Godforsaken

Intense movie with a plot that seems inevitable. "Van God Los" (which literally means "detached from God/to secede from God" and not "Godforsaken") is loosely based on the infamous "Bende van Venlo" (Venlo Gang) whose mostly youthful members allegedly committed over 250 crimes in 1993 and 1994.

The cold-bloodiness of the murders is acted out very well. It's hard to understand how a 15-year-old privileged dentist's son from the rural Netherlands can commit such crimes. The movie gives a very uncomfortable answer: That there is nothing to understand, that these things just happen because our society is the way it is.

In my opinion, the original title speaks volumes about the tone the movie sets and the answers it tries to give. Whereas "Godforsaken" implies that God "left" us alone, perhaps in disappointment, "to secede from God" means deliberately leaving him behind. Unfortunately, I have no information on the writer's intention here. It befits the film to have to think for yourself about what it means to you. The film will definitely get you thinking for a long while after the credits are over.

This movie surpassed all my expectations. Its very raw in its violence and story. The characters are well developed and the actors that portray them are most excellent.

I couldn't help thinking about "Goodfellas" while watching this movie. Both movies have certain parallels. The main character doesn't begin his life as a criminal and murderer but slowly becomes so and transforms throughout the movie. Also the criminal activities in both movies are quite the same. Still this doesn't mean that "Van God Los" is a cheap Dutch rip-off of "Goodfellas", no not at all! "Van God Los" is a powerful movie on its own that is driven by its well developed characters. The movie has some pretty violent scene's, they were really not holding back here and I found it even quite shocking and disturbing at times but in a good way.

The story is very solid and well written and it's loosely based on true events. Yes people, these events and gangs are so rare in The Netherlands that they make movies about them. All of the events in the movie feel all very realistic which is I think also thanks to the fine actors. But it's not all violence in this movie, the movie is driven by some powerful emotions and the movie has several layers. It's a both powerful emotional movie as well as a violent one. In a way the movie shows that everyone has it in him or her to become a criminal. Basically there is no reason why this couldn't happen to any of you out there.

The movie is very well directed by Pieter Kuijpers, who is a great character director. The fine cinematography by Bert Pot impressed me and the music by 'Het Paleis van Boem' set the mood for the movie perfectly.

To be honest, I was kind of worried when the movie and its narration began. All of the main characters in the movie are speaking with a certain Dutch accent they speak in the southern province Limburg. I'm from the absolute most northern province of The Netherlands and Limburg is the most southern province of The Netherlands. Needless to say that the accents are completely different and in my ears even irritating, than I'm used to. But those worries were all for nothing, you get used to the accents very quick and after a while you don't even really notice them anymore. Of course for all the people outside The Netherlands who don't speak one word of Dutch, this isn't a complaint because they will simply of course not be bothered by it at all.

This movie most certainly surprised me in a positive way and I think that this movie deserves an international audience.

9/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

At first i was drawn in when i heard it was about a gang of teenage killers - based on a true story. The story is quite raw, sometimes a bit shocking. Excellent acting from Egbert Jan Weeber, who plays the lead role of Stan. The movie is quite depressing at times though. Van God Los ( or Godforsaken) is about three teenage boys who begin to kill before for the mafia boss - this is where the "Godfellas" part comes in. I didn't think this movie was mind-blowing or amazing. It was an okay movie ; i thought the acting was great. Some scenes in the film are very violent, and it's shocking to see how out of control they get, especially the character Maikel - in various scenes in the movie - especially near the end ! I thought there would've been a better ending though - it was unpredictable, which is always interesting.

I've seen quite a lot of movies, also quite some Dutch ones. Most of them suck quite heavily or are far too commercial, therefore i didn't expect much from Van God Los. But i was wrong.

The movie is very catchy, as it is being told from the perspective of Stan, a young Gymnasium student, who dislikes school and is mostly found being out on the streets. His parents don't care for him much, so he is quite left alone. Then he meets Maikel and they become very close friends. They start with some small illegal businesses, but end up being hired killers.

The story being told from a main character perspective, with commenting on Stan's thoughts, is quite unusual for Dutch movies and almost gives it a Hollywood feeling, with links to movies like the Godfather series. This makes the movie very impressive and really gets you into the main character and his feelings.

When the movie ended, i almost felt the urge of applauding for it, but since the entire cinema was silent, so was i. It was clear to see that this movie made a great impression on all viewers, it was a long time ago i heard so little noise when all people left their seats. This movie is in my opinion already a (Dutch) classic! A must see!

It's well known that Dutch movies have a notoriously (and completely deserved) bad name, but over the last couple of years they're starting to get better, as "Van God Los" clearly exemplifies.

First of all, there's finally some good acting in a Dutch movie, which is rather surprising since most of the main characters are soap actors that normally can't act their way out of cartboard box, but in this movie they all exceed themselves and deliver very convincing parts, complete with believable accents.

The atmosphere has also been done very well..I originally come from the region where the movie takes place, and the director really hit the spot with the ambiance by including things like Carnival parades and lots of greenhouses. Overall, the region comes across as just as dull as it is in reality, which in this case is a definite plus.

The story, although rather predictable (you know that the movie isn't going to end well), is again very plausible and well thought out. The characters show believable emotions and undergo believable developments, and somehow you care for them even though most of them would be aptly described as "scum".

All in all, "Van God Los" is a very realistic, strong and emotional movie that tells a slightly predictable but nonetheless fascinating and tragic story about friendship and crime. Dutch movies are definitely going the right way...