Barbara (2009)

Directed by: Iván López Nunez | 40 minutes | thriller, short film, crime | Actors: Juda Goslinga, Bob Schrijber, Peter Beense, Dick van den Toorn, Rian Gerritsen, Jahviero Bronne, Joy Wielkens, Roos Drenth, Anis de Jong, Pieter van Terheijden, Eduard Decaster, Yasar Ustuner, Edward Haak, Gregory Fraestr, Jerrely Slijger Emile Christen, Mohammed Ali, Ki Cheng Ho, Tim Hildering, Jasper Rovers, Evelien van den Bergh, Lotte Verbeek, Liza Koifman

Juda Goslinga convincingly portrays the half-baked criminal Robbie. With his baseball jacket and his tough stride through the center of Amsterdam, where he meets countless acquaintances, but not a single real friend, he soon gives the impression of a big mouth, small heart type, even when he knows money in a heavy-handed way. to tinker with yet another such knowledge. Robbie is in trouble because he owes money himself. Then the opportunity arises to earn a lot of money, but for that Robbie has to go further than ever before.

‘Barbosa’ is a hard, but also a sweet film. Robbie’s target Marius, a man he has to take to the docks at 2am so he can be put down, is a recently released criminal who, according to noises from the street, was incarcerated for attempted manslaughter. When Robbie gets to know him better, it turns out that everything is not so black and white. Marius is loved by his family, as his presence at his nephew’s birthday party shows, and Robbie, whose relationship with his own child is in limbo (he is dependent on visiting arrangements), is touched by this. You feel bad for poor Robbie at that party. Loneliness is written on Goslinga’s face.

And then it’s a quarter past one. Three quarters of an hour before the supreme moment. Nothing in the scenario by Rogier de Blok (1976) indicates which decision Robbie will make and whether Marius realizes what is about to happen. The tension arc is taut. The story that De Blok wrote is captivating throughout the entire playing time. The atmosphere of the Amsterdam Red Light District, where the film is set, is excellently reproduced. Excellent work by director Iván López Núňez, who has brought the story to the silver screen in an authentic way. And that end… no one probably saw that coming. Horrible.