But Benno Premsela was a remarkable man. Though he lost his hair when he was young, you just could feel his presence when he entered a room. He became widely known for his fabulous window dressings for De Bijenkorf, his carpets and his much copied cubic Lotek-lamp, made of steel wire and fleece. He co-founded the influential design company Premsela Vonk, which later became Eden design. He was also chairman of the gay rights group COC and was a member of many arts councils, which gained him the nickname ‘the pope of art’. On display in this exhibition are, among other things, designs and drawings. And, each day at 12.00, 14.00 and 16.00, Carrie de Swaan’s documentary Benno Premsela: Vormgever en voorvechter will be screened. For full details see www.stadarchief.nl (Willem de Blaauw) Stadsarchief Amsterdam (Daily), free. Until 27 April.
Photography: Serial Photography The casual snapping of photos is all fine and dandy but sometimes it’s good to have a focus. And this exhibition presents the work of three focused snappers—two of whom should be familiar to those familiar with Amsterdam’s Weekly’s page 3. Peter Cleutjens
(‘City Second’) uses a predefined number of exposures in a short period to tell a story playing out on the street. You could call him a street choreographer but since he has no effect on the unfolding tale, he is actually just documenting the crazy shit that happens around us all the time. Hans Eijkelboom (‘Photo Notes’) stakes out the shopping streets of the world and makes clandestine pictures of passer-bys and then sorts them by their common features—may it be their Che shirts or bum bags—which in turn reflect their individuality. (And yes, these are weird times to be an individual.) Meanwhile, Katrin Korfmann is more after texture as she uses the chaotic nature of human movement as the basis for her colour backdrops. In short: these three snap in search of a bigger picture. (Steve Korver) 2x2projects (Wed-Sat 13.00-18.00). Until 20 March.
Club: Klinch—030303 When they get towards the age of 30, people like to remember the old times. Those were the days when they were young and fresh, and everything was exciting. One good means for bringing those days back, at least for a short while, is, of course, music. Now for a certain part of the generation in question this means sitting at home digging out old Nirvana records. For another, more outgoing part, it means going clubbing. And this is why retro parties are so successful. But when you’ve had enough of making ironic dancefloor gestures to 2 Unlimited, you can also go to a good old-fashioned polderelektronica night for some reminiscing—if you grew up in Holland, that is. The organisers promise ‘oer-hollandse geluiden. Furthermore: ‘acidsmileys, glow sticks and yellow umbrellas’. Hopefully they only forgot to mention the neon-coloured ultra-flared trousers and the whistles, because those really should not be amiss. Live performances by Kettel (of Sending Orbs, Groningen) and Orgue Electronique vs Legowelt (of Clone, Den Haag). Behind the decks: the 030303 DJs and Gebroeders D’struct. (Sarah Gehrke) Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 22.00, €12 + membership, free for year members.
SATURDAY16 FEBRUARY Stage: Kanonnenvlees Ever since their first performance 3 brought to life three characters who happen to live exactly the same lives (they even blinked at the same time), the makers of theatre group Opium voor het Volk have created several high-quality shows that zoomed into different sets of repressed mass-emotions of an entire generation—-a generation that never learned to think critically and is now slowly waking up from a dream of extended puberty. Yes, our generation. One that is slowly starting to realise they are longing for something just beyond cognition. The actors in their last gig, Overwinteren, seemed to have walked out of a parties given by you personally. They were acquaintances taken from your own circles, cut free from your mutual background. Here they were repeating on stage, for all to hear, all those things they had said so discretely in private and personal sessions at drunken after parties. It had
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made you feel special then, but now you are realising that you actually were, and have always been, merely a product of your environment. Their latest production, Kanonnenvlees, presents two creative minds who have to combine high thoughts of their art with the more basic and earthly needs. If you think you are a creative individual or know one: please beware, since the play’s effect is as if they had done their research in your own head. In Dutch. (Martin Draax) NDSM-werf (Thur-Sat, Wed 20.30; Thur, Fri try-outs), €12.
Club: Boutique Chic Does Amsterdam Somewhere in Amsterdam, there must be a secret little basement club where people look very stylish and always drink Pernod and smoke Gitanes, and no, I’m not gonna say that thing with the frogs. In the corner of the dark and smoky room stands an old gramophone player. The only records played on it are those by husky French lady singers. Sometimes, the members of the club decide to come out of their basement and throw an excellent party. And now, the time has come again. The city’s top-notch francophiles Natasha, of radio station Oh La La, and Guuzbourg, mastermind behind the Filles Fragiles compilation and the Filles Sourires blog, have put together a smashing little programme again. They’ve even invited people that really are French, namely DJs Georges Deligny and Minimatic of the Parisian Boutique Chic. So, if you’re up for some French-style swinging and singing and drinking and kissing, this is definitely the place to be tonight. (Sarah Gehrke) De Nieuwe Anita, 20.00, €6.
World: Homayoun Shajarian & Dastan Ensemble This pairing suggests that the future of Persian classical music is in very good hands. Vocalist Homayoun Shajarian is the 32-year-old son of the legendary Iranian singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian, perhaps the greatest living exponent of Persian music. While one shouldn’t rule out a pinch of nepotism, Homayoun wasn’t invited to join the Masters of Persian Music group—-which also includes Hossein Alizadeh and Kayhan Kalhor—-due only to bloodlines; his propulsive presence on the tombak (hand drum) and the sublime way his crystalline voice shadows his father is astonishing. He performs with the Dastan Ensemble, a group that’s become something of the ultimate Persian house band, working with heavy-duty vocalists like Parissa, Shahram Nazeri, and Sima Bina. But the group’s multi-stylistic and technical mastery can stand on its own and it frequently does. The group, which includes Hamid Motebassem on tar and setar, Pejman Hadadi on percussion, Saeed Farajpouri on kamancheh, and Behnam Samani on percussion, has gained notice for establishing an instrumental side of the voice-oriented tradition. (Peter Margasak) KIT Tropentheater, 20.30, €30.
MONDAY18 FEBRUARY Symposium: Space, the final frontier Last week after a happy ride snuggled up like a Valentine’s Day lover on the space shuttle Atlantis, the European Space Agency’s space lab Columbus was successfully attached to the International Space Station—like a plug into a socket. Europe finally became a major cosmic player. And therefore it’s the perfect time to cast our minds towards a future of interplanetary travel. Where are those moon bases we’ve been promised? And, um, shouldn’t we be on Mars by now? Or at least, scaring the shit out of the Venusians? Hello!? What’s going on, please? I want my freaking hyperpod! But then again, just how fun is space travel if 0-G just makes you feely nauseous and pukey? Yes: many questions. And hopefully many of them will be addressed tonight at this symposium featuring science writer Maarten Keulemans, writer/biologist Jelle Reumer and many other artists and scientists as they ponder the use and uselessness of thinking vertical instead of just ho-hum horizontal. And just think of the amazing vacation snaps. (Steve Korver) De Balie, 20.30, free (but do reserve).
WEDNESDAY 20 FEBRUARY Rock: Sons and Daughters With their thick accents, it only takes one line of a Sons and Daughters track to firmly establish where they’re from: deepest, darkest Scotland. Okay, so Glasgow isn’t as big and scary these days as some would make it out to be, but a listen to any three of their albums to date would suggest a squalid world where you’re likely to be stabbed in the back before a bottle crashes over your head. (Come to think of it...) Anyway, Sons and Daughters are simply magnificent, and since 2003, when they emerged as a rather timid but promising support act for Throwing Muses, they’ve morphed into a gnarling beast of a rock band that’s both sexy and ready to bite your nose off. Former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler was roped in to produce their new disc This Gift, and while their riffs and danceable beats were tight before, this time round, they’re so taut they could snap in any song. Throw in their macabre howls, the feisty girl-boy vocals from Adele Bethel and Scott Paterson, and now an even healthier catalogue of melodic hooks, as seedy as they get, they make a cracking melodic racket. (Steven McCarron) Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 21.00, €9 + membership.
Send details and images for listing consideration at least two weeks in advance to agenda@amsterdamweekly.nl.
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A Scientology-sponsored exhibition sees a downside to psychiatry. (Meanwhile, a group sees a downside to Scientology.)
SCIENTOLOGISTS & ANTI-SCIENTOLOGISTS Exhibition Psychiatrie. Een industrie des doods BG, Post CS, 14-27 February, 09:30-21:00, free Not suitable for children under 12 By Floris Dogterom
It’s nine o’clock on a grey Monday in January and the equally grey apartment blocks around Buikslotermeerplein in Noord might make some people run to their family psychiatrist for a Prozac prescription. At least two of the apartment’s residents, however, would never do such a thing, because they believe psychiatry is a violation of human rights. Hanneke and Willem Teunisse, who are both Scientologists, are the local organisers of the Nederlands Comite voor de Rechten van de Mens (NCRM), the Dutch arm of the Citizens’ Commission on Human Rights, an international non-profit co-founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology. The international group, according to its website, ‘investigates and exposes psychiatric violations of human rights.’ And in keeping with its mission, the local NCRM has organised an exhibition in Amsterdam called, Psychiatrie: Een industrie des doods [‘Psychiatry: An industry of death’], which opens this Thursday. While this Scientology-sponsored exhibition to show the downside of psychiatry was being prepared for the rental exhibition space at the BG, just underneath the Stedelijk Museum, a group of protesters were gathering in the centre to expose the downside of Scientology. On Sunday 10 February, an action group named Anonymous held a protest against Scientology in front of the Church’s information centre on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. Anonymous, which, organisers say, chose its name because the Church of Scientology is known to sue its critics, took anonymity quite seriously. The four or five dozen demonstrators were all wearing masks or sunglasses or covering their faces with scarves. But their message was bold-faced. They handed out flyers to passers-by and held signs reading things such as, ‘Scientology: cult of greed and power.’ The Scientologists inside didn’t want to talk to the press, but they passed a press release outside by way of the security guard. ‘Anonymous is perpetrating reli-
gious hate crimes against the Church of Scientology,’ it read, ‘for no reason other than religious bigotry.’ The late American Ron L Hubbard, a one-time science-fiction writer, developed Scientology teachings in 1952, and characterised his new theology as an ‘applied religious philosophy.’ The Church of Scientology is active in 163 countries, but has been highly controversial since its inception. Several countries, including France and England, have not recognised Scientology as a religion. Germany categorises Scientology as a business, rather than a religious organisation and has tried to ban the church altogether. Hanneke Teunisse, 46, the spokeswoman for NCRM, stressed that not all 25 members of her group belong to the Church of Scientology, but are united by their anti-psychiatry attitudes. Seated beneath a portrait of Scientology founder Hubbard, she described the exhibition that will run for two weeks in Amsterdam. It will consist, she said, of panels with text and photographs, which are based on 14 short videos. One panel, labelled, ‘Behind eugenics and the holocaust’, has a big picture of Adolf Hitler, next to text that says that, long before Hitler seized power, psychologists and psychiatrists had already developed the idea of killing ‘deficient’ people. Another panel, ‘Using politics to destroy lives’ has disturbing pictures of emaciated and terrified people, apparently taken in Russian and Chinese psychiatric institutions. ‘We aim at giving an overview of the history of psychiatry, and how that history affects present psychiatric treatment,’ said Henneke. In her opinion, diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a handbook for mental health professionals that lists different categories of mental disorders and the criteria for diagnosing them, are ‘not scientific’. The manual is used worldwide by clinicians and researchers as well as insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and policy makers. ‘Every human emotion is listed in it, meaning that everybody can be diagnosed with a mental disease,’ said Teunisse. ‘Psychiatrists claim that depression is an illness in the brain,
A detail of one of the exhibition panels.
a chemical imbalance. They prescribe drugs to restore the balance. Behind it, however, is a marketing strategy of the pharmaceutical industry that is making big profits with medicines like Prozac. It’s a money thing.’ The NCRM advises people who suffer from depression to see a good physician, instead. ‘Many times there are physical causes for something psychiatrists call a mental disorder,’ she said. ‘A well-known one is vitamin deficiency. But there are much more: food allergies, neglected infections, heavy metal poisoning, and so on.’ In a reaction, Heidi Nijboer, deputy director of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychiatrie [‘Dutch Psychiatry Association’], says ‘the Association hasn’t seen the exhibition [so far] and leaves it at the comment the Association’s president Rob van den Bosch made earlier in Het Parool of 11 February.’ Van den Bosch was quoted as saying, ‘Scientology has been fulminating against psychiatry for years, but I can’t take it seriously whatsoever.’ Van den Bosch also stresses he hasn’t seen the exhibition. Julia Rijnvis, spokesperson of the Church of Scientology in Amsterdam, says that ‘every statement that is made at this exhibition is well-founded and documented. By saying that he doesn’t take the exhibition seriously, Van den Bosch is trying to ridicule those facts. It is about time [psychiatry] is being held responsible.’ An anonymous spokesperson for Anonymous—which, according to the group, has thousands of members worldwide—says that psychiatry is helping more people than Scientology ever can. He added that Anonymous has nothing against the Church of Scientology as a religion, only the institution that according to him, ‘brainwashes people, exploits them and cuts them off from their families.’ Why the masks? Karin Spaink, a writer and columnist who has published many articles that are critical of Scientology, was one of the few protestors not wearing a mask. She has been sued four times by the Church of Scientology, accused of violating copyright laws, and she has won all four cases. Spaink said, ‘Scientology is known for harassing its opponents. I have been followed around, my garbage has been searched and they threatened to distribute pictures of my so-called sado-masochist practices.’ Julia Rijnvis of the Church of Scientology says in a reaction that ‘Miss Spaink is saying all kinds of things about us, but she has never wanted to talk with us. My agenda is really full. I’m too busy to go into this.’
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Amsterdam Weekly
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Saturday 16 February Rock: Clash of the Cover Bands Usually more about the absurdity of the band names than the quality of music, the two batches of semi-finals today are already something of a disappointment. Funky Monks, Eager Beaver and Big Shampoo & The Hairstylers is about as exciting as it gets in 2008. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 13.00, 19.00, €17.50 + membership Classical: Nederlands Kamerorkest Works by Lully, Ravel and Andriessen, with contributions from pianist Alexandre Tharaud, flautist Hanspeter Spannring and harpist Alexandre Bonnet. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €33
More listings at www.amsterdamweekly.nl. Send listing suggestions at least two weeks in advance to agenda@amsterdamweekly.nl.
Thursday 14 February Heavy: Megadeth Some of us have been sweating bullets, waiting an age for a romantic heavy metal concert to roll into Amsterdam, and finally one is here. Ol’ thrasher Dave Mustaine may shed bandmates like Albert Heijn shelf stackers, but the Megadeth circus is now into its 25th year and refusing to give up the ghost. Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 19.00, sold out Classical: Valentine’s Concert 2008 A special event aimed more at singles than those sappy loveydovey couples who get all the love this time of year. With a male/female 50/50 ticket split in place, the ladies have been quicker to sign up in their quest for romance, so at this point only tickets for men are available. These include dinner and two drinks, and a performance by Trio Fernando Lameirinhas and flautist Emily Beynon. And if you get lucky, what’ve you got to complain about? Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 19.00, €55 Rock: Voicst Pop rockin’ beats from this ambitious local trio, who’ve scoured the nation in the weeks since the release of new album A Tale of Two Devils. They’ve played so many shows lately that other musicians are having to drive to Germany to pick up new guitar strings. P60, Amstelveen, 20.00, €10 Pop/Rock: 301Love! With Mark Wilson (UK) and Kiss Me Kill Me. OT301, 20.30, €5/€7.50 Contemporary: Nederlands Kamerkoor 20th century vocal works by Xenakis, De Leeuw and Caplet. Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €20 Pop/Rock: American Music Club Sublime and subtle rock from Mark Eitzel, famed for his dark melodies and strong lyricism. Formed in the mid-’80s, they’ve just put out their ninth album, titled The Golden Age. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 21.00, €12.50 + membership Rock: Bloody Valentine The darkest rock ’n’ roll Valentine party on the block, with Charlie Monroes Dynamo and Dread Giveaway. Paradiso, Kelder, 21.00, €7.50 Pop/Rock: Fools Gold Sets from The Looks and Rob Klerkx. Winston Kingdom, 21.00, €5 World: Mdungu & Beyond Afro grooves guitarist Anton Goudsmit. Club Meander, 21.00, €10
Pop/Rock: Club 3voor12 Live radio and TV session featuring sets from Milow, Gram and Woody & Paul. Desmet Studios, 22.00, free, tickets: www.3voor12.nl Rock: Off the Record Raw blues punk from The Sixtyniners, with support from The Monroes. Comedy Theater, 22.30, €7.50 Electro rock: Noodlanding! Electro Special With live sets from Datarock and the Polysics (Japan). Paradiso, 23.00, €10
Contemporary: Pelotonic Orchestra Performing Bernard Herrmann’s score for the 1975 De Niro film Taxi Driver. Badcuyp, Noordpool, 15.30, €7 Contemporary: Olafur Arnalds Classical arrangements, instrumental electronic experiments and Icelandic melancholy. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 16.30, €7 + membership Rock: Duman Modern Turkish rock meets Anatolian traditions. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 20.00, €25 + membership Jazz: Harmen Fraanje Jazzy piano wonder, backed by guitarist Anton Goudsmit, sax player Jasper Blom and bassist Frans van der Hoeven. Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 20.15, €26 Classical: Nederlands Kamerorkest (See Saturday) Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €33 Punk: Mad Caddies Poppy ska punk from California. Support from Wil Ridge. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 20.30, €14 + membership
Friday 15 February
Contemporary: Nederlands Blazers Ensemble (See Friday) Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €22
Pop/Rock: The Young Ones—New Dutch Rock Launching a CD showcasing unsigned Dutch bands. Playing live tonight are King Jack, INFA, SAT2D, Sheriff of Hong Kong, MakeBelieve and Two Way Radio. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 19.00, €7.50 + membership
World: Dhafer Youssef Group A virtuoso oud player, Tunisian Youssef has become one of the biggest draws of the Arabian music scene. Blending esoteric Sufi traditions with an urban Western sound through the use of elements from jazz and electronica, his music is a true combination of East and West at a time when most focus on the divisions. Bimhuis, 21.00, €18
Heavy: Volbeat Melodic darkwave metal from Denmark, with a touch of classic rock ’n’ roll and rockabilly, and even some country squeezed in. Melkweg, The Max, 19.30, €13 + membership Hiphop/R&B: Prikkels Urban showcase with guests like Dio, Jiggy Djé, Nobody beats the drum, Dredda Youthz and more. Studio 80, 20.00, €10 Classical: Rolando Saad An evening of fiery Spanish guitar rhythms and Andalusian sounds, complete with backing by The Great Symphony Orchestra. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €44.50 Classical: Susan Graham A diverse programme from the acclaimed American mezzo-soprano. Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 20.15, €38.50 Contemporary: Nederlands Blazers Ensemble A programmed based around Louis Andriessen’s monumental piece The State. Also featuring Mayke Nas’ Niets Nieuws and Wilbert Bulsink’s 1,2,3. Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €22 World: Maak’s Spirit A strikingly varied spectrum of acoustic sounds, short themes, unexpected shifts in tempo, open forms and plenty of space for improvisation characterise the music of this Belgian-French collective. When mixes jazz, hiphop, rock and spoken word. Bimhuis, 21.00, €14
Classical: De Nederlandse Bachvereniging Experimenting with an early version of Bach’s Johannes Passion. Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €30
Wednesday 20 February
Singer-songwriter: Fink Acoustic pop from Brightonbased musician Fin Greenall. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 15.00, sold out
Soul: Tribute to Stevie Wonder The question is, will he ever see it? Badcuyp, Noordpool, 21.30, €6
Tuesday 19 February
World: Homayoun Shajarian & Dastan Ensemble Spectacular Persian vocalist. See Short List. KIT Tropentheater, 20.30, €30
Sunday 17 February
MUSIC
Experimental: DNK-Amsterdam Weekly concert series for new live electronic and acoustic music. This edition features Derek Holzer and Sara Kolster and their Tonewheels, plus BNW, who’ll be making music with amplified mechanical objects. OT301, 21.30, €5
Electro rock: Thieves Like Us Daft Punk dance beats with non robotic vocals. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 22.00, €7 + membership
Jazz: Van Merwijk’s Music Machine Drummer Lucas van Merwijk, the driving force behind such formations as the Cubop City Big Band and Nueva Manteca, asked Bulgarian kaval player Theodosii Spassov to sit in on the latest edition of his Music Machine. Bimhuis, 21.00, €16
Jazz: Michael Moore Quintet The AmericanDutch alto saxophonist/clarinettist, renowned for his rich musical fantasy and gorgeous tone formed this group, which includes trumpet player Eric Vloeimans, a few years back. Tonight, the core of the set will fall from recent release Osiris. Bimhuis, 21.00, €14
Pop/Rock: PopGrond They’re breaking all the rules this time, as while post rock outfit De Portables keep up the hard Flemish work, the imperial abstract electronica of Machinefabriek is very much grown in Holland. De Brakke Grond, 20.30, €5
Punk: Beatsteaks German punks off the Epitaph roster who deal out modern hardcore anthems. Support from The Quotes. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 20.30, €11 + membership
Pop/Rock: Palomine Being labelled the Belgian Counting Crows is no fun on any level. Still, we’ll cut this harmless melodic bunch some slack having named themselves after Bettie Serveert’s acclaimed debut album. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 20.30, €7.50 + membership
Beatsteaks, see Saturday
14-20 February 2008
Rock: Psychonaut Promotions presents Electro, darkwave and industrial tunes from Deviant and Novus. A black-hearted Living In Oblivion party follows. Winston Kingdom, 21.00, €5
Monday 18 February Rock: Babyshambles Pete Doherty’s guitar totin’ tabloid drug circus. Originally scheduled for 18 January. Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 20.00, sold out Pop/Rock: Girls In Hawaii Moody Belgian indie pop. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 20.00, €10 + membership Classical: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Viennese splendour in this celebration of Mozart —Beethoven is a backdoor invader, too. In the excitement, conductor Robert Levin will even take it upon himself to play some fortepiano. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €41.50
Classical: Lunch Concert With the Python Saxofoonkwartet. Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 12.30, free Classical: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Bernard Haitink conducts for renditions of Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ Eighth, and the First Act of Wagner’s Die Walküre. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €55 Contemporary: Gianmaria Testa Italian guitar maestro and band. Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €25 Hiphop: Army of the Pharaohs An East Coast underground rap supergroup. Formed by Jedi Mind Tricks’ Vinnie Paz, the core of the outfit is a noisy selection of MCs, producers and DJs. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 21.00, €15 + membership Pop/Rock: Berry Zegt Five acoustic pop sets. Entry includes the new EP from Ken Sent Me_. Winston Kingdom, 21.00, €5 Jazz: Parker/Barret/Vatcher British saxophonist Evan Parker is one of the giants of the European improv scene and famous for his circular breathing technique. Richard Barrett brings electronic experimentalism to this jazz table. And they’re joined by local drummer Michael Vatcher. Bimhuis, 21.00, €14 Rock: Sons and Daughters Pounding seedy Scottish rock ’n’ roll. See Short List. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 21.00, €9 + membership Reggae/Dancehall: The Madhouse Package A reggae and dancehall special with Baby Cham, Pinchers and The Dance Queen Spice. Melkweg, The Max, 21.00, €16 + membership
CLUBS Thursday 14 February Club Bangkok Valentine A weekly shot of indie-electropop for music junkies, this time served with pink Thai beads. Club 8, 22.00-03.00, €5 Franchise With Billy the Klit, Technick, Easy Ryan and Andy Sherman. Escape, 23.00-04.00, €10 Wild Valentijn of Ga Je Vreemd Jeff Mill Fuckedup electro romance from Jeff Milligan, Boris Werner, Frodo and other ludicrous guests. Sugar Factory, 23.00-05.00, €10
Friday 15 February DJBroadcast presents Rush Hour ‘Life is Live’ with LeLe, Comtron, Yuro & Trago, Aardvarck, plus DJs All Out K and San Proper. 11, 22.30-04.00, €12 Moskow Diskow Russian fantasy meets Dutch reality with Alec Smart, Goldfinger, Diskomachina, AlexetJeremy and your Eastern mafia host Näd Mika. Sugar Factory, 23.00-05.00, €12 Venerdi Working the Italian plastic of Massi DL and Daniel Sanchez. Flex Bar, 23.00-05.00, €10 Nighttime Superheroes With Laidback Luke, Rene Amesz, Roman Salzger (DE), Matik and many more. Paradiso, 23.59-05.00, €17.50 + membership
Big band: Groove Collectors Get your groove on to this fresh ensemble with a flamin’ nine-piece horn section complete with robust rhythm crew. Sugar Factory, 20.30, €5
Saturday 16 February
Contemporary: Insomnio New Dutch works. Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €20
Go!Crunc Dirty noise from Jeroenski, Denniz, DeepHeat and others. Hotel Arena, 22.00-04.00, €15
Club Rascal Indie disco pants swap marathon. Club 8, 22.00-04.00, €5
Amsterdam Weekly
14-20 February 2008 Live at the BBQ Hiphop and soul grooves from Danny de Funk, Lil’ Vic and DJ SP. Bitterzoet, 22.00-04.00, €7.50
don’t mean body size. Dresscode: naked or underwear. Free entrance for those who fit the category and pass the ultimate measure test. Cockring, 15.00-19.00, €8
Molotov Furious February techno and electo at the Westerunie. Guests include Joost van Bellen, Victor Coral, Freshest Kidz and more. Westergasterras, 22.0004.00, €17
FurBall Café Not hard to figure out what the most talked about topic of this edition will be: FurBall vs Bear Necessity. Woof! PRIK, 19.00-01.00, free
Radio Resistance XXX DIY electronics, breakbeats and techno. OT301, 22.00-late, €6 Hutspot Including a Labyrint party with Kraak & Smaak and guests; upstairs is the Arabian pop celebration LaZiz; and in between there’s the LaZiz Lounge for chilling. Paradiso, 23.00-05.00, €12.50 The Black Disco Bust Presenting a new legend from Manchester, promoting his new album Working Nights. Trus’Me keeps the true sense of disco music alive with his trippy sound and mind bending grooves. Also with Melon and San Proper. Sugar Factory, 23.00-05.00, €8 Stop Zinloos Geluid Stuffing ears with minimal, techno, funky, house sounds from Estroe, Industrialyzer, Naald&Draad, Zeekip Duo and others. Studio 80, 23.00-06.00, €10 Club KRANG! Pull an all-nighter with Julietta (Munich), Minz (live), Boris Werner, Hay-t, Flow and Ingy. Akhnaton, 23.00-10.00, €12 Trance Orient Express It’s time to take a trip. Ruigoord, 23.00-late, €10 Gemengd Zwemmen Two rooms of swimmingly diverse noise. In The Max, it’s an internationally flavoured ¿Que Pasa? special; in the Oude Zaal, there’s alternative dance, pop, rock and indie hits. Melkweg, 23.59-late, €9
Sunday 17 February WickedJazzSounds Jazz, hiphop, broken beats, nujazz, funk and Afro sounds, as classic vinyl collides with live musicians. Sugar Factory, 23.00-05.00, €9.50 Shape Featuring Frederik Abas, Santito and MC Yanto. Escape, 23.30-04.00, €15
Monday 18 February Cheeky Monday True skool jungle and drum & bass, featuring players from the local and international scenes. Winston Kingdom, 22.00-03.00, €6
GAY& LESBIAN Edited by Willem de Blaauw.
