Evening Land (2017)

Directed by: Nico van den Brink | 50 minutes | drama | Actors: Bas Vuister, Joy Verberk, Levi Andernach, Kwint van de Pol, Jesse Jansen

‘Avondland’ is one of six short films from the twelfth edition of One Night Stand, one of the most important film projects for young, talented filmmakers in the Netherlands, presented by NTR, BNNVARA and VPRO. The screenplay of ‘Avondland’ was written by Nico van den Brink (who also directed) and Viktor van der Valk.

We see the hard life in the (Drentse?) countryside. A farmer who will have to struggle even harder because of a burnt stable. Working hard for little is the motto. In your spare time you can enjoy a bike ride on the quad or swim in a stream. The usual Dutch fare on the table: peas and carrots, potatoes and a ball of mincemeat. All this with in the background (the news on TV) the influx of refugees and the advancing new buildings.

The life of farmer’s son Jorg and his friends feels unspoken after the death of their young friend Jochem a year earlier. Especially when a group of Dutch-Moroccan new residents fiddle with their until recently so safe, orderly existence.

Afraid of the strange. And so they provoke these newbies to the neighborhood snack bar. And a second time on a country road. This to the anger of Lize, Jorg’s girlfriend: “Crazy games on the road. You, above all, should know where that can lead.”

In turn, Lize is bothered by the ‘fellowlanders’ in the supermarket where she works behind the cash register. In reprisal, they pay a visit to Mahmoud’s father’s restaurant. This leads to a fight.

Only when Mahmoud and his father come to buy a bull from Jorg’s father for the sacrificial feast, the realization is there. In a beautiful final scene we see real emotion in the stiff Jorg.

‘Avondland’ impresses with the filming close to the skin, the soundtrack (‘Ave Maria’) and the bone-dry, bare approach. Young people who do not know how to handle change and great emotions. An example to illustrate. When the group of friends visit the parents of the deceased friend, Jorg says: “It’s not easy either, is it? Death and everything.”
No, it certainly isn’t. Especially all that makes it complex…