Hidde Maas Movies

Filmed on location in Holland, the made-for-cable The Little Riders is set during the wartime Nazi occupation of that country. Living with her Dutch grandparents in the village of Kirkendam, American-born Joanne Hunter (Noley Thornton) is a helpless bystander in the real-life drama being played out between the locals and German occupational officer Captain Kessel (Malcolm McDowell). Grimly determined to break down any and all resistance to the Nazis, Kessel is prepared to destroy the villagers' most cherished possession: He intends to dismantle the six lead statues--or "little riders"--which revolve hourly on Kirkendam's 300-year-old clock tower, and melt them down for bullets. Intensifying the situation is the growing relationship between Joanne and Lt. Braun (Benedick Blythe), a conscience-stricken German officer billeted in her grandparents' home. Paul Scofieldheads the cast as the clock's caretaker, who also happens to be the head of the resistance movement--not to mention Joanne's grandfather. The Little Riders debuted March 24, 1996, over the Disney Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Force Majeure (Uncontrollable Circumstances) begins with a drug deal involving tourists Phillipe (Patrick Bruel) and Daniel (Francois Cluzet), and a Dutch stranger. Two years pass: the Dutchman has been arrested in an unspecified Asian country, where the penalty for drug trafficking is death. Phillipe and Daniel agree to admit that the hashish partly belongs to them, which will reduce the Dutchman's sentence, but also subject the twosome to a prison sentence themselves. Malcolm Forrest (Alan Bates), a representative of Amnesty International, does what he can to aid all three of the unfortunate young men. Force Majeure was co-written by Michele De Broca, wife of director Philippe De Broca. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This Dutch crime thriller is based on a novel by popular detective writer Janwillem van de Wettering and follows the investigations of a pair of thoughtful and extremely cynical police detectives: middle-aged Grijpstra, who has serious marital difficulties, and the younger and more handsome De Gier, a bachelor who is extremely successful with the ladies, which is about the only bright point in a life full of disappointments. The two men are best friends and jazz musicians, who sometimes relieve tension by holding impromptu jam sessions. Despite their willingness to turn a blind eye to minor (and some not so minor) infractions of the law in order to keep their part of Amsterdam peaceful, they are forced to take action when murder threatens the status quo. Along the way they put an end to the careers of several bad cops and two Chinese drug gangs. They are assisted in their inquiries by the Commissaris, their enigmatic, arthritic and Buddha-like superior who runs interference between them and headquarters when he is not doing some undercover work on his own. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi