Elsie De Brauw Movies
- 2007
Social worker-turned-feature film dramatist Mijke de Jong illustrates the old adage that time heals all wounds with this semi-improvised domestic drama charting the complicated divorce of an unhappily couple, and the effect of the impassioned break-up on their troubled 17-year-old son. Roos (Elsie de Brauw) and Martin (Marcel Musters) are two middle-aged intellectuals who have spent years attempting to make their marriage work, only to realize that no amount of compromise will compensate for their irreconcilable differences. Unable to be alone in the same room due to the volatile emotions that erupt when they attempt to find a common ground, the fractured couple carries on bickering as their adolescent son, Isaac (Stijn Koomen), falls into a dangerous pattern of juvenile delinquency. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elsie De Brauw, Marcel Musters, (more)
- 2004
A compassionate and literate twelve year old girl finds her heart starting to harden after the bullies at her prestigious school single her out for harassment in director Mijke de Jong's tender coming of age drama. Thirteen year old Merel (Elske Rotteveel) is a diligent student who's well read, athletic, and may even have a promising future as a singer. She's got a caring relationship with her physically disabled, younger brother Kasper (Kees Scholten), and displays an unusual level of independence in refusing to fall in with any particular schoolyard clique. Though it isn't entirely clear why Merel has become the target of some particularly nasty bullies as of late, it's readily apparent that the situation has become rather serious when the expressive girl begins to become emotionally withdrawn, and arrives home from school with some mysterious bruises and a broken bike. Unable or unwilling to disclose the problem to the adults in her life who clearly seem to care, Merel's youthfully optimistic outlook on life gradually begins to darken until the situation finally comes to a head and she's forced to make a crucial decision that will foreshadow exactly what kind of woman she will grow up to become. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elske Rotteveel, Kees Scholten, (more)
A strong-willed Dutch woman recalls her life in this uplifting picture that won the 1996 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Antonia (Willeke van Ammelrooy) is an elderly woman who wakes up one morning and realizes that this is the last day of her life. She begins to tell her story in flashback, beginning with her arrival home to the family farm after World War II with her daughter, Danielle (Els Dottermans). For the next fifty years, a variety of colorful characters come and go on the farm. Danielle becomes a painter, and decides she wants a child but no husband, so Antonia arranges the proper donation. Danielle giving birth to Therese (Veerle van Overloop), who laters has her own child, Sarah (Thyrza Ravesteijn), also without virtue of a husband. Antonia and her descendants come to symbolize the freedom of independent females, with little need for men in their lives. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willeke van Ammelrooy, Jan Decleir, (more)
