Cloaca

A cloaca is the rear body opening of an animal that serves as the only opening for the digestive (rectum), reproductive, and urinary tracts (Wikipedia). In this film however it is the word with which a group of study friends greet each other. They did so when they were at the university and they still do as forty-somethings. Being Latin in origin the word sounds chic but has a rather down to earth meaning.

There are many films about study friends meeting each other at a reunion later in life. "The big chill" (1983, Lawrence Kasdan) and "The return of the secaucus 7" (1979, John Sayles) comes to my mind. Although I have seen neither of them I think I can imagine the main theme. Former idealism has gone and boring daily routine has taken its place.

"Cloaca" is different. In Cloaca the main characters are not just disillusioned, their life is a mess.

Joep (Gijs Scholten van Aschat) is hoping to become minister in the next government but at the same time his marriage is such a wreck that his wife has put him outside the house.

Maarten (Jaap Spijkers) is a director just before the opening night of his new play. He has an affair with one of the actresses, bareley 18 years old. This actress turns out to be the daughter of Joep.

Tom (Peter Blok) is a lawyer recovering from a cocaine addiction.

Pieter (Pierre Bokma) is a civil servant working on the department that implements the subsidy scheme for artists. Every year at his birthday he is allowed to handpick a painting that otherwise would be stored in the municipal warehouse. This arrangement is however unofficial. When a painter dies and his work becomes very expensive the municipality wants his work back. In the meantime Pieter has however sold some of the paintings to cover daily expenses.

When these troubled friends come together the central question is if their problems have made them selfish or is there still some loyalty left? The answer is only given at the denouement. Up till then there is a "not with or without you" sentiment between men only. The dialogues are razor sharp reminding me of "Who is afraid of Virginia Woolf' (1966, Mike Nichols), although in this film the "not with or without you" sentiment relates to a marriage and not to a friendship.

There are some comic scenes, such as the silly dance on the music of Madness the friends perform for Joep at his birthday. Most of all however I remember some beautiful images. One of them is the actress (yes the one Maarten is having an affair with) smeared with mud that is rinsed off her naked body during the final scene of the play. This image made it to the poster. More impressive and more meaningful however is the image of a boat with four student on it sailing through the canals of the city. One student is playing a piano, the others are drinking beer. This image occurs twice in the movie. Is it real or is it a memory? I am inclined to think the last.

This is a tv movie and it shows, production value seems low and cinematography regarding, it's not that beautiful to watch. However, since it's based on a theatrical play, all this are not important. There are other things to enjoy here, for instance the script. It's a clever script, characters are well written and the problems they face, seem real and relatable. Specially if you are over 30-35 years old.

Furthermore, the acting, every actor here did a good job.

This is a good comedy/drama: You won't laugh out loud but there are some funny scenes, some emotional ones, overall it was an interesting movie, maybe not exciting neither a movie which will stay with you.

Most fans of this subgenre will probably like it. I would prefer a different ending, perhaps less melodramatic but still, it was not bad at all.

2003 was a good year for Dutch Cinema. Not only did we see the success release of 'Van God Los' and 'Phileine zegt sorry', 2003 also saw the release of Cloaca. This movie will appeal to a smaller audience than the other two i just mentioned, but if you read this, go see it. The movie is about four former student buddyies who meet each other in their mid-40ties. One just left his wife, another was a top lawyer but had a nervous breakdown. The 3th guy has a legal battle with his boss, and the last is a director of a stage play, and he is screwing his main actress, the 18 year old daughter of his best friend. The 4 meet and see that their dreams in college have not exactly come true. The question is, is there still a way out for any of them. This may sound like the beginning of a feel good movie, but it isn't. cloaca is funny, dark, depressing and ultimately without mercy. A must see.

It's been a while since I saw this film, but the one thing I remember best is the fact I was so unimpressed by the acting. While I was still living in Holland, a friend of the family said: 'if you want to see the creme de la creme of Dutch acting, rent this film!' So I did and I wasn't impressed in the least by the unconvincing Dutch actors. Seeing British and (fair enough) a few American actors on screen, you believe they are the people they're portraying. But in this film, I'm sad to say, I had the feeling that the four main actors were very uncomfortable, undoubtedly did their best, but the outcome is nothing much... If you like arty films and are a fan of any of the actors, go and rent it... But if you really want to see a good Dutch film, rent 'Van God Los'. That was far better than this, (this was, to sum up: a rather weak effort to make it feel like a good film). and based on real events.

The story about four men in their mid-life crisis is well written and does not loose focus at any moment. Convincing actors. I did not like the scene with the prostitute. All scenes are realistic and seem to come out of really every-day life. The psychology of the friends is well described by strong dialogue.