Blood Brothers (2008)

Directed by: Arno Dierickx | 95 minutes | thriller | Actors: Erik van Heijningen, Matthijs van de Sande Bakhuyzen, Sander van Amsterdam, Derk Stevens, Carolien Spoor, Pierre Bokma, Betty Schuurman, Dimme Treurniet, Marthe-Geke Bracht, Bert Geurkink

With a film like this you have to be careful not to reveal too much when you write about it. Fortunately, director Arno Dierickx has already chosen in the beginning to leave no doubt that this film is about murder. We also know fairly quickly who is the loser. The ‘if’ and ‘who’ questions have thus been answered, but what remains is the ‘when’, ‘how’ and especially the ‘why’? That is what this fascinating film is about.

The beginning paints a picture of something we all know: old money. And old money still stands for power and prestige, especially in the time in which the story is set, the sixties. With a moody string quartet in baroque style, we open at a gigantic country house. It’s raining, the camera slides slowly around the area, almost like a voyeur, from behind the bushes, from behind a rain-soaked window, to where the gardener is busy. From a well he fishes something crazy, a skull. Will this be a thriller? Not really, more of a psychological drama and a good one.

secrets. Everyone has secrets. Without our always being aware of them, they are the drivers of our actions. Secret desires, secret dreams, or just things that others are not allowed to know because they are too painful. Or because there are taboos on it. There are many social taboos and living codes. Like that of the separation of classes. A separation that should ultimately never be crossed, because then things will go wrong. We might even have to give up our secrets. And it can’t, at any price.

Simon has a dream. He wants to move up, literally, he wants to reach the stars, to escape the boring civilian life his parents lead. That is why he studies hard at the gymnasium and seizes the opportunity to become friends with Arnoud and Victor with both hands. Slowly but surely he imagines himself part of their world, an almost classic fact.

Obviously, the rich guys get a lot of power over him. As they are accustomed to have about anyone who does not have what they have, wealth and prestige. The world into which Simon is admitted is cold, but he is blind to it, to the last gasp. The boys’ mother has already suffered from it, it is her medicines that keep her ‘alive’. Why does she get so little attention, why is that father always working or in his study? Is it really just about money and prestige? And what does all this do to the boys, who grow up in a small palace, but know nothing about love and warmth?

At the end we get a sneak peek of the veil of the secret of one of the boys; a delightful secret that puts the rest of the events in a broader context, gives depth to the film and its characters and makes the story exciting. Perhaps this tip of the veil could have been lifted a little earlier, but the surprise also has its effect. Many puzzle pieces fall into place. The disadvantage is that the film sometimes collapses before it, due to the lack of underlayer, until that moment.

With this daring story, Arno Dierickx puts down a well-developed, solid film that distinguishes itself in a subtle structure. He makes the most of his young cast and Pierre Bokma (in a small but important role) more than lives up to his reputation as one of the Netherlands’ best actors. And that in just 23 shooting days and with a limited budget. Three hurray for Arno and his team and for the Dutch film!