Dusk (2010)

Directed by: Hanro Smitsman | 91 minutes | drama, thriller | Actors: Matthijs van de Sande Bakhuyzen, Robert de Hoog, Gerson Oratmangoen. Gaite Jansen, Melody Klaver, Roos Netjes

A story like that of the murder of Maja Bradarić in 2003 raises countless questions for everyone who hears it. The sixteen-year-old girl was murdered in cold blood by three of her close friends in the summer of 2003. Their motives have remained virtually unknown in the time after the murder, much to the disgust of a shocked Netherlands. The events apparently appeal to the imagination for writers and film makers too, judging by the various projects based on the murder. First there was the book by crime journalist Simon Vuyk and later the documentary ‘Sweety’, by Menna Laura Meijer. Now Hanro Smitsman has also chosen to use the story for his latest film. Smitsman previously impressed with the strong ‘Skin’, which also examines the seemingly incomprehensible choices of young people. Due to a lengthy process prior to the actual production of the film, the director – together with screenwriter Anjet Daanje – has largely distanced himself from the exact facts. The film is now more thematically inspired by the murder – although Bradarić’s name can be found in large letters on all the promotional material, perhaps a marketing consideration?

The thematic focus is on peer pressure, and in particular how peer pressure, as long as no one within a group stops the rest at some point, can lead to bizarre decisions—that young people would never make on their own. By changing the perspective – literally – from one to the other, Smitsman always shifts the direction and mood of the film – a good find. It is especially with stories like this that it is very important to be able to take the viewer into the story for as long as possible. Could he himself be able to get into such a situation? That is the question that Smitsman wants to ask with his film. Due to the varying starting points, it is still possible for different viewers to identify with at least one of the characters – at least that is the intention. Because although the young actors come a long way, one perhaps a little further than the other, it is over at some point. The characters lose credibility somewhere along the way; their ability to really keep hitting. The mutual frictions and frustrations are the focus of the film, partly to express the characters, but also to – partly – provide an explanation for the atrocity they commit. At the same time, it is precisely these mutual intrigues that are introduced into the story with very little subtlety – homosexuality, sexual frustration, sick parents, drinking parents, arguing parents, physical defects and insecurities are pretty much the things that tie the lives of these teenagers together. This may explain why all the characters start to get on their nerves over time. The persistent close-ups also contribute to this. The frenzied attitude of the entire group is almost palpable, and just like the youngsters, the viewer also becomes annoyed with the whole situation and also with Jessie – the girl who eventually comes to her fate at the hands of the three boys in the group . Jessie stirs and manipulates, of course mainly arising from her own insecurity, but thereby leading her own friends to this insane thought. The young Gaite Jansen beautifully shapes this dual teenage identity.

Director Smitsman himself indicates that he does not want to give an explanation with the film, while it is of course in the nature of people to constantly look for explanations. He wanted to counter this precisely. In that sense, he sends out a strong message, a realistic one too: many things – no matter how nasty and terrible – simply do not have a simple explanation. Yet, perhaps because of that message, the film leaves an unsatisfactory feeling that relates to more than just the storyline.