dourface

The movie 'De Lifters' (Dutch for 'The Hitchhikers') was, after the French style of Nothing Special (1961), Paul Verhoevens attempt to make an American film, with tight shots, which promote the story and the continuity. Alfred Hitchcocks North by Northwest (1959) was a great example, which is especially evident in the opening scenes through the lawn next to the motorway, where one of the main characters is resting, and the plane comes flying over.

This was the first and the last film of the Dutch Student Film Industry, a small club founded by Verhoeven and a few friends. De lifters (1962) is visually not uncompelling, but it lacks character. It is in fact a small road movie about a few hitchhikers who, after each other, are offered a ride by a man (Jan van Mastrigt). The pivot of the story is the (only) woman in the company, around whom the three men circle. It is the often seen aspect in Paul Verhoevens work of the dominating: a manipulating woman with men holding the bag.

In roadmovies it is not the story as such that should form the attraction, but the characters and perhaps the (context of the) environment through which is traveled. Unfortunately, De lifters (1962) leaves something to be desired here, as a result of which the film contains little unique value. The acting, and especially the dialogues and performance are clumsy and contrived and the characters themselves are relatively uninteresting.

This short film certainly has its charm, especially the beginning of the film, due to the airy nature of the conversations and the unintentional comedy of the intonations. But after about five minutes you notice the film lack of development or remarkable visuals.

De lifters (1962) did not become a bad job, but unfortunately it is just too simple to get enthusiastic about it. Paul Verhoeven, however, would largely be able to avoid the mistakes he had made here, for example with regard to the use of sound and dialogue, for his next film Feest! (1963) which was based more on a French version.

'Feest!' (Dutch for 'Party!') is the last student film of director Paul Verhoeven. You can clearly see the progress of his craftsmanship. The techniques he had previously experimented with come together in this short film. We are also presented with a charming story about enamored students, filmed at the directors old secondary school in The Hague, the Haganum.

We see the loose, inspired by Nouvelle Vague style of Nothing Special (1961) combined with the long shots of De lifters (1962), but better balanced and more extensive. We are now treated to beautiful overview shots of the schoolyard and the school and its premises itself, filmed, as it seems, from the roof of one of the buildings. Then follows a point-of-view shot of Peter, who looks down from the window from a classroom high in the school building, down on the long-walking students. He has instructed his friend to ask the girl he has an eye on, Anja, what she thinks of him, and gesticulate from the window where he should go.

"Party!" is a very recognizable, and cute, film about the difficulties that shy Peter endures to court Anja. The uncomfortable silences , the furtive looks that are exchanged, friends and girlfriends who try to "help" them, it is familiar territory for anyone who has ever been shy and in love. There is not a lot of spectacal in the film, and there is not really a (satisfying) climax, but the film contains nice observations. Moreover, the form has succeeded well. Eye-catching is the way in which the long walk of Anja and Peter is filmed, with a camera that revolves around the two, and later on they keep a close eye on the two of them while they walk to the house of Anja.

Also nice are the two short, fast turns when Peter just heard from Anja that she wants to go with him to the ball, and with a smile on his face on his bike runs away. It is reminiscent of the moment in Singin' in the Rain (1952) where Gene Kelly kissed the woman he fell in love with. He feels like he can handle the whole world, and even rain clouds can not hurt or irritate him. The moment Peter gets on his bike has the same kind of effect. With wings of an eagle he seems to be flying through the air rather than cycling over the street.

Acting and dialogue are not perfect, but certainly a lot better than in De lifters (1962), and the two main characters are well cast, with a fine Peter, who is charming, but does not know how to handle girls (much like Paul Verhoeven at the time); and the handsome Anja manages to find a nice balance between being in love and (feigned) indifference.

'Party!' shows a satisfying harmony between content and form. Not that static and rather matt camera work from De lifters (1962) but also not an overly artistic stylization that mainly draws attention to itself. Not every moment in the film, with regard to the ins and outs of the school, is equally interesting, but it has certainly become an above-average production. This film would later be the occasion for (the financing of) Paul Verhoevens first real action or spectacle film, called Het korps Mariniers (1965).

In 1943, one hundred thousand Dutch people were members of the NSB, the National Socialist Movement, the fascist political party that collaborated with the German occupiers of the Netherlands during World War II. Thirteen thousand men were part of the Weerbaarheidsafdeling, the paramilitary arm of the NSB. Thirty thousand Dutchmen joined the SS, the Schutz Staffe. Twenty thousand of them went to the Eastern Front. Ten thousand of them died.

These are a few, less pleasant facts that are presented at the beginning of this controversial documentary about NSB leader Anton Adriaan Mussert. Paul Verhoeven was never shy from controversy and this documentary shows his early cinematic principles.

Paul Verhoeven wanted to explore who Mussert really was, or rather: how he became. He doesn't portray Mussert as pure evil, but as someone who was just somewhere at school and had friends and family who appreciated him. Someone with dreams and frustrations. Paul Verhoeven shows everything in his documentary, an exceptionally balanced account of the life and social forces of Mussert, external events and personal ambitions that have made him this maligned person.

Paul Verhoeven does not approve Mussert's behavior but his approach to the person Mussert created a lot of opposition. The documentary could not be broadcast on television. The VPRO was of the opinion that there was too little balance in the film and demanded from Paul Verhoeven that he would place some images of concentration camps in it. After this request was granted, the film could still be broadcast in 1970, two years later.

Interestingly, Mussert was convicted and executed as a traitor, while he was always proud of the national feeling, and stood up for the Dutch interest when it threatened to come into play. His work for Hitler, which he also describes as a prophet and as sent by God to save Europe, he sees as necessary evil. He had the misconception that the Netherlands could continue to play an independent role within a German federation of states. It is also interesting to see the ex-East front fighters without a glance or blush. They have fought for Hitler against the (Russian) Communists on the Eastern Front, but are still really behind their actions and the philosophy of Mussert.

The end of the film is, remarkably enough, comparable with the end of Black Book (2006). We see what was done with the traitors and NSB-ers by the people on the street, when the war ended. Heads were shaved, humiliating signs hung around the neck, and they literally had to bend their knees. This documentary, as in Black Book (2006), shows the 'less' positive aspects of 'our' participation and behavior in the war. Shades of gray, instead of a comfortable black and white.