Nobody in Town (2018)

Directed by: Michiel van Erp | 102 minutes | drama | Actors: Jonas Smulders, Chris Peters, Sofie Porro, Minne Koole, Harm Duco Schut, Huub van der Lubbe, Hans Kesting, Ariane Schluter, Anneke Blok, Kim Feenstra

In recent years it has become a dubious honour: the opening film of the Netherlands Film Festival. Because just think about it: titles like ‘Tulipani’, ‘De Held’ and ‘Bloedlink’ are not exactly films that will go down in the books as the best that Dutch cinema had to offer. But in 2018, director Michel van Erp seems to be breaking through the mediocre status quo: his debut film ‘Nobody in the city’ is both a melancholic ode to being young and a raw realistic look at coming of age.

It haunts your mind during the opening scenes of ‘Nobody in the city’: we’re not going to follow the worries of a stark white student corps for two hours, are we? After the viewer is explicitly taught how to fill a foreskin with dozens of nuts, it turns out that Van Erp mainly uses the environment of the corps to introduce the main characters. At the center is Philip Hofman (new face Minne Koole), a seemingly normal student who fills his days with drink, sex and friends, with his good friends Matt (Jonas Smulders, ‘Brothers’) and Jacob (Chris Peters, ‘Tonio’). ). However, it soon becomes clear that Philip is fearful of the rut, which seems to be slowly creeping into his relationship. When he meets the beautiful Karen (debutante Sofie Porro), his heart races and he finds himself faced with the choice between a secure existence in a relationship where passion has returned, or an adventurous, sexual romance with the quirky Karen. .

Director Michel van Erp (previously known for documentaries and the internationally acclaimed drama series ‘Ramses’) based his debut film on the novel of the same name by Philip Huff (also involved in the script). Now book adaptations are not exactly unique in the Dutch film world; the quality varies considerably more than once. Yet the heartbreaking ‘Tonio’ ​​already proved a few years ago that it is possible: an almost perfect combination of strong source material and a director who can actually handle the source material. Fortunately, Van Erp falls into the latter category: he remains reasonably faithful to the source material, but does not hesitate to leave his own mark. It results in one of the better Dutch films of recent years, in which themes such as depression, parenthood and especially dealing with approaching adulthood predominate. It revolves around boys who, in an environment like that of the student corps, want to feel young and safe in an anarchic, riotous subculture before the drab everyday reality knocks on the door.

In addition to the difficult transition from young to adult, the father-son relationship is an important thread through the film: Philip’s absent father, Matt’s dying and estranged father (played by Huub van der Lubbe, who is always underestimated as an actor) and the rich, authoritarian father of Jacob (impressed by Hans Kesting). It is clear that the boys struggle with these relationships: it changes their way of communicating and in a sense forms an obstacle to the process of maturing, which manifests itself in the search for escapes from the cold reality. Philip finds his way out in sex; Matt in drugs and Jacob in melancholy.

Van Erp has managed to create an impressive whole about how difficult it is to grow up. Nowhere does he opt for the beaten paths that are so abundantly present in the average Dutch (rom-com) film offering. ‘Nobody in the city’ therefore feels fresh and does not run away from also highlighting pain and sadness. The mix of young, promising actors with proven veterans such as Ariane Schluter and Anneke Blok works out well, although Kim Feenstra, however much she tries, is a bit out of tune as Matt’s stepmother. Koole and Peters prove to be talents to be reckoned with in the future, although it is Chris Peters who most aptly captures the struggle with adulthood. Just like in ‘Tonio’, Peters shows himself blessed with a mystical dreaminess that gives his characters something ‘out of earth’; as if he is never quite at home in the much too small world. However forcedly dreamy his lyrics sometimes seem: Peters makes it believable and once again shows his potential as an actor.

Unfortunately, ‘Nobody in the city’ does not completely succeed in evading a standard shortcoming of Dutch feature films in the form of the dialogues that sometimes feel somewhat wooden. These are small blemishes on an otherwise very successful film, which has a pleasantly brooding and erotic atmosphere about it. Where other filmmakers are sometimes guilty of a shameless exploitation of (female) nudes, Van Erp occasionally elevates this to loving and almost realistic-looking art.

With the beautiful camera work and the stylish soundtrack, Van Erp proves, just like in the astonishing ‘Ramses’, that he can handle fiction very well as a director, although he can’t help but beautifully return his characteristic approach to documentaries. . It is therefore the ultimate proof that it can do no harm to opt for a different approach in front of and behind the camera, and hopefully it will finally form the prelude to the type of opening film that the Netherlands Film Festival can really be proud of.