Huub Stapel Movies

Eddy Terstall directs this wacky, lighthearted Dutch comedy. Tired of his successful screenwriter girlfriend Monique's (Rifka Lodeizen) constant kvetching about his lack of motivation, failed artist Alfred (Marc van Uchelen) moves out on her in order to start a business. His scheme is to hire out friends for every occasion and much to everyone's surprise, it proves to be a monstrous success. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

A woman finds that her life is radically changed in a number of ways after a bout with cancer. Corinna (Renee Soutendijk) is a 38-year-old commercial artist and single mother who is happy with her life; her career is going well, her children are happy and healthy, and she's found a boyfriend who makes her happy. However, Corinna finds her contented existence turned upside-down when she discovers a malignant tumor in one breast and undergoes a mastectomy. Her boyfriend soon leaves her, and Corinna finds herself wondering about her future (and her kids' future as well) and if she'll still be attractive to men. The latter question begins to answer itself when she finds that two men are vying for her attentions. But while her new neighbor (Huub Stapel) seems interested in Corinna for her own sake, a good friend (Hans-Werner Meyer) takes a new interest in her and proposes marriage -- largely so her children will have a home should she fall ill again. Originally produced for German television, Hauptsache Leben was well-received on its home turf, where Renee Soutendijk earned enthusiastic notices for her performance as Corinna. The film received its American premiere at the 1999 Hollywood Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Two terminal patients leave their hospital beds for the open highway in this German road movie, a popular success in Germany. When cancer victim Rudi (Jan Josef Liefers) meets Martin (Til Schweiger), who has a brain tumor, they knock back tequila one night and decide to head north to experience life at the seashore, something Rudi has hoped to do his entire life. However, the car they've stolen belongs to two thieves and contains a million marks. Soon they're being pursued by both thugs and cops. The film's soundtrack includes Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". Shown at the 1997 London and AFI/Los Angeles film festivals. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This softcore erotic drama features a happily married woman who is offered unexpected sexual gratification by the man (Huub Stapel) who buys her recently deceased mother's house. They are not in love, and Emilia (José Way) has no intention of leaving her husband and child, but the thrill of making love in the back seat of cars, in restaurant washrooms and similarly indiscreet places is almost too much to resist. The two have other games they play which add spice to their couplings, until the man suggests changes which would spoil their hitherto untroubled relationship. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This 1988 TV movie covers much of the same ground previously assessed in the stage and movie versions of The Diary of Anne Frank. The principal difference is that this adaptation is told from the point of view of Miep Gies (Mary Steenburgen), the courageous Dutch gentile who, together with her husband (Huub Stapel) risked her life by hiding the Jewish Frank family in the attic of an Amsterdam office building during World War 2. We see how Gies and other good Samaritans attempted to protect and provide sustenance for their Jewish neighbors, right under the noses of the Gestapo. Paul Scofield co-stars as Otto Frank, while his daughter Anne is played by newcomer Lisa Jacobs. Like George Stevens' 1959 filmization of Diary of Anne Frank, this film was made on location. Unlike Stevens' film, The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank is based not on Anne's diary but on Miep Gies' memoirs, Anne Frank Remembered. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Guido Pieters adapted this drama from an original work by the great Dutch playwright Herman Heijermans, which debuted in 1900. Pieters and scriptwriter Karin Loomans begin with the basic story: Kniertje (Kitty Courbois) is a widow who lives in a small fishing village and has lost her husband and two sons to the sea. She is now raising her remaining children alone. One of the prominent citizens in the village is a ship owner by the name of Clemens Bos (Rijk de Gooyer) and in this version, his daughter falls in love with Kniertje's youngest son Barend (Danny de Munk). Barend and his romance with Bos' daughter Mathilde (Willeke van Ammelrooy) move to center stage, transforming Heijermans' play in the process. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Newcomer Peter Jan Rens makes his directorial debut in this drama. Maria (Jeanne Marleau) was a Dutch woman who lived in Italy at the beginning of the 1920s; several decades later, she tells her story to Rens, who then creates this film based on her recollections, and how he came to know her while working as a nurse. Years ago, Maria had fallen in love with Paolo, a man firmly planted in the upper echelons of the Italian fascist party. After they married, Paolo's superior became insanely jealous of Maria since he had wanted Paolo for himself. This triangle was a losing proposition from the beginning, though Maria herself lives to tell the tale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Black humor dominates in this macabre story about a murderously animated elevator and its repairman Felix (Huub Stapel) and Felix's voluntary new assistant Mieke (Willeke van Ammelrooy), a reporter for a tabloid paper. When the elevator decapitates a security guard and tries to suffocate some party-goers, it becomes obvious that it needs more than a 60,000-mile check-up. After Felix narrows down the possibilities to some experiments his company is doing with microchips, he is coincidentally suspended from his job -- indicating that the elevator is not acting alone. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide