Away From You (2017)

Directed by: Jelle de Jonge | 98 minutes | comedy, romance | Actors: Katja Herbers, Lykele Muus, Carly Wijs, Maarten Heijmans, Imanuelle Grives, Elise Schaap, Guy Clemens, Margot Ros, Patrick Stoof, Leny Breederveld, Bas Hoeflaak, Nick Golterman, Pepijn Scheneveld, Sergio Herman

For the average well-known Dutch person, the Netherlands ends where the Randstad ends. Even if they were born in ‘the province’, they flee as soon as possible to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague or Utrecht to seek refuge there. Of course there is more to do for people who work in the entertainment world. But to be condescending about everything that lies outside the Randstad… The romantic comedy ‘Weg van je’ (2017) plays with that misplaced sense of superiority in a nice way. Evi (Katja Herbers) from Rotterdam lives in a beautiful penthouse, from where she overlooks the skyline of Rotterdam. She has a nice job at an internationally established construction company, which specializes in civil engineering, and is also on the verge of a major promotion. Since the company has just landed a major job in Rio de Janeiro, Evi can already see herself having a cocktail at Copacabana. Her boyfriend Lennart (Lykele Muus) is already counting himself rich. But then her manager Renate (Carly Wijs) turns out to have very different plans for her. She will certainly have an important assignment. Just not in sunny and fashionable Rio, but in the Dutch clay of Zeeuws Vlaanderen. Is that a setback!

Reluctantly, Evi leaves for Zeeuws Vlaanderen, where her company wants to build the largest sea lock in Europe. Without Lennart, because there is no hair on his head that he goes into the swampy clay from Zeeland… If Evi gets this job done quickly, she may still be allowed to go to Rio afterwards. But that’s easier said than done. Firstly, she does not understand the people, secondly, she feels completely out of place. The Zeelanders have nothing to do with her spoiled Randstad habits and customs; they are level-headed, straightforward and steadfast. Evi soon discovers that these people don’t just leave their houses because she wants to build a lock there if necessary. There is an action group that does not give up easily. The company’s spokesperson is the mysterious skipper Stijn (Maarten Heijmans), with whom Evi has had several collisions. As long as Evi clings to her Randstad view of the world, she’s not going to get anything done here. It slowly thaws. She gets to know the people better, appreciates the beautiful nature and experiences the charm of Zeeland life. In addition, warm feelings for Stijn emerge. But then Lennart suddenly stands on the doorstep of her Zeeland rental house…

The flood disaster of 1953, mussels and unintelligible accents. This is how far Evi’s knowledge of Zeeuws Vlaanderen reaches. And perhaps also that of a large part of the viewing audience. That is exactly why Jan Lievens came up with the idea about five years ago to put the region on the map with a film. “Many people simply do not know our region. It is time to change that.” Thanks to crowdfunding and support from local sponsors, about half of the total budget of 1.8 million euros could be raised. Lievens produced the film together with Nynke van der Ploeg; Anna Drijver, among others, was called in to edit the screenplay. The direction is in the hands of Jelle de Jonge (‘Bon Bini Holland’, 2015). A select group of Zeeland-Flemish people, who were allowed to attend a preview, have already responded with joy to ‘Weg van jou’; their region jumps off the canvas. As the film progresses, the beauty of the Zeeland landscape is highlighted more and more clearly. On the one hand tough, sober and the epitome of simplicity, on the other a country of Burgundians, bon vivants and beautiful nature.

As an ode to Zeeland in general and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen in particular, ‘Weg van jou’ is certainly a success. But also as a romantic comedy, this film is certainly enjoyable, not least thanks to the excellent cast. Side characters played by Margot Ros, Patrick Stoof and Guy Clemens, among others, give humor and even a hint of absurdism to the whole. In addition, we see Peter Bolhuis, Imanuelle Grives, Elise Schaap and the Zeeland-Flemish master chef Sergio Herman in light-hearted supporting roles. But this is really the film of Katja Herbers and Maarten Heijmans. Herbers knows how to make the transition that her character experiences tangible; initially we find her an arrogant and spoiled brat, who looks down on the Zeelanders. As soon as she opens her eyes and puts her yoga mat and earplugs aside to sniff the Zeeland nature and culture, she thaws. Heijmans stole our hearts with his more than impressive portrayal of Ramses Shaffy in the ‘Ramses’ series (2014), which rightly earned him a Golden Calf and an International Emmy Award. A role in a romkom is a different story, but Heijmans doesn’t care about that either. He steals every scene he’s in.

Of course we can also add comments to ‘Weg van je’. The genre of romantic comedy usually does not excel in originality and in this case too you can see from miles away where the story is going. Here and there we see superfluous and exaggerated symbolism (literally letting the spark skip when a light is replaced, for example, that’s really too much of a good thing) and except for the main characters, the characters are superficially developed. The message – turn off those screens and experience the real world – is neither new or original, but completely up-to-date. ‘Weg van je’ does not pretend to be an innovative film, but fine entertainment in which an underexposed but beautiful region in the Netherlands can steal the show. And it worked.