Thursday 14 February Happy hour: Love-Chocking Cocktails Valentine’s Day Cocktail Special. Have a ‘Love Chocking Butterscotch’ or one of the other cocktails for a mere €5 only. No excuse not to buy that guy—or girl—a ‘lovely’ drink. PRIK, 16.00-22.00, free
Friday 15 February Party: Women’s Night Weekly women’s night in this laid-back cafe, with either DJ Suna, Ortega, Roest or Voytec. Men are welcome, if accompanied by a female friend. Cafe Sappho, 21.00-01.00, free Party: Bear Necessity Oh dear. Or—in this case—oh bear. FurBall has a little hairy bastard brother, at FurBall’s old party location. Will the hairy mary’s and those in persute of the hirsute, flock en-masse to the competition? Let the bear-fight begin. More, 23.00-05.00, €12,50/€15
Saturday 16 February Party: KRANGzinnig Special edition of this gay-friendly/mixed party. Krang goes KRANGzinnig and you’ll be able to shake that butt till 10.00 in the morning to the sounds of DJs Julietta, Minz LIVE and Boris Werner. Akhnaton, 23.00-10.00, €7/€10
Sunday 17 February Sex club: Horsemen & Knights Popular Sunday afternoon sex party for big men and their admirers. And we
15
Party: Asian Disco Night East meets West at this friendly dance party. DJs RW and Eko spin the decks, plus performances and tasty Asian snacks (eh, that’s food!). Cockring, 20.00-23.59, €5
STAGE Opening Performance: My Funny Valentine What’s the recipe for a happy relationship? A whole lot of love, a generous portion of romance and a topping of laughter? Or spending all your money on 14 February? The pricey packages tonight include food, drinks, entertainment and other surprises, so don’t be too much of a cheapskate. See www.boomchicago.nl. Boom Chicago, (Thur 18.00, 22.00), €104-€145 (per couple) Dance: Güldestan Vibrant Turkish dance from the Istanbul State Ballet. Choreography by Beyhan Murphy. Meervaart, (Thur 20.15), €18 Music/Dance: A Fuego Lento Andrés Peña & Pilar Ogalla perform their fiery flamenco dance spectacle A Fuego Lento, accompanied by music group Cuadro Flamenco. KIT Tropentheater, (Thur 20.30), €20 Dance: Coppelia Het Nationale Ballet’s major new production this season. A contemporary reworking of the well-known 19th-century fairytale ballet about surface glamour, true love and the manipulation of life. Het Muziektheater, (Thur, Sat, Wed 20.15, Sat, Sun 14.00), €22.50-€52.50 Dance: Dansdubbel #7 Two productions performed and choreographed by Melvin Fraenk. Melkweg Theater, (Thur-Sat 20.30), €5 Theatre: Frankenstein! A comedic reworking of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, performed by d’Electrique and Hummelinck & Stuurman. In Dutch. Frascati, (Thur-Sat, Tues, Wed 20.30), €14 Comedy: The Dog Ate My Scenework Following on from EasyLaughs, these are the newest kids on the English language comedy block. CREA Muziekzaal, (Fri 23.59), €4 Theatre: The Looking Glass A zany look at one woman’s journey through a political presidential wonderland, by Donna DuCarme. In English. De Cameleon, (Fri, Sat 20.30), €10 Music/Dance: Tales of the Silk Road With a performance featuring 70 musicians, 100 dancers and taking place in an arena-sized theatre, Tales of the Silk Road is a mammoth dance spectacle compared to most theatrical shows that roll into town. A modern Chinese take on the Romeo and Juliet tale, powerful Eastern music and dance fuel this story of forbidden love. Heineken Music Hall, (Sat 15.30, 20.30), €42-€52 Dance: Multiple Jam Dance jam and battles for young dancers and choreographers of varying styles. Muiderpoorttheater, (Sat 19.30), €4 Theatre: Schemer Le Nu Perdu explore the region between dark and light, sleep and wakefulness, in a place where everything is still just possible. Their interactive multidisciplinary performances are limited to an audience of between six and nine people, but will be performed several times each day: weekdays from 17.00, Saturdays from 14.00 and Sundays from 15.00. Hetveem Theater, (Sat, Sun, Wed), €6 Music/Theatre: Giulio Cesare Händel’s 18th-century telling of love and hate, mourning and triumph in a clash between Roman and Egyptian power and culture. Performed by De Nederlandse Opera. Stadsschouwburg, (Sat, Tues, Wed 19.00, Sun 15.00), €15-€105 Theatre: Kanonnenvlees Opium Voor het Volk’s latest tale about art and happiness. In Dutch. See Short List. NDSM-werf, (Thur-Sat, Wed 20.30 -Thur, Fri try-outs), €12 Performance: Mightysociety5 A multimedia project filled with songs, dance, video and unusual soundscapes, making this more of a youthful installation than traditional theatrical performance. In Dutch. De Brakke Grond, (Tues, Wed 19.30), €12
Serial Photography, see Opening
ART More listings at www.amsterdamweekly.nl.
Opening MAGNUM Photos 60 years Since 1947, the MAGNUM photographic agency has been providing images of landmark events like the Russian army’s invasion of Prague in 1968 and the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in Beijing in 1989. This collection uses photographs, books and texts to illustrate the history of MAGNUM year by year, giving visitors the opportunity to view work by 83 photographers, such as Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Carl de Keyzer. See Short List. Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.00 -18.00), opens Thursday, until 12 May Van Binnenuit Freaky photos of Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, captured backstage by Marco Cisaria. Centrale Bibliotheek (Daily), opens Thursday, until 30 March Benno Premsela—Voorvechter van Homo-Emancipatie Books, magazines and photos highlighting the history of gay rights activist Premsela. Centrale Bibliotheek (Daily), opens Friday Serial Photography Three contemporary artists show recent work: Peter Cleutjens, Hans Eijkelboom and Katrin Korfmann. All three have a serial documentary approach to photography in the public space. See Short List. 2x2projects (Wed-Sat 13.00-18.00), opens Friday, until 20 March Show Yourself Diverse excerpts about Benno Premsela. See Short List. Stadsarchief Amsterdam (Tues-Sat 10.00 -17.00, Sun 11.00 -17.00), opens Friday, until 27 April John Everett Millais He was the foremost painter of the English Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and Britain’s most successful artist of the latter half of the 19th century. His jewel-like, highly detailed paintings exude a dreamy, serene atmosphere, and this exhibition comprises some 100 works, covering all aspects of Millais’ career. Van Gogh Museum (Mon-Thur, Sat, Sun 10.00 -18.00, Fri 10.00-22.00), opens Friday, until 18 May
Between the Light and the Dark Multidisciplinary exhibits from Chinese artists Wang Jianwei, Ni Haifeng and Tiong Ang dealing with the theme ‘Chineseness’. Canvas International Art (Thur-Sat 14.00 -18.00), Amstelveen, opens Saturday, until 22 March Country Invasion Jan Stammes presents a photographic journey from the countryside of Friesland to the heart of Amsterdam. De Drie Uiltjes (Sat, Sun 12.00 -17.00), opens Saturday, until 23 February Dwanggedachten A diverse melange of drawings from Helen Frik, Pietsjanke Fokkema, Jantien Jongsma, Stefan Kasper, Bas Louter, Rinke Nijburg and Emo Verkerk. Arti et Amicitiae (Tues-Sun 13.00-18.00), opens Saturday, until 16 March Lucian Freud The first ever Dutch retrospective of this extraordinary and unconventional German artist. Gemeentemuseum (Tues-Sun 11.00 -17.00), Den Haag, opens Saturday, until 8 June Standpoints A new long-running exhibition showcasing the museum’s collection of modern art in a new and refreshing context. Themes such as mass culture, politics, freedom and the elite form the starting point for an experimental look at the collection, freed from the traditional framework of art history. Centraal Museum (Tues-Thur, Sat, Sun 12.00 -17.00, Fri 12.00 -21.00), Utrecht, opens Saturday, until 2 June 2009 Sweet Colors Oil paintings by Wil Jansen and monochromes by Sybille Pattscheck. Galerie Roger Katwijk (Wed-Sat 12.00 -18.00), opens Saturday, until 15 March It Ain’t Necessarily So A synthesis of Rogi Wieg’s poetry and Elizabeth Kleinveld’s photography, which together tell the story of the transformative effect of having to rebuild anew in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Dikker&Thijs Fenice Hotel (MonSat 17.00-23.00), opens Wednesday, until 20 April
Museums Vertigo Daan Brinkmann’s latest sound installation, which investigates the spatial experience of sound. Surrounded by a circle of 32 loudspeakers, the visitor is challenged to explore the boundaries of their auditive perception. Montevideo/Time Based Arts (Tues-Sat 13.00-18.00), closing Friday
Amsterdam Weekly
16 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 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. 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 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. Mediamatic (Wed-Sun 16.0020.00), until 16 March Katsutoshi Yuasa Monumental woodcuts based on the Japanese artist’s own photographs. CoBrA Museum (Tues-Sun 11.00-17.00), until 30 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. Foam (SatWed 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 The Splendor of Anatolia: The Unknown Turkey Displaying the various aspects of the slowly disappearing nomadic life in Anatolia through their various wares, including rare kelims (hand woven rugs), fully furnished nomadic tents, and traditional camel harnesses. Kunsthal (Tues-Sat 10.00-17.00, Sun 11.00-17.00), Rotterdam, until 1 May Allora & Calzadilla—Never Mind That Noise You Heard An opportunity to see and hear recent installations and videos that consider the continuum between noise and music as a productive measure and potentially rich tool through which cultural, social and political relationships can be gauged and challenged. Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.00-18.00), until 4 May
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. Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.00-18.00), until 1 June Karel Appel—Jazz 1958-1962 One of the nation’s most famous post-war artists, this collection comprises some 23 large-scale works—20 paintings from the early ’60s and the rest from a series of canvases made at Groeneveld Castle in 1961, during the shooting of the Jan Vrijman documentary De werkelijkheid van Karel Appel. CoBrA Museum (Tues-Sun 11.00-17.00), until 1 June
Galleries Marielle van Uitert: De Krakersbeweging Breda Photos and texts. IISG (Mon-Fri 09.00-17.00), closing Friday Thomas Struth: Family Portraits Literally family portraits by acclaimed German photographer Struth. Galerie Paul Andriesse (Tues-Fri 11.00-18.00, Sat 14.0018.00), closing Saturday Exploring ’08 Looking forward into 2008 with diverse paintings by gallery favourites Arjan Brentjes, Aquil Copier and Anneke Wilbrink. AYAC’S (Fri, Sat 13.0017.30), closing Saturday 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), 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 13.00-18.00), closing Saturday 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), closing Sunday 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), closing Sunday 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 Ramallah Underground Part of the Palestine: the Art of Survival series, musical group Ramallah Underground culled together various Palestinian artists whose work attempts personal expression while living in a violent, occupied land. ABC Treehouse (Thur-Sun 13.00-18.00), until 24 February Palestine: The History of Art Showing works from Palestinian artists such as Mahmoud Darwish, Michel Khleifi and Mona Hatoum. De Levante (Wed-Sun 13.0017.30), until 24 February Nieuw in De Bijlmer Brigette Mulders spent the last year in De Bijlmer profiling newcomers. CBK Zuidoost Tues, Wed, Fri 11.00-17.00; Thur 11.00-21.00, Sat 10.00-17.00, until 28 February
David Powell A solo installation featuring wee paintings the Irishman made between 2004 and 2007. Van Zijll Langhout (Mon-Fri 11.00-17.00), until 30 March The Day I Got Lost French artist Mijn Schatje, AKA Marie Blanco Hendrickx, creates bizarre and beautiful landscapes labeled as digital pop surrealism. But you might just call them dreamy and delicious. KochxBos Gallery (Wed-Sat 13.00-18.00), until 3 October 2009
EVENTS Event: Use Your Voices! It’s World Sound Healing Day, so everyone’s invited to join in a circle and make some healing noise today. Dam Square, (Thur 12.00-14.00), free Dining/Music: Taste of Desire Restaurants rarely make it into these pages, primarily because our Undercover Glutton likes to keep special treats a trade secret until he’s had a fair crack at the whip. But we’ll make an exception for one week, seeing as this place is getting all indulgent with glorious chocolate. Enough so to even help you tolerate the restaurant jazz. Restaurant As, (Thur 19.00), €69.95 Debate: PAS OP! Kunst in de Buurt Debating the role of cultural initiatives and creativity in the city’s structuring process. In Dutch. Voormalig Volkskrantgebouw, (Thur 20.00), free Discussion: Eutopia The ‘Holland Loves Muslims Petition’, putting a positive spin on Islam in the Netherlands. De Balie, (Thur 20.00) Party: Valentine’s Day Break out the Bon Jovi and pink fluffy hearts, Hard Rock Cafe is getting soppy. A rose and chocolates for all couples. Hard Rock Cafe, (Thur), free Art/Music/Performance: GenkiCrab A monthly evening and night in De Peper restaurant, offering an interesting mix of various arts: performances, exhibitions, live music, spoken word and DJs. Food and drink goes without saying. OT301, (Sat 19.00-03.00), free Dance: Shimmy Shake Ground shaking belly dance showcase. From tribal fusion to flamenco, salsa, street dance and Indian dance, any exciting combo with belly dancing is welcome so long as it’s an original choreography made by the dancer. The Shimmy Shake allows professional and amateur dance talents from 16 years to perform their act on stage in a challenging competition. Sugar Factory, (Sun 13.00-19.00), €10 Poetry: Cultuur Indische Buurt A sparkling afternoon with poetry for and by the Indische Buurt. With Tsead Bruinja, fellow neighbourhood poets and live music. In Dutch. Studio K, (Sun 14.00), €4 Walk: Bos Walk Yes, an actual walk in the park, led by Bos know-it-all Olav Martens. Amsterdamse Bos Bezoekerscentrum, (Sun 14.00), free Discussion: Women Inc Weekly talk show highlighting specific female issues. This edition is the New Girls Networks. In Dutch. Pakhuis de Zwijger, (Mon 20.00), free Lecture/Debate: Lloyd Time on Mondays Philippa Collin presents ‘Hybrid City’. Lloyd Hotel, (Mon 21.00), free
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 12.00-17.00), until 1 March
Discussion: The Ground War The latest in the series ‘The Next President of the United States…’. Here the panel examines the role of the media and the use of the internet for a presidential campaign. International School for Humanities and Social Sciences, UvA, (Tues 15.00), free, reservations required
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
Literature: Het scheppingsverhaal van Charlotte Mutsaers Talking with the author Mutsaers, whose new novel is Koetsier Herfst. In Dutch. De Balie, (Tues 20.00), €9
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 Mello Six fait le mur Comic drawing improv inspired by visitors and the passing public of De Baarsjes. De Stoker (Fri, Sat 11.00-17.00), until 1 March Echtenstein in Momentum Presenting diverse multidisciplinary works from six artists of the Zuidoost artistic breeding place Echtenstein. Imagine IC (Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat 11.00-17.00, Thur 11.00-21.00), until 1 March Mr Deeds goes to town Drawing its title from the 1936 Frank Capra film of the same name, a group exhibition around the concept of doodling in various mediums. W139 (Sun-Thur 11.00-20.00, Fri, Sat 11.00-22.00), until 2 March
Workshop: Designing Hybrid Wearables A three-day workshop looking at clothes and jewellery, and their potential as personal mobile platforms for social interaction. Wearables are about merging what you wear with (communication) technology. They can be thought of as one exponent of the increasingly intimate fusion of digital and physical space. Also on Thur 21 February. See www.mediamatic.net. Mediamatic, (Tues, Wed), various prices
ADDRESSES
11 Oosterdokskade 3-5, 625 5999 2x2projects Veemkade 350, 489 7471 ABC Treehouse Voetboogstraat 11, 423 0967 AdK Actuele Kunst Prinsengracht 534, 320 9242 Akhnaton Nieuwezijds Kolk 25, 624 3396 Allard Pierson Museum Oude Turfmarkt 127, 525 2556 Amsterdamse Bos Bezoekerscentrum Bosbaanweg 5 De Appel Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 10, 625 5651 ARCAM Prins Hendrikkade 600, 620 4878
14-20 February 2008 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 Bijbels Museum Herengracht 366-368, 624 2436 Bimhuis Piet Heinkade 3, 788 2150 Bitterzoet Spuistraat 2, 521 3001 Boom Chicago Leidseplein 12, 530 7300 De Brakke Grond Nes 45, 626 6866 Cafe Pakhuis Wilhelmina Veemkade 576, 419 3368 Cafe Sappho Vijzelstraat 103, 423 1509 De Cameleon 3e Kostverlorenkade 35, 489 4656 Canvas International Art Fokkerlaan 46, Amstelveen, 428 6040 CBK Zuidoost Bijlmerdreef 119, 691 1322 Centraal Museum Nicolaaskerkhof, Utrecht, 030 236 2362 Centrale Bibliotheek Oosterdokskade 143, 523 0900 Club 8 Admiraal de Ruyterweg 56B, 685 1703 Club Meander Voetboogstraat 3, 625 8430 CoBrA Museum Sandbergplein 1-3, Amstelveen, 547 5050 Cockring Warmoesstraat 96, 623 9604 Comedy Theater Nes 110 Concertgebouw Concertgebouwplein 2-6, 671 8345 Consortium Veemkade 570, 06 2611 8950 CREA Muziekzaal Turfdraagsterpad 17, 525 1400 Desmet Studios Plantage Middenlaan 4A, 521 7100 Dikker&Thijs Fenice Hotel Prinsengracht 444, 778 1947 De Drie Uiltjes Bloemstraat 152 English Reformed Church Begijnhof 48, 624 9665 Escape Rembrandtplein 11, 622 1111 Feel Gallery Frans Halsstraat 40 Flex Bar Pazzanistraat 1, 486 2123 Foam Keizersgracht 609, 551 6546 Frascati Nes 63, 626 6866 Galerie Ei Admiraal de Ruijterweg 154, 616 3961 Galerie Juliette Jongma Gerard Douplein 23, 463 6904 Galerie Knap Huidenstraat 21 Galerie Lambiek Kerkstraat 132, 626 7543 Galerie Paul Andriesse Withoedenveem 8, 623 6237 Galerie Roger Katwijk Lange Leidsedwarsstraat 198-200, 627 3808 Galerie Smits Fokke Simonszstraat 29, 06 43001833 Gemeentemuseum Stadhouderslaan 41, Den Haag, 070 338 1111 Hard Rock Cafe Max Euweplein 57-61, 523 7625 Heineken Music Hall ArenA Boulevard 590, 0900 300 1250 Hermitage Amsterdam Nieuwe Herengracht 14, 530 8751 Hetveem Theater Van Diemenstraat, 626 9291 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 Imagine IC Bijlmerplein 1006-1008, 489 4866 Jan van der Togt Museum Dorpsstraat 50, Amstelveen, 641 5754 KIT Tropentheater Mauritskade 63, 568 8711 KochxBos Gallery 1e Anjeliersdwarsstraat 3-5, 681 4567 De Kunstfabriek Polonceaukade 20 (Westergasfabriekterrein), 488 9430 Kunsthal Museumpark, Westzeedijk 341, Rotterdam, 010 440 0301 De Levante Hobbemastraat 28, 671 5485 Lloyd Hotel Oostelijke Handelskade 34, 419 1840 Lumen Travo Lijnbaansgracht 314, 627 0883 Maloe Melo Lijnbaansgracht 163, 420 4592 The Mansion Hobbemastraat 2, 616 6664 Het Marnix Marnixplein 1, 5246000 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 Montevideo/Time Based Arts Keizersgracht 264, 623 7101 More Rozengracht 133, 528 7459 Muiderpoorttheater 2e van Swindenstraat 26, 692 5421 Muziekgebouw Piet Heinkade 1, 788 2010 Het Muziektheater Amstel 3, 625 5455 NDSM-werf TT Neveritaweg 15, 330 5480 Nieuwe Kerk entrance on the Dam, 638 6909 OT301 Overtoom 301, 779 4913 P60 Stadsplein 100A, Amstelveen, 023 345 3445 Pakhuis de Zwijger Piet Heinkade 179-181, 788 4444 Paradiso Weteringschans 6-8, 626 4521 Paradiso, Kelder Weteringschans 6-8, 626 4521 The Powerzone Spaklerweg, 681 8866 PRIK Spuistraat 109, 06 4544 2321 Red Stamp Art Gallery Rusland 22, 420 8684 Restaurant As Prinses Irenestraat 19, 644 0100 Rijksmuseum Jan Luykenstraat 1, 674 7000 Ronmandos Prinsengracht 282, 320 7036 Ruigoord Ruigoord 15, 497 5702 SMART Project Space Arie Biemondstraat 107-113, 427 5953 Stadsarchief Amsterdam Vijzelstraat 32 Stadsschouwburg Leidseplein 26, 624 2311 Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam Rozenstraat 59, 422 0471 Stedelijk Museum CS Oosterdokskade 5, 573 2911 De Stoker Witte de Withstraat 124, 612 3293 Studio 80 Rembrandtplein 70, 521 8333 Studio K Timorplein 62, 692 0422 Sugar Factory Lijnbaansgracht 238, 627 0008 Torch Gallery Lauriergracht 94, 626 0284 Tropenmuseum Linnaeusstraat 2, 568 8200 Under the Grand Chapiteau Next to ArenA, 621 1288 UvA: Special Collections Library Oude Turfmarkt 129, 525 2141 Van Gogh Museum Paulus Potterstraat 7, 570 5200 Van Zijll Langhout Brouwersgracht 161, 06 2825 9620 Ververs Gallery Hazenstraat 54 Verzetsmuseum Plantage Kerklaan 61, 620 2535 Volta Houtmankade 334-336, 628 6429 Voormalig Volkskrantgebouw Wibautstraat 150 W139 Warmoesstraat 139, 622 9434 Westergasterras Klönneplein 3, 475 1412 Winston Kingdom Warmoesstraat 129, 623 1380 Witzenhausen Gallery 2 Elandsstraat 145, 644 9898 Yoshiko Matsumoto Gallery Weteringschans 37, 06 1437 0995 Zaal 100 De Wittenstraat 100, 688 0127 Zuiderkerk Zuiderkerkhof 72, 552 7987
14-20 February 2008
Amsterdam Weekly
Wild bore hiccup Burgers Patio 2e Tuindwarsstraat 12, 427 72612 Open daily 18.00-24.00 Cash, Pin, major credit cards When you stand in front of the renowned Burgers Patio, scanning the imaginative menu, you may find yourself breaking out into ecstatic salivation. Whoof! They should call it Pavlov’s Patio. I read of a starter of free-range pork spareribs in a mocha sauce, served with a kumquat salsa (€9.50), and of a smoked fish starter with halibut, mackerel and eel pumped up with a brioche and tomato chutney (also €9.50). Oh yes, come nightfall I was going to dine in style. I heard the restaurant had a wonderful painting collection gracing the walls, and, if the food was going to reflect the owner’s tastes, I was in for a treat. My good friend and talented animator Roelof van den Bergh, joined me. He’s a great cook and I was curious about his comments. And being as cheap as I am, I could also taste from his plate. We arrived early as the restaurant was filling up with people wearing posh understated clothing. I felt shabby, but consoled myself that a lot of them don’t know how to use a knife and fork properly. (Yes, my status anxiety was biting deep.) We quickly received our drinks and some home-baked rolls with a tasty lentil and sunblushed tomato tapanade. We stared into the menus. Lots of food for thought. A crispy freerange chicken breast with ‘hete bliksem’, a sort of mash with veggies stirred in. A Black Angus beefsteak with two types of cabbage and port-soaked prunes. While admiring the chef’s creativity, my
THE UNDERCOVER GLUTTON The fishy flavour was bland and needed seasoning. The prawn skewer tasted tepid on my tongue. So much for arty food... appetite grew into something powerful. I went for the clam chowder with skewered grilled prawns (€7.50) while Roelof opted for a starter of wild salmon on marinated seaweed and
an artistic edible garnish. But when both our eyes fell on the pata negro (black footed) wild boar with endive and some fancy fiery sauce (€19.50), we were trans-
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ported on a wave of gastronomic speculation. Would it be a slow cooked stew, aromatic with herbs, wine and garlic? My chowder arrived looking a bit too much like a designer soup. I eyed it with suspicion. What was this? The clams were pureed to glory to form a grey sea on a flat soup plate. The prawns were a small triangular wedge of fishy crustless quiche (representing a sail?) with a skewer lancing through it (a mast?). Then two bits of a reddish herb side by side. The fishy flavour was bland and needed seasoning. The prawn skewer tasted tepid on my tongue. So much for arty food... Meanwhile, Roelof`s starter however was both tasty and beautiful to behold with the wild salmon slice draped engagingly over some bright green marinated seaweed. Then our wild boar arrived. Three very thin salty pink slices were fanned out like a card shark’s winning hand, served on a meagre scattering of five wispy caramelised endive leaves. Some chilli sauce squiggled on the side. The homemade fries to share were accompanied by mayonnaise. I sat with my face wiggling around in a comic manner. Roelof was also surprised. Was this a main course? (My apology to the chef, but this sucked royale). I stared at the porky manifestation with suppressed fury. Pig, greens and potato for €19.50. I requested a taste of the kumquat salsa to balance out the overbearing saltiness. We ordered another bowl of patat friet to fill the empty space between our ribs. Our mood was deflated. Ah well, it was a plebs night out. It was a triumph of portion control, trend and economy. But then again, the restaurant is constantly full and has been successfully running for years. So will I return? Maybe... But please don’t let my boaring experience keep you from coming.
Amsterdam Weekly
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14-20 February 2008 Javier Bardem is very, very bad.
The Coen Brothers deliver a horror-western about a drug deal gone wrong, and the voilent manhunt to get the money back.
PEOPLE GET SHOT AND IT HURTS FILM No Country For Old Men Opens Thursday at The Movies, Pathé ArenA, Pathé de Munt and Pathé Tuschinski By Angela Dress
The Coen Brothers’ latest brings Cormac McCarthy’s novel No Country For Old Men to the big screen, and it’s a shock to the system, simultaneously elegiac and
terrifyingly violent. A subversion of the classic lawmen-chases-outlaw genre, the film (set in 1980) is shot like a cross between a Western and a horror film, with all the tension of a cops and robbers chase. Meanwhile, the soft yellows and browns of Roger Deakins’s cinematography imbue the Texas/Mexico landscape across which the action is played out with a profound menace. Despite a strong supporting cast,
which includes Woody Harrelson and Kelly Macdonald, the film is essentially a threeway. A man named Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) takes off with millions in cash he’s found at the site of a drug deal gone wrong somewhere along the Rio Grande. Tommy Lee Jones is the laconic Sheriff Bell, trying to catch up with Moss to bring him in and, in doing so, protect him from the dealers who want their cash back. Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is the Terminator hitman dispatched by the cartel to retrieve their drug money. So you have an Everyman, a Good Guy, and a Very, Very Bad Guy. Chigurh is a cipher, an incomprehensibly brutal, relentless killing machine with no conscience and no limitations. He comes out of nowhere, with an ambiguity to his racial origins; he could be Mexican, or maybe Native American. The local law enforcement officers express the view that this is a ‘new’ kind of violence, specifically related to the drug trade—a rose-tintedspectacles idea that all was OK until those
pesky Mexicans started selling drugs. This racial subtext is quietly refuted in a scene between Bell and a retired relative. ‘What you got ain’t new,’ says the retired lawman, framing Chigurh as the embodiment of some kind of atavistic impulse conjured up from the desert. His killing is indiscriminate, whether it be a drug lord or a random innocent on the road at the wrong time. Interestingly, the film gives us none of the usual male-bonding nonsense often seen in this lawman versus outlaw genre. With Pacino/De Niro in Heat or Tommy Lee Jones/Harrison Ford in The Fugitive, we were meant to believe in some kind of perverse affinity between the hunter and the hunted. Here, Chigurh, Bell and Moss are entirely alone, each in his own way, particularly Moss as the slaughter inevitably catches up with him. The horror genre connection is consolidated with the knowledge that Brolin also recently starred in Grindhouse, and No Country for Old Men does veer towards Tarantino territory with regard to bloody gun battles—but there is no trace here of the ostensibly hallmark cartoon violence of Reservoir Dogs. In this country, people get shot, they bleed and it hurts. The screenplay is faithful to the novel, right down to much of the dialogue. However, the tricksy deployment of voice-over, flashbacks and time shifts serves at times to disorient the viewer a little too well. God knows your moral compass is thrown off kilter by No Country for Old Men, so a relatively linear narrative template might have been a better choice, if only for the purpose of plot clarification, particulary considering that much takes place off-camera. But that’s a minor quibble about what’s essentially a stunning piece of cinema.
