May 6th [06/05]  (2004)

Theatrical Release Information:
May 6th [06/05]

The real-life murder of an idiosyncratic Dutch politician inspired this docudrama, which imagines a possible scenario behind the killing. Jim De Booy (Thijs Römer) is a new photographer who is on assignment, taking pictures of a popular television actress during an appearance at a radio station, when Pim Fortuyn, a controversial right-wing political figure, is shot to death shortly after finishing an interview at the same studio. When Jim develops the pictures, he discovers he accidentally caught the assassin on film, and he begins investigating the crime. Jim finds an ally in his research in Ayse (Tara Elders), who was once involved with the animal rights group that has claimed responsibility for the killing. However, while most people believe the killing was the irrational act of leftist fanatics, Ayse and her beau, Erdogan (Cahit Olmez), have another take to tell -- it seems members of the Dutch intelligence community had infiltrated the group and were pressuring the animal rights activists to attack Fortuyn. Could this have had anything to do with Fortuyn's opposition to a bill that would finance the purchase of a new fleet of fighter jets backed by powerful American business interests? 06/05: The Sixth of May was the final feature film for writer and director Theo Van Gogh. In a strange coincidence, Van Gogh was shot to death (as well as stabbed) in the fall of 2004 by a Muslim extremist who was offended by a film he made for television about the treatment of women in the Islamic community. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide