Coach (2009)

Directed by: Joram Lürsen | 81 minutes | drama | Actors: Anneke Blok, Mamoun Elyounoussi, Mark Rietman, Gaite Jansen, Loes Haverkort, Abdelftah Ahmed Salah, Rachida Iaallala, Shehab El Akabawy, Michiel de Jong, Remco Vrijdag

The telefilm ‘Coach’ by director Joram Lürsen and screenwriter Frank Ketelaar makes good use of contrasts: the luxurious life of the Van Meeteren family and the existence of the Moroccan Eouazzani family, in which you have to work hard for every cent and every square centimeter. in their cramped house. Not only do the lives of these two families differ materially, the way the children interact with their parents is also different. Through the ‘Coach’ project that Suzanne signs up for, the lives of the two families are intertwined, with far-reaching consequences for everyone involved, even Suzanne’s colleague Fleur…

Anneke Blok is excellently cast as Suzanne, the rich wife of a plastic surgeon. The family lacks for nothing financially. Suzanne is proof that money doesn’t buy happiness, becomes her life – next to her job at a library, filled with courses and charities. However, she doesn’t have the patience to finish things yet, something that her husband Leon (Mark Rietman) likes to rub her nose with. Teenage daughter Sophie (Gaite Jansen, a discovery!) is busy with school and tennis and apparently doesn’t need mother anymore. It is therefore easy to imagine what Suzanne sees in the “Coach” project, in which underprivileged and immigrant youth are helped by wealthy citizens. Suzanne is assigned the Moroccan Soukri, who she first thought was a girl. Despite a difficult start, Soukri and Suzanne quickly bond and Suzanne gets to know the boy better. Colleague Fleur (Loes Haverkort) often offers a listening ear for the lonely Suzanne in her marriage, but also gives her opinion: is Suzanne sometimes in love with Soukri? Fortunately the script leaves no room for any doubts on the part of the audience, because Suzanne’s motives are very clear. Soukri studies at the VMBO, but doesn’t like it. The boy doesn’t like the future plans that Soukri’s father has made for him: he doesn’t like cars at all and really doesn’t want to take over his father’s garage. Suzanne discovers a hidden talent in Soukri and stimulates him – both mentally and financially – to develop this further… This is not without consequences…

Despite the fact that ‘Coach’ has a number of clichéd plot developments, the whole has become a fascinating film, where the actors and the believable dialogues know how to draw you into the story. Those involved are faced with a number of dilemmas, and the viewer goes along with them in such a way that you also consider for yourself what you would do in such a situation. The film smoothly deals with a number of themes such as discrimination, parent-child relationship and there is even a stab underwater to plastic surgery (if Loes Haverkort has to be hitchhiked at the age of 28…). The street scene is recognisably Dutch and well portrayed. Great (tele) movie.