Five-Word Movie Review
FILM Edited by Julie Phillips.This week’s films reviewed by Massimo Benvegnù (MB),Sarah Gehrke (SG),Laura Groeneveld (LG),Andrea Gronvall (AG),Luuk van Huët (LvH),JR Jones (JJ),Joshua Katzman (JK),Dave Kehr (DK), Marie-Claire Melzer (MM),Robert Neugarten (RN),Mike Peek (MP),Julie Phillips (JP),Bart Plantenga (BP),Gusta Reijnders (GR),Jonathan Rosenbaum (JR),Marinus de Ruiter (MdR), Bregtje Schudel (BS) and Ted Shen (TS).All films are screened in English with Dutch subtitles unless otherwise noted. Amsterdam Weekly recommends.
New this week Alibi The name ‘Johan Nijenhuis’ (Costa!) doesn’t inspire much trust in movie-loving circles. But though his latest film might be low on substance, it’s as sweet and fluffy as the popcorn the girls will be eating while they giggle and check out the hunky knuffelallochtoon Achmed Akkabi. Georgina Verbaan still looks like the offspring of ET and one of the Olsen twins, and the film doesn’t add anything to the multicultural debate other than some interracial smooching, but the teenagers that will flock to this would otherwise just rent Dirty Dancing for the 30th time instead. In Dutch. (LvH) Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt Asterix en de Olympische Spelen If you’re wondering where your European tax money is being wasted, look no further than this clunky vessel for special effects and smug overacting. While the cast is certainly capable of stellar performances, you’ll more likely feel embarrassed that you’ve shelled out for this Eurotrash hodge-podge, with Gerard Depardieu in particular hitting a career low
LOVE GOD AND THE MENNONITES Stellet Licht Filmmuseum, Rialto
Stellet Licht
point. That the dynamic Gaulish duo are stuck playing second fiddle to an inane romantic subplot concerning Brutus, Caesar (Alain Delon) and fellow French villager Lovesix doesn’t help much either. Just like its real-life counterpart in Beijing, this bout of Olympic activities is best avoided. Dubbed into Dutch. (LvH) 110 min. The Movies, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski August Rush More mush than rush, this saccharine fable stars Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as an orphaned musical prodigy who’s convinced that the parents he never knew are still alive. He heads to New York, where his path mystically criss-crosses those of his classical cellist mom (Keri Russell) and Irish rocker dad (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), but their reunion is blocked at every turn by the Wizard (Robin Williams), a self-styled impresario who turns runaways into street musicians. Williams’s overacting, Russell’s pinched melancholy and Highmore’s unflagging chirpiness would be trying enough on their own, but the convoluted story makes this film by Kirsten Sheridan (Disco Pigs) an exercise in dissonance. (AG) 114 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt Jumper Remember Sliders? Well, here’s the next magic means of travel. In this semi-superhero flick by the talented yet inscrutable Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr and Mrs Smith), a group of twenty-somethings have the
ability to teleport at will. Now they just have to avoid the bad-ass secret agents who are after them. With the badass role being filled by Samuel L Jackson, and with Hayden Christensen and Jamie Bell as the jumpers, the casting is pretty solid, and the Colosseum, the Sphinx and Big Ben are colourful locations indeed. But it isn't enough for the film to rise above the mildly entertaining level. (LvH) 88 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé de Munt Mr Woodcock Seann William Scott stars as self-help author John Farley, who returns to his hometown, where he discovers to his horror that his widowed mom (Susan Sarandon) is planning to marry his old gym teacher, the bane of his grade school existence. There aren’t that many laugh-out-loud jokes in this comedy, yet Billy Bob Thornton’s portrayal of ass-kicking gym coach Mr. Woodcock is almost worth the price of admission. For a time it seems writers Michael Carnes and Josh Gilbert will deliver the goods on their premise, which is rife with comic possibilities. But under Craig Gillespie’s uninspired direction, the humor eventually settles into stale, familiar pratfalls. (JK) 87 min. Pathé ArenA
No Country for Old Men The Coen Brothers’ latest is
a shock to the system. See review, above. The Movies, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski
Stellet Licht The films of Mexican director Carlos Reygadas are an acquired taste. Not everyone will warm to his distinctive visual style, his use of an amateur cast and his uncompromising depiction of human nature. But if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, Reygadas certainly delivers. His third feature, Stellet Licht (‘Silent Light’), starts at dawn and ends at dusk; it’s a meditative and languid tale about a married farmer, in a small Mennonite enclave in northern Mexico, who falls for another woman and thinks it might be a sign from God. In Plautdietsch with Dutch subtitles. (BS) 127 min. Filmmuseum, Rialto The Water Horse Fantasy films, for kids and adults, are flooding the market lately. This one is set against the backdrop of WWII and tells the tale of Angus, a Scottish lad who adopts a kind of aquatic ET and names him Crusoe. As Crusoe grows at an amazing rate, he has to be brought to the nearby loch (hint, hint). Like most fantasy films, The Water Horse is a rite-of-passage story; thus Angus learns to confront loss and letting go. The tale is told in a predictable framing device, and film-savvy children will not find it hard to figure out the ending. But the special effects, from the team behind The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, are state-of-the-art. Based on the kids’ book by Dick King-Smith, of Babe fame; directed by Jay Russell. (GR) 113 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt
14-20 February 2008
Amsterdam Weekly
Alibi
Still playing 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
Mr Woodcock 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
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
Ben X Unlike Rain Man or Mozart and the Whale,
Charlie Wilson’s War Mike Nichols works his mojo on the supposedly true story of a swaggering Democratic Texan congressman (Tom Hanks), a born-again, boozing socialite (Julia Roberts) and a tough-as-nails spy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who supported the mujahedeen uprising against the mighty Russian army. This culminated in the Communist defeat, the end of the Cold War and, eventually, the rise of Al Qaida. The tone is just a bit breezier than it might have been in our historical hindsight, but Hanks and Roberts break out of their cookie-cutter stereotypes and deliver great portrayals, even managing to keep up with another boisterous performance by Hoffman. (LvH) 96 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski
this Flemish film doesn’t depict autism from the outside, as a spectacle to be viewed, but convincingly enters the mind of a boy suffering from the disorder. The film’s teenage protagonist, Ben, doesn’t have an extraordinary memory or a freakish talent; he just wants to be average. As a film, Ben X isn’t average at all. Infused with amateur video footage and computer game action sequences (shot in the role-playing game Archlord, it dazzlingly reflects Ben’s inner world. (MdR) 93 min. Cinema Amstelveen
Auf der anderen Seite Two coffins pass through the Istanbul airport; for the people left behind, life takes unexpected turns. Fatih Akin’s new film tells the story of six people in Germany and Turkey whose lives are connected by two deaths: the widower Ali and his son Nejat; a woman named Yeter, her daughter Ayten, who meets a girl called Lotte; and Lotte’s mother (Hanna Schygulla). After a sad film about love, Gegen die Wand, Akin has made an optimistic film about mortality, families and forgiveness. The film seems heavily edited—it’s clear the director had a lot more material—but the episodic character of the film saves it from appearing pieced-together. Akin’s screenplay won top honours at Cannes. In German with Dutch subtitles. (SG) 122 min. Pathé Tuschinski, Rialto
Bloedbroeders In 1961, the body of a 14-year-old
Away from Her “Not another Alzheimer movie!” you
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
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,
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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 Layale’s beauty salon in Beirut is a shab-
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
Eastern Promises Superficially, this latest endeav-
our 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 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. Cinema Amstelveen, Kriterion
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 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 In the Valley of Elah Paul Haggis critiques the Iraq War; Tommy Lee Jones delivers. 120 min. Kriterion, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt
Special screenings Advise and Consent Otto Preminger, with his fine legal eye, deftly sorts the issues in this intelligent, shapely 1962 film. He moves among a number of Washington stories—the nomination of a secretary of state (Henry Fonda), the blackmailing of a young senator (Don Murray), the vanquishing of a southern demagogue (Charles Laughton)—with impeccable grace, balancing the plot strands just as he balances his Panavision frames. (DK) 136 min. Filmmuseum
The Big Lebowski Probably the Coen brothers’
most enjoyable movie, glittering with imagination, cleverness and filmmaking skill. The story has something to do with Jeff Bridges being mistaken for a Pasadena millionaire, which ultimately involves him as an amateur sleuth in a kidnapping plot. A nice portrait of low-rent LA emerges from this unstable brew, as does a riotous dream sequence about bowling. (JR) 117 min. The Movies The Commitments Based on Roddy Doyle’s novel about a young white soul band in Dublin, Alan Parker’s 1991 film harks back in some ways to the youthful energies of his Fame, though happily without the melodrama. The interactions of the ten-member group—including three female backup singers and an older sax player who romances them in turn while serving as the group’s guru—and the numbers themselves form the main bill of fare. Lively and fun to watch. (JR) 116 min. Cavia
Gegen die Wand Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004, Gegen die Wand grittily portrays two Turkish-German characters eager to get away from their roots and their past. An abundance of drugs, violence and squalor makes this depressing and quite difficult to watch. It is, however, also quite difficult to shake off, thanks to the lived-in performances and director Fatih Akin’s humane approach. In German/Turkish with Dutch subtitles. (RN) 123 min. Rialto
Gespenster Françoise travels regularly to Berlin in the hope of finding her daughter, who was kidnapped there years ago. Meanwhile, a romance begins between the young Nina and a rebellious girl called Toni. When Françoise meets the two, she becomes convinced that Nina is her long-lost daughter. In German with English subtitles. 85 min. Goethe-Institut Amsterdam Life of Brian Monty Python’s 1979 parody of the New Testament, introduced by the columnist Max Pam. 93 min. Rialto Meantime Early film (1983) by Mike Leigh about feuding families in East London. Showing with Made in Britain (Alan Clarke, 1982). OT301
Nachtrit Cool film about a taxi driver who gets caught
up in the Amsterdam taxi war of 2000. Dennis (Frank Lammers) takes on a huge debt to finance his own taxi permit. Little does he know that a new law is about to come through that will make his permit absolutely worthless. With good acting, great dialogues and a convincing sex scene, the film makes perfect use of the darker side of the city. In Dutch. (LG) 104 min. Kriterion Nuit Noire Surrealist film (2005) from Belgian director Olivier Smolders. OT301 O Brother,Where Art Thou? In the Coen Brothers’ 2000 pastiche, three convicts go on the run in Depression-era Mississippi; on the way they encounter or embody elements of The Odyssey, The Wizard of Oz, Preston Sturges movies and a great gospel and blues soundtrack. George Clooney gives a Clark Gable-esque performance as Ulysses Everett McGill, trying to get back to his Penelope (Holly Hunter). The results are sillier than Fargo, but also less nasty. (JP) 106 min. The Movies
Oliver Twist Roman Polanski has said he wanted to make a movie his kids could see, and clearly his 2005 take on the Charles Dickens novel, with its childhood
feelings of panic and deprivation, is free of the postmodern irony most contemporary directors would have brought to the material. Working again with writer Ronald Harwood (The Pianist), Polanski honours the craft of classical storytelling and never flinches from the book’s melodramatic extremes. (JR) 130 min. Rialto Ordet Carl Dreyer’s great 1954 film is concerned with the moral and metaphysical shadings of love: Is it a thing of sex or of the spirit? A force of repression and control or a promise of infinite expansion? A farm wife dies; her brother-in-law, a failed preacher, promises to raise her from the dead. The film is extremely sensual in its spareness, a paradox always at the center of Dreyer’s work. (DK) 123 min. Filmmuseum Ploha Director Kostana Banovic travels with her two teenage children back to the city of her birth, Sarajevo, in this 2007 documentary. In Dutch with English subtitles. OT301 Romeo + Juliet Baz Luhrmann’s loud, flashy 1996 version of the play brought Shakespeare to the MTV generation, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as a teen-idol pair of star-crossed lovers. The screening is part of a Valentine’s Day ‘Nacht van de liefde’ (‘Night of Love’) party, with speed dating and music to follow. Reserve at valentijn@kriterion.nl. Kriterion
The Royal Tenenbaums Wes Anderson’s 2001 black comedy about a dysfunctional New York family. The movie’s affection for the hapless Tenenbaums, with their disarming mix of prodigal talents and crippling incapacities, is infectious, and the cast is wonderful. With Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson and Owen Wilson. (JR) 110 min. Kriterion This Is England In Meantime (1983), Mike Leigh explored what might produce a skinhead in London’s East End. Harking back to the same year on the north
coast of England, where he grew up, writer-director Shane Meadows builds on his own memories of what turned him into a skinhead, making his hero (Thomas Turgoose) a lonely outcast who’s recently lost his father in the Falklands war. The way this 12year-old on summer holiday falls under the protective influence of first a relatively gentle gang leader (Joe Gilgun), then an ex-con more prone to rapid mood swings and racial hatred (Stephen Graham), is masterfully charted and acted, as are the boy’s early forays into sex. This 2006 film falters only when it drifts too predictably into a coming-ofage moral fable. (JR) 102 min. De Roode Bioscoop La Tourneuse de pages A young, working-class girl with a talent for the piano sees her chance at further education ruined by the thoughtless arrogance of a well-known concert pianist. Ten years later, she goes to work for a lawyer who turns out to be the husband of the woman who changed her life. A taut thriller with a strong performance from Déborah François as the embittered Mélanie. In French with Dutch subtitles. 85 min. Pathé Tuschinski Visitor Q A prostitute goads her father into having sex with her for pay, and that’s only the first taboo shattered in this 2001 video feature from Takashi Miike (Audition), heralded for his gleefully perverse take on contemporary Japan. The meltdown of the nuclear family continues when the father (Kenichi Endo) returns home to find his school-age son beating his heroin-addicted wife, and a drifter invited to stay with them becomes both a catalyst for and a witness to the sadomasochistic mayhem. Miike presents his modern Grand Guignol in voyeuristic reality-TV style, grotesquely exaggerating family roles (career-obsessed husband, alienated housewife, rebellious children). In Japanese with English subtitles. (TS) 84 min. De Nieuwe Anita
