Angel (2020)

Directed by: Dennis Bots | 95 minutes | family | Actors: Liz Vergeer, Barry Atsma, Isa Hoes, Kees Hulst, Ali Ben Horsting, Pim Muda, Mila van Groeningen, Indira Flipse, Keesje Rietvelt, Bente Wallenburg, Thalia Perera, Yenthe Bos, Gurkan Kukucsenturk, Wolf Kerpel, Zidane Baddou, Luca Orlando, Sophie Brahma

Isa Hoes can not only act well, but also turned out to be a successful writer. Notably ‘When I saw you’, the book she wrote about her life with Antonie Kamerling – her husband she met on the set of ‘Good times, bad times’ and who committed suicide in 2010 at the age of 44 because he could no longer cope with his depression – became a resounding success. When her publisher asked her to try a children’s book, Hoes was initially hesitant. Writing fiction is a profession in itself, and for children too… Could she be able to do that? So she asked her then ten-year-old daughter Butterfly to help her. Butterfly let her childhood fantasy speak, while Isa poured it into story form. Voila, ‘Angel’ was born. The book about a girl who can fulfill all kinds of wishes thanks to a magical clock, turned out to be extremely suitable for a film. Hoes was asked by producer Daniëlle Raaphorst as a creative producer, which means that she was allowed to talk about the interpretation of the roles in front of and behind the scenes. She immediately put director Dennis Bots forward, with whom she made the series ‘Rozengeur & Vodka Lime’. She herself takes on the role of Engels’ brilliant, but somewhat chaotic mother.

The lead role in ‘Engel’ (2020) is played by Liz Vergeer, the talented young actress we saw earlier in ‘Banker of the resistance’ (2018), ‘Bumperkleef’ and ‘Mees Kees in de Clouds’ (both 2019). Engel is a shy and somewhat insecure girl of almost twelve who lives with her parents (Isa Hoes and Barry Atsma), both brilliant scientists, in a stately house on the edge of Amsterdam’s Vondelpark. Her best friend is Keesje (Mila van Groeningen, also known for ‘Mees Kees in the clouds’), a quirky, non-conformist type who doesn’t care about her surroundings. The girls don’t have it easy at school, they don’t belong to the ‘tough’ types, the horse girls or the ‘glitter girls’. After a completely failed speech, a sad Angel goes home upset. When she falls off her bicycle in the park, she suddenly finds an old-fashioned clock. Not much later she discovers that when she makes a wish to the watch, it miraculously comes true. She decides to keep her find a secret at first, but it doesn’t take long before Keesje discovers what’s going on. The two girls then make all their wishes come true; from a rich breakfast with donuts, cakes and biscuits and a bouncy castle in the garden to Keesje’s own horse. When their classmates discover the magic of the clock, suddenly everyone wants to be an English friend. But is that popularity worth it if her friendship with Keesje is at stake…?

Every child dreams about it: what if you could make all your dreams come true? ‘Engel’ cleverly capitalizes on that ultimate childhood dream with this sweet and rock-solid film. The magical moments are very nicely designed and Liz Vergeer portrays Engel as an endearing girl who finds it difficult to say ‘no’ for fear of not being liked. That makes her a recognizable character and ensures that our sympathy lies with her, even if she makes the wrong choices. The roles of the adults – in addition to Hoes and Atsma, among others also Kees Hulst, Pim Muda, Ali Ben Horsting and Gurkan Kukucsenturk – are too marginal and one-sided to actually leave a mark; the fact that most of them don’t be astonished or stunned by all that magic around them makes them even rather silly. No, it’s really the children who are leading the charge here and Vergeer and Van Groeningen do that with gusto. In ‘Engel’, the kids never really go overboard with their boldness or stubbornness: the desired hundred pizzas that fall from the sky are neatly distributed in the park and once English secret is known at school, all the children are allowed to ask her to grant their wish. Hatch. That brave, sweet coloring within the lines is actually the biggest flaw in this film: it could all have been a bit bolder and more stubborn. However, the message that ‘Angel’ conveys is clear, because that the power of friendship conquers all is convincing!