Crazy about Orange (2018)

Directed by: Pim van Hoeve | 100 minutes | comedy, romance | Actors: Nasrdin Dchar, Susan Visser, Martijn Fischer, Hannah Hoekstra, Jan Versteegh, Esmee van Kampen, Martijn Lakemeier, Abbey Hoes, Suzanne Kipping, Roben Mitchell, Willem Voogd, Ton Kas, Sanne Wallis de Vries, Belinda van der Stoep, Susan Radder

Summer 2010. The Netherlands is doing well in the World Cup. Naturally, the Dutch streets turn orange and it is the talk of the town. There are of course also people who would prefer to skip that month, because they hate everything about football. ‘Gek van Oranje’, a feel-good mosaic film along the lines of ‘Everything is love’ and ‘Love Actually’, is about this period.

One of those football haters is writer Adam (Nasrdin Dchar), whose wife Claudia (Susan Visser) and two sons are fond of football and his sour comments during the matches (which also make no sense because he doesn’t understand it). prefer to ignore. In the launderette Adam meets Merel (Hannah Hoekstra), for whom the World Cup is not necessary. Merel has been trying to get pregnant with her boyfriend Duco (Willem Voogd) for a while, but Duco is currently seized by the orange fever.

There are also couples who do find each other in their love for football. For example, Michael (Martijn Fischer) and Janice (Esmee van Kampen) are so fond of Orange that it forms the theme of their wedding day and the subsequent trip to South Africa. But Michael turns out to have a serious heart condition, which ruins their plans. The World Cup also makes relationships blossom and family ties are strengthened again.

‘Gek van Oranje’ gives you – unlike the eleven players on the green field – everything you expect and what you sit down for. Predictability is key, but due to the craftsmanship in front of and behind the camera, that’s not a bad thing at all. The film is well balanced due to the excellent editing. Each character gets plenty of attention and the cast is adept enough to make them endearing characters, depending on the viewer’s personal preference as to who is most sympathetic to.

Of course reality is taken for granted here and there (no Dutch highway was so empty that you could skate on it in July 2010), and the finale is also fantasy, but for those who like to go along in the sweet illusion of ‘Gek van Oranje’, that party buzz is really nice.