Amsterdam Weekly
20 Investigation A psychological thriller, set in Sofia, about the battle of wills between a police detective and her suspect. Directed by Iglika Triffonova, who also made the Bulgarian road movie Letter to America. In Bulgarian with Dutch subtitles. 105 min. Filmmuseum
Juno
Juno Juno (Ellen Page) is 16. Juno is full of life and
sarcasm. Juno is pregnant. Oops. She gives up the thought of abortion after hearing that her baby has already developed fingernails and instead starts looking for adoptive parents. She finds the perfect couple in Mark and Vanessa. They’re wealthy, nice and Mark might even qualify as cool, since he shares Juno’s taste in music and splatter movies. Ellen Page is beyond perfect as the wisecracking but friendly Juno, who’s bright, yet young and naïve enough to think that there is no harm in spending time with the adoptive father of her unborn child. Add the best soundtrack in ages and a script that’s all about letting people be whoever they want to be and there you have it: this year’s independent American masterpiece. Directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking). (MP) 92 min. Cinecenter, Kriterion, The Movies, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt 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, Afghanborn 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
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) Rialto 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. The Movies, Pathé Tuschinski, Studio K
Mio fratello è figlio unico
Mio fratello è figlio unico Accio Benassi (Elio Ger-
mano) feels like the least valued member of his family. Perhaps correctly: Accio isn’t his real name, but a nickname meaning ‘pain in the ass’. So Accio does everything possible to live up to his name. He leaves the seminary and instead becomes a member of the Fascist party. Luckily the viewer realises—even if Accio himself does not—that his actions are driven not by idealism but provocation. He is no more a serious fascist than his socialist brother Manrico (Riccardo Scamarcio) is a saint. Daniele Luchetti directed. In Italian with Dutch subtitles. (BS) 118 min. Cinecenter, Het Ketelhuis, Rialto The Mist Forget the two Stephen King adaptations that gave Frank Darabont his Oscar nominations: the humanitarian touch displayed in The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile has become a sucker punch in the gut in the gloriously misanthropic The
Mist. When a supermarket in a small rural town becomes enveloped by a mysterious fog, the bargain hunters soon fall prey to mysterious tentacled critters and other assorted nasty pieces of otherworldly fauna. Even more trouble brews when the local Christian fundamentalist starts preaching the Apocalypse. The ending is a bit glib, but the rest is full of nail-biting suspense. (LvH) 127 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt 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. Het Ketelhuis
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
Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street If musicals aren’t your slice of pie, then Tim Burton’s reverential adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s show about a barber out for revenge won’t tantalise your taste buds, but the gorgeously Gothic production values are yummy eye candy all the same. The film is leached of all colour except for frequent gushes of crimson, evoking the Grand Guignol theatrical tradition using state-of-the-art techniques. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter aren’t the most accomplished of singers, but they hold their own and look the part, though Sascha Baron Cohen once again steals the show in a supporting role. With Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall. (LvH) 116 min. The Movies, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski TBS A convicted murderer escapes from a psychiatric ward and kidnaps a 13-year-old girl in this thriller by Pieter Kuijpers (Van God Los, Dennis P.). A great performance by Theo Maassen isn’t quite enough to save the film, but it might still make it worth watching. In Dutch. 88 min. Het Ketelhuis, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt Things We Lost in the Fire In this first American feature from Danish director Susanne Bier (After the Wedding, Brothers), a recent widow (Halle Berry) invites her late husband’s heroin-addicted friend (Benicio del Toro) to live with her and her two children. Gradually, a friendship develops between these two damaged people. Though there are some intimate and touching scenes, Bier regularly veers into melodrama. Her Dogma 95derived handheld camera and extreme close-ups, especially those of sad eyeballs, feel manufactured. And Allan Loeb’s screenplay fails to provide enough depth for what could have been an interesting American (arthouse?) project with a European touch. If it weren’t for the first-rate performances by Berry and especially the hypnotically watchable Del Toro, Things We Lost in the Fire would be just another TV movie. (GR) 113 min. Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski, De Uitkijk Unfinished Sky In this Australian remake of the 1998 Dutch film De Poolse Bruid, Monic Hendrickx reprises her role as a traumatised sex worker who finds solace on an isolated farm, even though she and the farmer can’t speak each other’s language. Directed by Peter Duncan. 100 min. Het Ketelhuis 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
FILM TIMES Thursday 14 February until Wednesday 20 February. 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 Shorts--Teasers #1:Cinema on Cinema Fri, Sat 20.30. Cavia Van Hallstraat 52-I, 681 1419 The Commitments Thur, Fri 20.30. Cinecenter Lijnbaansgracht 236, 623 6615 Atonement daily 16.15, 19.15, 22.00, Sun also 11.00, 13.30 Away from Her daily 19.15, Mon-Thur also 16.00, Sun also 13.45 Juno daily 19.30, 21.45, Fri-Sun also 16.30, Sun also 11.15, 13.45 The Kite Runner daily 15.45, 18.45, 21.45, Sun also 11.15 Mio fratello è figlio unico daily 16.15, 21.45, Sun also 11.00. Cinema Amstelveen Plein 1960 2, Amstelveen, 547 5175 Ben X Sun 16.00, Tues 20.30 Eastern Promises Thur-Sat 20.30 The Fox and the Child (NL) Sat, Wed 15.30, Sun 14.00 Kapitein Rob Sat, Wed 13.30, Sun 12.00. Filmhuis Griffioen Uilenstede 106, Amstelveen, 444 5100 Atonement Thur, Tues 19.30 Red River Fri 19.30. Filmmuseum Vondelpark 3, 589 1400 12 Angry Men Thur-Mon, Wed 19.00, Tues 19.30 Advise and Consent Fri, Mon, Wed 21.00 Desmond en het Moerasmonster Sun, Wed 13.45 Heimatklänge Thur-Sat, Mon, Wed 17.15, Sun 15.15 Les Inconnus dans la maison Thur, Sun 21.00 Investigation Thur-Sat, Mon, Wed 17.15, Sun 15.15 Judgment at Nuremberg Sat, Tues 21.00 Ordet Sun 16.00, Wed 19.15 Stellet Licht daily 21.45, Thur-Mon also 19.15, Tues also 18.15 Sven en zijn rat en het Ufomysterie Sun, Wed 14.00. Goethe-Institut Amsterdam Herengracht 470, , Gespenster Fri 20.00. Het Ketelhuis Haarlemmerweg 8-10, 684 0090 4 maanden, 3 weken en 2 dagen daily 21.30 Alles is liefde daily 17.15 Atonement Thur-Sat, Mon-Wed 21.15 De Avonturen van het Molletje Sat, Sun, Wed 13.45 Bloedbroeders daily 16.45 Desmond en het Moerasmonster Sat, Sun, Wed 13.00 Das Leben der Anderen Sat, Sun, Wed 14.30 Mio fratello è figlio unico daily 19.30, Sat, Sun, Wed also 12.30, 14.45 Nightwatching Sun 20.00 TBS daily 17.45, 21.45, Thur-Tues also 19.45 Trigger Sat, Sun, Wed 15.15 Unfinished Sky Thur-Sat, Mon-Wed 19.15. Kriterion Roetersstraat 170, 623 1708 Bee Movie (NL) Sat, Sun, Wed 15.15, Sun also 13.15 Eastern Promises daily 21.45, Fri, Sat also 0.00 Gone Baby Gone daily 19.15, Thur-Tues also 17.00 In the Valley of Elah Fri-Wed 19.30, Fri-Sun, Tues, Wed also 22.00 Juno daily 18.00, 20.00, Thur-Mon, Wed also 22.15, Fri, Sat also 0.15 Lorange & Co Sun 11.00, Wed 15.00 Nacht van de liefde Thur 19.30 Nachtrit Wed 17.00 Romeo + Juliet Thur 20.00 The Royal Tenenbaums Mon 22.00 Sicko daily 16.45, Sat, Sun, Wed also 14.00 Sneak Preview Tues 22.15 De Wonderwinkel van Mr Magorium Sat, Sun 15.00, Sun also 13.00. Melkweg Cinema Lijnbaansgracht 234A, 624 1777 Alien 3 Thur-Sat 19.00 Alien: Resurrection Mon-Wed 19.00 Control Thur, Mon, Tues 21.15. The Movies Haarlemmerdijk 159-165, 638 6016 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Sat, Sun, Wed 14.00 The Big Lebowski Fri, Sat 0.00 The Fox and the Child (NL) Sat, Sun, Wed 14.45 Juno daily 19.45, 21.45, Fri, Sat also 0.10, Sat, Sun, Wed also 14.30, Sun also 12.30 The Kite Runner daily 16.30, 19.15, 21.45, Sun also 12.15 Lust, Caution daily 16.30 No Country for Old Men daily 17.00, 19.30, 22.00, Fri, Sat also 0.15, Sat, Sun, Wed also 14.15, Sun also 12.00 O Brother,Where Art Thou? Fri, Sat 23.45 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street daily 16.45, 19.00, Fri-Wed also 21.30, Sun also 11.45. De Nieuwe Anita Frederik Hendrikstraat 111, 06 4150 3512, Visitor Q Mon 20.30. OT301 Overtoom 301, 779 4913 Made in Britain Tues 20.30 Meantime Tues 20.30 Nuit Noire Sun 21.00 Ploha Sat 16.00 Video Inferno: Olivier Smolders Sun 19.00. Pathé ArenA ArenA Boulevard 600, 0900 1458 27 Dresses Wed 21.00 Alibi daily 13.15, 15.20, 17.30, 19.50, 22.10, Sat, Sun also 11.10, Sat also 0.20 Alvin en de Chipmunks daily 11.45, 14.10, Fri-Sun, Wed also 12.30, 14.50, 17.10, Sat, Sun also 10.15 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Fri-Sun, Wed 13.30, 16.10, Sat, Sun also 10.50 August Rush daily 12.40, 15.00, 17.40, Sat, Sun also 10.30 Bee Movie (NL) Sat, Sun, Wed 13.20, Sat, Sun also 10.30 Charlie Wilson's War daily 18.45 Cloverfield daily 16.30, 21.15, Sat also 23.30 The Devil Wears Prada Tues 13.30 Dunya en Desie Fri 13.30
14-20 February 2008 Gone Baby Gone Thur 13.40, 16.15, 18.50, 21.35, Wed 13.10, 15.40, 18.10 I Am Legend (Imax) Thur, Mon, Tues 12.30, 14.50, 17.10, Fri-Wed 19.30, 21.50 In the Valley of Elah daily 20.20 Jodhaa Akbar daily 20.00, Fri-Wed also 15.30, Fri-Tues also 11.45 John Rambo Sat 0.10, Sun 9.50 Jumper daily 12.00, 14.00, 16.00, 18.00, 20.00, 22.00, Sat, Sun also 10.00, Sat also 0.00 Juno daily 16.40, 19.00, 21.20, Thur-Mon, Wed also 12.10, 14.20 K3 en de Kattenprins Fri-Sun, Wed 13.20, Sat, Sun also 11.30 The Kite Runner Thur-Mon 18.05, Tues 16.35 Maskeli Besler - Cyprus daily 15.15, Thur, Mon, Tues also 12.45 Michael Clayton Fri 11.00 The Mist daily 12.50, 15.40, 18.40, 21.30, Sat, Sun also 10.10 Moordwijven Thur-Mon 20.50, Thur, Fri, Mon also 13.20, 15.35, Tues 12.00, 14.15 Mr Woodcock daily 13.45, 15.50, 18.10, 20.10, 22.15, Sat, Sun also 11.40, Sat also 0.30 National Treasure: Book of Secrets daily 17.50 No Country for Old Men daily 18.50, 21.40, Thur, Mon, Tues also 13.30, 16.10, Sat also 0.15 Sneak Preview Tues 21.00 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street daily 21.00, Sat also 23.40 TBS daily 17.20, 19.40, 21.45, Thur, Mon, Tues also 13.00, 15.10, Sat also 23.50 Underdog (NL) Sat, Sun, Wed 13.00, 15.10, Sat, Sun also 11.00 The Water Horse daily 13.10, 15.45, 18.20, Sat, Sun also 10.40 We Own the Night daily 20.40. Pathé De Munt Vijzelstraat 15, 0900 1458 Alibi Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 14.15, 16.30, 18.45, Thur, Fri, Sun, Tues, Wed also 21.15, Thur, Fri, Mon-Wed also 12.00, Sun also 10.40, Mon also 21.45, Sat 10.15, 12.30, 15.00, 17.30, 20.00, 22.30 Alvin en de Chipmunks Fri, Sun, Wed 12.40, 15.20, Sun also 10.35, Sat 11.30, 13.45, 16.00 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Fri, Sun, Wed 13.40, 16.20, Sun also 11.10, Sat 10.15, 12.45, 15.15 Atonement Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 18.30, Sat 19.20 August Rush Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 16.10, 18.40, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 13.45, Sat 14.20, 16.50, 19.15 Bee Movie (NL) Sat, Sun 10.50, Sat also 13.00, Sun, Wed 13.10 Charlie Wilson's War Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 21.20, Thur, Mon, Tues also 13.00, 15.45, Sat 17.10, 22.10 Cloverfield Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 21.50, Thur, Mon, Tues also 12.10, 14.20, 16.45, Sat 18.00, 23.00 Gone Baby Gone Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 19.15, Sat 20.15 In the Valley of Elah Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 21.10, Sat 21.40 John Rambo Sat 22.50 Jumper Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.15, 14.30, 17.00, 19.30, 22.00, Sat 10.45, 13.15, 15.45, 18.15, 20.45, 23.15 Juno Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 13.30, 16.00, 18.50, 21.40, Sun also 11.00, Sat 12.00, 14.30, 17.00, 19.30, 22.00 K3 en de Kattenprins Sat 10.15, 12.15, Sun, Wed 12.20, 14.10, Sun also 10.20 The Kite Runner Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 15.15, 20.30, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 12.30, Sat 15.20, 21.00 The Mist Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 17.45, 20.45, Thur, Mon, Tues also 12.00, 14.50, Sat 18.30, 21.30 Moordwijven Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 21.55, Sat 20.30 National Treasure:Book of Secrets Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 21.30, Sat 22.15 No Country for Old Men daily 16.15, 19.00, 21.45, Thur, Fri, SunWed also 13.15, Sat also 10.30, 13.30, Sun also 10.40 Sneak Preview Tues 21.45 Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.45, 15.30, 18.15, 21.00, Sun also 10.15, Sat 11.15, 14.00, 16.45, 19.45, 22.45 TBS Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.50, 15.00, 17.30, 20.00, 22.10, Sat 11.45, 14.15, 16.30, 18.45, 21.15, 23.30 Things We Lost in the Fire Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 18.00, Sat 18.20 Underdog (NL) Fri, Sun, Wed 13.00, 15.45, Sun also 10.50, Sat 10.40, 12.40, 14.45 The Water Horse Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 14.00, 16.40, 19.20, Sun also 11.30, Sat 12.10, 14.50, 17.40. Pathé Tuschinski Reguliersbreestraat 34, 0900 1458 27 Dresses Wed 20.45 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Sat, Sun, Wed 12.40, 15.20 Auf der anderen Seite Thur, Fri, Sun-Tues 18.40, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 15.45, Sat 18.15, Wed 18.20 Away from Her daily 12.30 Charlie Wilson's War daily 17.10, 22.00, Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed also 19.30, Fri, Mon also 12.20, 14.50 Earth daily 13.00, 18.10 The Fox and the Child (NL) Sat, Sun, Wed 12.20, 14.45 The Kite Runner daily 15.00, 21.00, Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed also 18.00 Lust, Caution daily 20.30 Manon Lescaut (Puccini) Sat 19.00 No Country for Old Men daily 12.10, 21.15, Thur-Tues also 18.20, Thur, Fri, Sun-Tues also 15.20, Wed also 15.10, 17.50 P.S. I Love You daily 15.30 Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Thur 12.30, 15.30, 18.30, 21.30, Fri-Wed 16.10, 18.50, 21.40, Fri-Sun, Tues, Wed also 13.20, Mon also 13.30 Things We Lost in the Fire Thur, Fri, Sun-Tues 21.30, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 12.50 La Tourneuse de pages Thur, Tues 13.30.
