Raak

A boy and his frustrations. His father , mother and her boyfriend. The web of relations, tensions and brutal answers. And the revenge of boy against the brutal gesture of a presumed stranger.

The construction of story, like the cinematography and performance of young Nino Van Der Lee are, near the obvious realism, the main virtue of this cold short film about consequences, reminding Babel by Alejandro G. Inarritu.

Precise, detail by detail, image of disfunctional family and refuges of its members, it offers a clear portrait of a slice from near reality.

Fair tension, catching story and the revenge of boy as a reflection of Old Greek destiny.

The moment Raak starts, it seems to deal with characters who exist out off nothing but rude language and hate. Compassion seems a feature these low class members of society do not possess. They reminded me of characters of Flodder, although this time not figuring in a humorous setting. However, you will discover that there is more to the characters as you might expect on first sight. Their actions become understandable as the anachronic plot continues. In the end it is sheer coincidence that creates the horrible ending.

What I liked about Raak is that it turned my initial antipathy for the characters into a certain sympathy. The plot is not brilliant, but sometimes surprising and succeeds in the manipulation of the feelings of the viewer towards the characters. The acting is very good, especially the acting of Nino van der Lee, who plays Rik, the young kid. The film is accompanied by music that seems to be a Dutch version of the music of Amélie. Just like in that movie, the music really adds to the atmosphere. Altogether, it is definitely worth to watch. It didn't win the Golden Bear on the Berlin Film Festival for nothing.

This short movie was shown as a bonus – free viewing along with the screening of the movie "Interview". May be the distributor of the movie must be the same in Netherlands. The genre of short movie making is the most difficult medium. One has to be very creative as well as effective in engaging the audience and convey a catchy story-line. This is a ten minute short film.

The story is about relationships, between five characters – son, his father and mother, and mother's lover and his wife. I won't tell you the story over here – otherwise it would spoil your "just" 10 minutes of feeling the movie.

This movie has also won the Golden Berlin Bear award as the Best Short Film of 2007 at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Hanro Smitsman – the Dutch Director has done justice with the time and opens up the movie in the last scene. The last scene unwinds the audiences mind to think about all the first 9 minutes that passed by. Interesting - Worth seeing it one more time! Kudos! (Stars 7.5 out of 10)