Review: Vacation in your own country (2011)

Directed by: Hanro Smitsman | 76 minutes | family | Actors: Frederik Brom, Hayo Bruins, Max van Burg, Lottie Hellingman, Gianni Janzen, Albert Lagrin, Julia Marinissen, Elle van Rijn, Miguel Stordiau, Victor Swank, Juan Carlos Tajes, Zana Weiss, Amalia Yuno

We may know director Hanro Smitsman from ‘Skin’, ‘De Punt’ and ‘The last journey of Meneer van Leeuwen’. ‘Vacation in your own country’ is the fourth in the list of Telefilms that Smitsman realized in a short time. A large number of well-known faces were called up for this telefilm. We see pleasant acting by Max van den Burg, Lottie Hellingman and Hayo Bruins.

But what seems to start as a serious telefilm about ‘the credit crisis’, quickly turns into a light-hearted family production that will apparently be especially worthwhile for children. Apparently, because from what point of view the film should really be viewed remains something in the dark. ‘Vacation in your own country’ contains comical dialogues but also has scenes that are a bit lackluster. The light handling of themes such as adultery and bankruptcy destroy real drama, but cannot immediately be characterized as highly humorous. While the basic data seems promising, the elaboration therefore lingers somewhat between the different genres. ‘Vacation in your own country’ can therefore seem somewhat seedless and unspoken.

Screenwriter Rob Bloemkolk reminds the viewer of the things that may be really important in life with ‘Vacation in your own country’. And the fact that we may be less different from each other than we sometimes make ourselves believe. So a moral? Hell yes. By caricaturing the degenerate lives of the two main characters, a ready-made black-and-white scenario is quickly presented in which themes such as cultural difference and social interaction are conveyed in a very manageable way.

The ‘hero roles’ in this telefilm are reserved for daughter Saskia (Amalia Yuno) who, together with her boyfriends and girlfriends, have to save the adults from madness. And that reinforces the idea that ‘Vacation in your own country’ will appeal to a youthful target group from this childish perspective.