The Discovery of Heaven

Absolutely awful. Extremely sexist, theologically nonsensical, politically uninformed, . . . Characters behave in ever more absurdly uncharacteristic ways. Very irritating and boring. Also disappointing, because it is based on a book by a very good writer, Harry Mulisch and directed by Krabbe, who usually seems to be an intelligent actor. Here, he directs his actors with a lack of respect that appalls me.

After going to the cinema to view this unusual movie, we decided to purchase it when it came out on DVD. After viewing it again, we were glad we purchased this movie. Jeroen Krabbe did a splendid job of directing it, and the cast was perfect for their roles. I am trying to obtain a copy of this book in English, and my boyfriend has read it in its original language and loved it very much. We give it a definite 2 thumbs up!

It's been a long time since I've been impressed by dutch movies. I think Jeroen Krabbe managed to create a pice of art by filming this movie, after the book of Harry Mulish. I have not read the book, but I am convinced mr. Mulish will be proud of the end result. Beforehand, I was a bit sceptical about Stephen Fry, but all prejudice was unjust: this is a perfect cast. Unfortunately Jeroen appeared in this movie as Gabriel, his dutch accent makes his english sound funny. Luckily he had just a few few lines. In the spirit of dutch movies a lot of naked people, but everything was filmed with class.

In a tv interview, Jeroen recently told that people would talk to him on the streets, just to thank him for making this movie. If I would come across him in Amsterdam, I would do the same.

A must-see!

Casting is brilliant (apart from the 5 year old Quintin who had a funny foreign/cockney mixed accent which threw me, but luckily he's only got a short part in the film). Usually I can't see Stephen Fry without getting irritated, but he Is Onno Quist! Jeroen Krabbé as usual gave himself a nice little part in the film he was directing... All in all a fitting tribute to a brilliant book, and ok, yes the end is a bit dodgy but then again the end of the book was the same and if you think about it, there was no other way to end the story... Usually if I go to see 'the film of the book' I'm left feeling disappointed, but this time I was pleasantly surprised.

First of all, I am obliged to say my view on this movie was somewhat coloured, because the novel this movie is based on is one of my favourites and I know it by heart.

If you have read the novel, you should watch this movie really open-minded. The novel is a 900+-pages book with a lot of details and symbolism which you cannot completely explain in a 2-hour movie. However, the main story line and the highlights have been pretty well preserved, although the plot has been simplified and explained a bit.

On the other hand, if you haven't read the novel, I'm not too sure whether or not this is such a great movie. Of course, at no point the picture gets boring or inexplicable, but because so much details of the novel have been left away, the true meaning of the book and the real mission of the main character get drowned in the special effects and the smooth directing.

In the end, I'd have to give this movie a 9 out of 10, with one of the main drawbacks being the length: if this picture has lasted for another hour or two, the power of the novel would have remained so much more intact.