Rialto Ceintuurbaan 338, 676 8700 4 maanden, 3 weken en 2 dagen daily 17.30 Auf der anderen Seite daily 18.30, 21.00, Fri, Sun, Wed also 15.30 Caramel daily 16.50 Gegen die Wand Fri, Sat 23.15 Lady Chatterley daily 21.10, Sat, Sun also 13.45 Das Leben der Anderen Sat, Sun 12.30 Life of Brian Sat 16.00 Mio fratello è figlio unico daily 19.45, 22.00, Fri-Sun also 15.15 Oliver Twist Sun 11.00, Wed 15.00 Stellet Licht daily 18.45, Sun also 11.15. De Roode Bioscoop Haarlemmerplein 7H, 625 7500, This Is England Sun 20.30. Studio K Timorplein 62, 692 0422, Alles is liefde Thur, Mon-Wed 19.00 Atonement Fri-Sun 19.00 Beyaz Melek daily 19.45 Kabadayi Sat, Sun 15.30, Mon-Wed 21.30 The Kite Runner daily 17.15, 22.00 Lust, Caution Thur, Sun 21.30 Ratatouille (NL) Sat, Sun 14.45. De Uitkijk Prinsengracht 452, 623 7460 2 Days in Paris Thur-Sun, Tues, Wed 21.30, Thur also 17.00 Desmond en het Moerasmonster Sat, Sun, Wed 15.30, Sun also 14.00 Earth Fri-Wed 17.00 Things We Lost in the Fire daily 19.00.
Amsterdam Weekly
14-20 February 2008
WEEKLY CLASSIFIEDS Ads are free, space permitting. They will be posted both to the paper and online. Guaranteed placement is available for a small fee; see our website for details. Ads may be published in English, het Nederlands or whatever language is best for you to communicate your message. How to submit an ad: via our website at www.amsterdamweekly.nl, by fax at 020 620 1666 or post to Amsterdam Weekly, De Ruyterkade 106, 1011 AB Amsterdam. Deadline: Monday at 12.00, the week of publication. preferably sooner, for 6 months. €1000/mthexclgas/water/elecPEACE VOLUNTEERS The Valentine Peace Project is tricity. Pictures available. seeking volunteers wanting to participate in a fun pro- jeroen71@gmail.com. jectdistributingpeacepoemsbyAmerican&Dutchpoets ROOM IN WEST Room for & kids attached to hundreds of flowers. Pick a favorite rent in west part of A’dam. spot in the city & brighten someone’s February 14th. €180/mth for gentle and clean Contact valentinepeaceproject.org or 06 1677 7520. woman/lady. No registration. Call 06 5558 2375. experience; Funds AdminisJOBS trator Accountants/Finance FOR RENT ON CURACAO PIER STAFF WANTED to English, French, German. Nice holiday house for rent attend cruise guests during Please send your reactions to on Curacao (Normandie 3). disembarcation and embar- Adriana.angulo@undutch- Living room, kitchen, 3 bdrms, bathroom, carport. Includes cation process at A’dam Pas- ables.nl. TV, washing machine, rental senger Cruise Terminal. The EDITING HELP NEEDED car. Close to public transport, job is only & exclusively durAnybody out there want to centrally located, close to ing 12 puntual days during the help me with editing a doc- shops & police station, quisummer. You need to be cusumentary on adobe pre- et neighbourhood. Call 06 tomer-focused, responsible, miere? For me, it is a learn- 1021 8271 or email info@tuliproactive, & have a good coming procedure: I got stuck. pany.nl for info. mand of English. m.marrocPls call 06 4500 9030 or email co@intercruises.com. bureaudomela@chello.nl. SUNNY APPT IJBURGNew apt in IJburg, A’dam east. SEWINGEXPERIENCE?Are GERMAN/FRENCH Small Avail 6-16 March and 25 you looking for a flexible extra office in A’dam looking for March-10 April. 94m2, modjob? I am looking for some help German & French customer ern kitchen, 2-bdrm, bath with costume making for a service/mail processing peo- and shower, sep WC, large couple of hours a week. Except ple. Duties include opening south balcony, tram to cenfor being able to handle a mail, reading customer ser- tral every 10 mins, takes 15 sewing machine, no other vice letters, and using mins. €350/wk or negotiable experience necessary. For database for orders and cus- for longer. Please email casmore info, please email me! tomer service letters. Inter- sandra.steer@gmail.com. ems@beataddict.com. ested? Send email with CV to HARD ROCK IS HIRING! amsterdamjob@gmail.com. GREAT PLACE FOR RENT Hard Rock Cafe Amsterdam Work to start immediately. Nice furnished apt in A’dam Westerpark. Bedroom, big livis now hiring for all staff posiMULTI-LINGUAL JOBSBlue ing room, kitchen, bathroom, tions. To apply, come to the Lynx - The specialists in mul- little balcony. Popular, culturrestaurant and fill out an ti-lingual,bi-lingualandEnglish al neighbourhood. Near cenapplication. No appointments language employment in NL. ter/Jordaan. For 1 person/couare necessary, just bring along Check out our website for more ple. April–Oct or longer. €1250 a valid ID, a CV and a passthan 300 available vacancies all incl. ikoorn@xs4all.nl. port photo. Max Euweplein across many languages and 57-61. No phone calls please. industries. Twenty years expe- 57M2 APT 1 YEAR Light apt CHEF WANTEDA young and rience in Recruitment, Con- sublet for 1 year from 13 April. enthusiastic chef wanted for tracting and Executive Search. 3 rooms, 4th floor. Border of East/Centre. Nearby hip young restaurant/cocktail WWW.BLUELYNX.COM. bars/clubs.7min.bypublictransbar in the centre of A’dam. BIKE TAXI DRIVERS portfromCS.Balconyontheeast. Experience necessary, social WANTED We’re in business Ideal for expats/students. Furhygiene a plus but not a must. 365 days a year! Are you ser- nished with TV, fridge, washing Call Leon: 06 4376 2912. vice-oriented, independent, machine, Internet. €800 incl. UNDUTCHABLES is looking responsible, flexible & ivarvanhoorn@ gmail.com. for Logistic Coordinator and unafraid of Dutch weather? SalesSupportcandidatesspeak- Climb on the bandwagon this CANAL HOUSE 74m2, furing English or German; Sales winter & get priority for best nished, room ensuite, open Managers and Account Man- summer shifts. We offer week- kitchen, bathroom with bath, agers speaking German or ly introduction sessions. Con- 2-bdrm, balcony 10m2, orginal native English; IT Support Spe- tact 06 3882 2683/info@wiel- wooden floor, great open view cialist Helpdesk 1st line; Lay- ertaxi.nl/www.wielertaxi.nl. on canal and Tropenmuseum. wers with trust fund experiIn the Plantage area near Artis HOUSING FOR RENT ence. Please email reactions to Zoo and 7 min from Dam amstelveen@undutchables.nl. NEWLY RENOVATEDLocat- Square. March until Aug. UNDUTCHABLES A'DAM ed on a quiet canal in busy €1750/mth. leonieklomp_30@ is looking for Sales/enrol- tourist district of beautiful old hotmail.com or 06 1482 5038. ment advisors; IT technical town A’dam: 60m2, furnished, HOUSING WANTED support; English Credit and internet and TV incl, 2-bdrm Collection Reps with Oracle apt. For rent per 1 March, APT NEEDEDQuiet, profes-
AD OFTHE WEEK
sional couple looking for a 1bdrm to rent with parking. Please contact me (Amanda) if you have an apt in Haarlem, Amstelveen, Sloterdijk or A’dam on 06 4721 1046 or you can email amanda_su@hotmail.com. Thank you.
apy, group meetings etc. A’dam to work. SMS 06 4340 2670 or van@whitevanman.nl or see south location. Reasonable send an email to alexde- www.whitevanman.nl. prices. Call 06 4194 2207. paula2005@hotmail.com. BUDGETTAXIfortailor-made BABYSITTER I’m a caring, private day tours and other FOR SALE responsible and friendly girl long distance taxi services with SELLING 2 LAPTOPS2x2.0 and I would be happy to take reservation (>50 kms; in NL (4.0) dualcore processor, care of your child. My day is or to/from abroad). Spacious, 1024x2 ram, 60 gig, 355 mb very flexible so feel free to call no-nonsense taxi (airco/GPS) nivida graphics card, orginal me anytime: 06 3478 6439. for 1-4 passengers and lots of €850, 3 mths of use, selling luggage. Dutch driver speaks for €650. 1.4x2 dualcore pro- PUBLIC SPEAKING work- English,GermansomeFrench. cessor, 512 ram, 60 gig, 12 6 shops, seminars, 1-to-1 coach- Tel6138048orcheckwww.dagmb graphics card, 2 wks of ing. Be empowered to speak toertaxi.nl. use, American plug (have with confidence! More info: HEALTH & WELLNESS outlet converter) €400 www.thespeaker.eu. Toshibas. Email amster- GARDEN WORKTime to get MARTIAL ARTS CLASS damweekly@lycos.com. your garden ready for spring English Speaking Qi Kwan OTHERGROUND MARKET and summer? For any gar- Do class. Combines Yoga, Self 2 March/Overtoom, 14.00- dening and exterior yard- Defence & Qi Gong. Women 18.00. Open invitation to all work please call 06 2324 5957. Friendly. Works no matter who want to sell/trade first & Very experienced. Thanks! age, strength, or build. No 2 second hand stuff: records, maxxymac7@yahoo.co.uk. lessons the same so you keep
FURNISHED 1-BDRM or studio for Mar, Apr & May in centrum. Great references. books, t-shirts, etc. With art to people. For more info & to Call 06 4876 3940. reserve a table, contact othFLAT/ROOM 33 y.o. artist ergroundmarket@gmail.com. from Sweden looking for a new living space from the 1 BAKFIETS FOR SALEFietsMar in A’dam as my current fabriek model in top condicontract is up. Without fur- tion. 5 speed gears, back pedniture would be appreciated. al brake, parking brake, aluCan pay max €350. Any help minium rims, galvanised steel would be appreciated. Please frame, LED lights, cover, built don’t hesitate to contact me. in seat, junkie-proof chain lock (1m), weight capacity 120kg. Charlott: 06 1746 4171. Worth €2120 new, selling for SHARED HOUSING €1350. (3 y.o.) 682 9838. ROOM WANTED 38 y.o. American male, college grad, looking for a room share in or around A’dam from 18 April-27 May. Can pay a maximum of €100/wk. j.pietrovito@hotmail.com. BDRM FOR RENTI’m looking for a roommate in a 75m2 apt. Available 25m2 bedroom with separate entrance and balcony, big windows, full kitchen, nice neighborhood, 15 min to CS. AH, metro and tram within 3 min walk. €400/mth all incl + 1 mth deposit. Please respond to erosemil@yahoo.com.
OTHER SPACES DANCE-THEATRE STUDIO bij de Nieuwe Meer in A’dam te huur per dagdeel of per dag(en). Vanaf €15 per dagdeel, korting bij afname vast dagdeel. info@senseofspace.org of 06 1479 8155. 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.
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SEAMSTRESS/COUPEUSE Fully recovered from recent fashion week in A’dam, seamstress/coupeuse looking for clothes designers who need experienced hand making their designs come true. I have years of experience in design, pattern making & making custom-fitting womens’ clothes both exclusive & ready-to-wear. Susan: 689 537. 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.
AMERICAN FOODS!Get all your favorite American foods mailed direct to your door! Take advantage of the cheap dollar! Cereals, drinks, candy, baking goods and more. CAREER CRISIS? Unhappy www.eatusonline.com. or stuck at work? Isn’t it time to discover what you really SERVICES want in life? Lost purpose, NANNY/ DOG WALKERI am passion or goal? Do yourself a 24 y.o. female master stu- a favour, give your coach a call: dent in A’dam looking for a 06 4998 8986 or 400 4778; email part-time job. I can be your nan- marianne@soul-at-work.com. ny or your dog walker. I speak Soul at Work, A’dam. Sign up English and am student in for free e-newsletter on social work. If you need a nan- www.soul-at-work.com. ny, a dog walker or just an COSTUME + PROP MAKER English speaker, contact me! Tentacle Studio makes profesb91310040@ntu.edu.tw. sional costumes for theatre, DREADLOCKSDo you want nice dreads? Mayby you already have, but they are in need of a small fix? Check my website: www.amsterdamdreadlocks.com or call 06 5245 5324.
film, TV and performing arts. With an atelier in Aalsmeer, we have 20 yrs experience and are KvK registered. Need a special costume or stage prop made? Visit www.tentaclestudio.com.
TAX&FINANCETrying to get quality advice and save moneyatthesametime?Wearespecialized in bookkeeping, taxes andguideourrelationsthrough the entire business process. We work through a countrywide network with professionals who can help on each issue. Call us for RAAD! 691 2217.
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 newly bought furniture. Book online on www.vrachtverhuizer.nl or call 06 1514 9164.
CLEANING & BABYSITTING I am an honest and hard working 28 y.o. student guy lookSTUDIO SPACEto rent by the ing for cleaning, ironing and hour. Suitable for dance, ther- handling your children. Ready
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 white-
motivated. Reduces stress and gets you fit. Every Sat 12.00, Sporthallen Lizzy Ansinghstraat 88 1072RD A’dam. Call 06 4545 7499. TIRED OF BEING STUCK? Heighten your quality of life. Improve your relationships, with the help of native English-speaking therapist. My 20 years of professional experience and understanding can help you better cope with feelings and sort through stressful thoughts. Call Sagar on 06 4626 5412.
Located in heart of A’dam. Call or email us for a fast appt in flexible hours. 06 1672 3827/ expatphysio@hotmail.com.
MASSAGE IL CIELO STUDIO We offer different treatments such as craniosacral, dorn breuss massage, holistic, ayurvedic and foot massage. The treatments are reimbursed by many health insurances. Info: www.ilcielo.org, Unmani, 06 3004 9738. TANTRA MASSAGESacred sensual massage created to arouse, circulate & increase energy throughout the body. Moving energy not only enhances awareness and the capacity for pleasure, it can also be a powerful healing experience. Tantra A’dam & London. Info: www.erostrance.com, Shanti@erostrance.com, 06 4277 3290.
HOME IMPROVEMENT
QUALITY INTERIORSA full spectrum of decorating services. Fine painting and wallpapering to fancy faux finishes and murals. Full, honest prep, plastering, window repairs, light carpentry. Reveal/rehab hidden original antique ceilings.. An expat YOGA, SUN & SAILINGEnjoy Yankee with a local native/25 a fabulous week of Yoga, Sun yrs exp. Xtover Lewis: 06 3467 and Relaxing aboard a tradi- 2271. tional motor sailing yacht in CONTRACTOR/RENOVATER the calm warm waters of the Licensed (KvK), registered & Mediterranean. For more insured. Get it done right the info, visit www.yogacruise.net. firsttime.Plumbing,electrical, ACUPUNCTURE Certified complete remodels, repairs of American acupuncturist allsizes&more.Highstandards treats both men and women & excellent quality. Visit for a wide range of ailments www.ssrhino.com,andy@ssrhiat two locations in A’dam. no.com.Emergencyservices/24Coverage offered by many hrcall-outsavailable&reasonhealth insurance companies. able rates! 06 2510 6271. Call 06 2739 9789, email RENOVATION Renovation, info@acupunctuurnoordhol- painting, plastering, basic land.nl or visit www.acupunc- carpentary,and general intetuurnoordholland.nl. rior/exterior renovation. Very REIKI MASTER Combin- experienced. For estimates ing the natural healing sys- call 330 2634. tem of Reiki with Past Lives WWW.STUCDESIGN.NET Memory Regression, NLP, Stuc €9 the meter with matevisualizations exercises, psy- rial, painting, carpentry, chic surgery and interdi- azuleijos. The best work with mensional healing. Devel- experiencia. 06 4258 2006. op yourself, know yourself, COMPUTERS heal yourself. Sessions, treatments, courses. Danielle Fer- PC HOUSE DOCTOR Sperari: 06 2831 0125. cialised in virus/spyware URBAN ANGELS Life path removal, h/w, s/w repair, data readings. Psychic readings. recovery, wireless, cable/ADSL Accurate and stress-free. By installation and computer appointment. 06 5080 5589. lessons from friendly and experienced Microsoft professionIn A’dam. al for reasonable price. ConPHYSIOTHERAPY Therapy tact Mario 06 1644 8230. forpain,injuries,rehabilitation, relaxation techniques... Flu- NEED HELP WITH YOUR ent in English and Spanish. MAC? MAC-lover helps you Covered by most insurances. with basic setups, minor trou-
Amsterdam Weekly
22 bleshooting, install, networking, basic MAC lessons, setting up programs, MS Word, QuarkXpress, etc. Help with purchasing the right MAC. Contact Sagar at 06 4626 5412.
COURSES
14-20 February 2008
MASSAGE COURSESIl Cielo offer the all year courses for beginners about holistic massage, craniosacral,footreflex and meditation. Starting from Jan and Feb for the all year, read more at www.ilcielo.org, or call Unmani on 06 3004 9738.
BELLY DANCE COURSE weekly at 19.00 on Thur. Studio in A’dam West. Visit www.zerzura.info or tel 681 0072. This timeless woman’s dance is lots of fun and creates a positive body image, regardless of age or shape. Why not come along and find out?
ONEWEEKDUTCHEenweek intensief Nederlands spreken. GLOSSA helps you to strengthen your confidence in speaking Dutch. Are you interested in practising your Dutch in a 1-weekcourse?Focusonwords and phrases of everyday use. Have a look at www.glossa.nl THEATRE WORKSHOP or call 06 1471 5372. Teatr Novego Fronta in A’dam LANGUAGES workshops: 14/15 April. WorkDUTCH LESSONS A'DAM shop led by profesional actors from theatre group. www. Improve conversation/professional purpose/studies/NT2. tnf.cz, info@tnf.cz. Also online. Min indiv rate PROF BALLET courses for €15/hr.Adults&children.Monteachers and dancers. InterSat, 10.00-21.00. Also intensive national diplomas. Call 644 courses. Min intensive: 15 2431 for information. hrs=€215,55. www.excellentPHOTOGRAPHY WORK- dutch.nl.New:Super-intensive SHOPNew courses starting summer course. Info: excelin March at the ABC Tree- lentdutch@hotmail.com, 06 house in A’dam. Lessons in 3612 2870. English, theory (classes in INTENSIVE DUTCH coursthe evening or Sat) and praces at Joost Weet Het! Classtice (2 field trips planned). es 4 times per week during 4 For more information: patrihours. Good teachers, fun cia@patriciaribas.com. classes and energetic atmoPILATES AND DANCECon- sphere. Small groups, Pertemporary dance and Pilates sonal approach with Emphafor amateurs and profession- sis on conversation. 2, 3, 4 als. First class is FREE! Con- and 8-week courses. Price: tact us on ta.li.le.dancecom- €8/hr. Visit www.joostweetpany@gmail.com to register het.nl. Email info@joostweefor your free class. Visit www. thet.nl. Tel 420 8146. talile.com for more info. INTERCAMBIO ESPANOL DRAWING AND PAINTING Fluent English-Dutch speakworkshops by professional er busca hispanohablante artist, various techniques, all para intercambio. I want to styles, from scratch to paint- improve my Spanish convering with oils. Contact joneiselin sational skills. Do you want to improve your Dutch or @hetnet.nl.
English? Then let’s intercam- LEARN GUITAR!Take a free bio! Call Marc: 438 7542. Has- trial lesson! Acoustic or electa luego. tric guitar, beginner to IMPROVE YOUR DUTCH! A advanced, various styles. See fresh Dutch start in 2008? Pri- my website www.wenkomilvateclasses,smallstudygroups, laardgitaarles.nl for details conversation, intensive, etc at (in Dutch) or simply call 06 Link Taal Studio, Vijzelgracht 4216 2234 (Wenko). 53, professional approach. Call EAR CANDY NU-JAZZ Tired Anja 06 4133 9323, linktaal- of bland covers? Love studio@gmail.com. Jazz/Soul/HipPop? Ear Candy DUTCH COURSES New Nu-Jazz eats in a major evening courses starting in Jan scale.Sneak peek ill-ass flow and Feb, centre of A’dam. €200- and fusion! Witness the birth of 250 for 20 hrs. Visit www.mer- EarCandyNu-Jazz.STOP,LOOK, cuurtaal.nl or call 693 4250. LISTEN! Music with meaning: www.myspace.com/jahofyork. DUTCHCONVERSATIONConversatieweekNederlands.Kom KARAOKE NIGHTon ValeneenweekjeNederlandsspreken tine’s Day at MEDIAMATIC! bij GLOSSA. One week inten- Thur 14 Feb from 20.00. Sing sivefluencywillmakeyourDutch love songs with the Dutch boost. More information and and the Japanese in the frame othertrainingoptionswww.glos- of Japan: New & old, in & out, a week of Japanese culture sa.nl or call 06 1471 5372. @ mediamatic. OosterdokMUSIC skade 5 (post CS bulding), GUITARLESSONSLearn gui- ground floor, side entrance. tar acoustic & electric from www.mediamatic.net. experienced teacher! Also THE ARTS bass guitar, song writing, vocal coaching, music theory. All ORIENTAL DANCE SHOW levels. For try-out lesson call On Woman’s Day, 8th of March in Crea Theater, Tripartite 06 2263 1567.
Productions is bringing you The Red Tent. An oriental dance journey to foreign lands, times and cultures. 6 dancers, 5 nationalities, 1 show. For more info and tickets www.tripartite.org, info@tripartite.org or 06 4327 8482.
tasksaroundmyhomeandoffice. mycousindupree@gmail.com.
4-LEAFED CLOVERI’m looking for an Irish Band to come play at my cafe on St. Patrick’s Day. There is pay, food and great exposure. For more information, contact amster3D GRAPHIC ARTIST is dam_sales1@hardrock.com. looking in A’dam for other COLLABORATION Grafisch 3D graphic animation artists ontwerper specialized in phoin order to exchange tips, tography, books, exhibitions is advice & suggestions. Am a looking for collaboration. For professional user of Maya. moreinfocontactwww.abgo.nl. Would like to work together CASH WORK WANTED! w/ others on big animation British guy seeks any legal (!) projects & create stable group work in A’dam area. mature, of artists involved in graphreliable and redelijk Nederic animation, editing. nico- lands gesproken. I have expelap@email.com. rience in the Building Trade (VCA Cert.) and Customer Service. NL driving licence. A YOUNG MAN is looking Quick learner, smart and for painting, ironing, garden- adaptive to new skills. Please ing and general house clean- call 06 4109 1393. Thank you. ing work. References availTHROW UP ON DEMAND? able. Please email bigaOperation Reflux. Cutting bossey@hotmail.com or call Edge Performance Art. Seek06 2377 0134. ing adventurous artists for a HELPER MONKEY Over- 4-piece public installation. worked business executive is All cutting edge people wellookingforatrainedhelpermon- comed. Puke Art! operakey to help out by doing simple tionreflux@gmail.com.
LOOKING FOR
ENGLISHMAN, RESIDENT in A’dam for nearly 5 years. Ik spreek een beetje Nederlands. Seek work (part or full-time) in A’dam. Good IT (ex-IT consultant) and business skills (ex-owner manager). Will consider anything. paulcosier@yahoo.co.uk.
to. You’d be doing this for fun not money!
monthly DemsFun Drinks, discussions, voter registration and other activities. You don’t even have to be a Dem to join! Go to www. democratsabroad.nl for more info.
BUBBLE WRAPI need bubble wrap & lots of it! Please email becky@jaraart.com.
PERSONALS
HANDSOME SPORTYTurkish boy with black hair, brown skin, brown eyes, active and well-hung. Hairy, sporty body, good niveau and looking for LOOKING FOR EXTRAS sex contact with boys 18-60. Looking for extras for a film. Call 06 4156 0575. www.mediamatic.net. NICE QUIET WOMANLooking for a nice, quiet woman. GROUPS & CLUBS I am a single man. If you want, HOTUB.EU A new network call me please on 06 5558 2375. is alive: Hotub.eu is the new NOTICES European social network for beautiful people. So, join us KITTY CATS Our stray cat online and help us testing it. was very fat... & then all of a Create a profile, advertise sudden there were 5 of them! yourself, tell your story and All of them looking for a new all is free. www.hotub.eu is home. This place is getting your start. much too small! The kittens HEY! YOU AMERICAN?Are are 12 weeks & are healthy. you one of 100’s of Americans That’s what the vet says! If living in A’dam? Join the fun you looking for a new friend with like-minded Americans for now and for the next at Democrats Abroad. With years(!): 06 2396 9834.
FULL OF IDEAS? Wannabe entrepreneur seeking likeminded innovative individuals to discuss business ideas in a regular meet up over a drink in a central A’dam pub. Contact Cat at roundthekitchentable@gm ail.com.
VOLUNTEERS VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED Women who enjoy baring their assets required for gently erotic outdoor photography project. Email outdoorerotica@gmail.com with a pho-
A'DAM FLICKR GROUP Share your photos of A’dam with other Weekly readers. Join Amsterdam Weekly’s new Flickr Group! Go to flickr.com, search for Amsterdam Weekly under Groups, and start loading your favourite images. MURAL PAINTER Do you have a children’s room or nursery that needs something special to make it unique? I can paint children’s dreams on their walls and decorate a play room with imagination. Any theme, any style. Contact Anna to discus the possibilities: anna@ annagreaves. com or 06 1811 5098.
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