Find That Stupid Bitch And Throw Her In The River (2017)

Directed by: Ben Brand | 87 minutes | drama | Actors: Nino den Brave, Senna Fokke, Wim Opbrouck, Koen Kreule, Mirre Licht, Yassine Kji, Dioni Jurado, Daniel Omosebi, Marieke van der Meulen, Lieselot van Honschoten, Caitlin van Ankeren, Kylie Blokland, Matthijs van der Linden, Jenisha Kerk , Mikki Scheper, Kaj Bisschop, Juul Wijdekop, Adnane Aseban, Freedom K. Tarley, Jasper Ahmadian Yazdi, Alexander Mahrez Mrouki, Steef Cuijpers, Jeroen Phaff, Henk Delaere, LeonidVlassov, Loes Schnepper, Chante Esajas, Laura Branderhorst, Floris Beijersbergen, Michel Krot

‘Find that stupid bitch and throw her in the river’ is about the family of Wim (Wim Opbrouck), who tries to make ends meet together with his fifteen-year-old son Remco (Nino den Brave) and fourteen-year-old daughter Lizzy (Senna Fokke). . In addition to his regular job, clearing old people’s homes, Wim has an illegal puppy trade, where he can use the help of his two children. The passports are forged and the puppies from Eastern Europe are put on the marketplace. Asking prices of 1250 euros are very common. Remco and Lizzy are responsible for dumping the sick puppies. During one of those jobs (in which heads or tails decides who gets to do the dirty work), Remco films his sister while she throws the puppies into the water.

Meanwhile, Lizzy auditions for a talent show, she wants to become a famous singer. Remco would also like a little more in the spotlight. He is seen as a loser by his friends and a comment by one of them about a popular YouTube account gives him the idea to put the video he made of Lizzy on his YouTube channel. Initially, that hardly yields any views, but when Remco submits the video to Reddit, it suddenly goes fast. He proudly shows the film to his friends, but they hardly believe that Remco is the filmer. Remco panics when death threats are made against his sister – even though her identity has not yet been established. An online witch hunt ensues and every scene in which Lizzy and Wim seem to know nothing yet, the tension rises. But of course the monkey eventually comes out of the sleeve and in no time the whole thing escalates.

‘Find that stupid bitch and throw her in the river’ is a haunting film about a group of teenagers who really do nothing but what ‘normal’ teenagers do – apart from the horrific puppy murders – and what the terrible consequences are. There are countless real-life examples of teenagers sharing something on the Internet and not being able to assess the consequences. But just like in ‘Nerve’ (2016), for example, ‘Find that stupid bitch and throw her in the river’ is also about how we as internet consumers deal with this. Director Ben Brand, who wrote the screenplay for this strong Telefilm together with Ilse Ott, puts his finger on the sore spot and shows that ‘the people’ are no better than those who are pointed to. And for those who do not believe that this can happen in the Netherlands, it is time to open their eyes. That makes this Telefilm even more oppressive.

The entire cast is excellent, but Nino den Brave (who once made his debut as the adorable Max in ‘Frogspawn’) is head and shoulders above the rest. Then again full of bravado, then again so vulnerable. His playing is very believable. You grant him and his sister a better environment to grow up in.

‘Find that stupid bitch and throw her in the river’ is based on a true story. In 2010, a similar video appeared on the internet. The scene where Lizzy throws the puppies into the river is terrifyingly recreated. Highly recommended.