Als twee druppels water

LIKE TWO DROPS OF WATER (Fons Rademakers - Netherlands 1963).

Interesting for a number of reasons, mainly because of the circumstances surrounding the production. The film was based on two novels, "De Donkere Kamer van Damocles" (1958) and to a lesser extent his earlier "De Tranen der Acacias" (1948), by what is considered one of the most important Dutch writers of the twentieth century, Willem Frederik Hermans, both featuring more or less the same characters. Secondly, the director Fons Rademakers is considered to be the first "real" Dutch director of narrative features. He made a total of eleven films and would win the Oscar for best foreign film in 1984 with THE ASSAULT.

After a reasonably successful release in 1963 with almost 500,000 visitors and competing at the Cannes Film Festival, it was withdrawn from circulation almost immediately by Freddy Heineken, the beer magnate and producer of the film, reportedly because he had an affair with one of the film's stars, Nan Los. When she learned Freddy Heineken would never divorce his wife, she married a race driver instead, and Heineken decided the film would never be shown publicly again. I am not sure what the situation is right now, but till his death, you had to write him in person for a private screening. Dutch broadcasting cooperation the TROS tried to air the film in 1983, but was held back by Freddy Heineken. It was shown once before though, on July 4th 1966 at the NTS, on Dutch television and, most recently, in September 2003.

Camera Obscura --- 5/10