Furious (2011)

Directed by: Dave Schram | 93 minutes | drama, family, romance | Actors: Abbey Hoes, Ko Zandvliet, Ariane Schluter, Sander de Heer, Olga Zuiderhoek, Thijs Römer, Hugo Maerten, Mingus Dagelet, Tim Holwirda, Nick Golterman, Hassan Slaby, Lenart Timmerman, Bowy Goudkamp, ​​Juliet Daalder, Roos Dickmann, Josephine Houtman , Carlijn Kiewiet, Tahira Kik

After drug addiction (‘Keep off’), moving abroad and alcoholism (‘Timboektoe’), anorexia and grief processing (‘Distraught’) and loverboys (‘Lover of Loser’) card ‘Razend’, after the book by sales gun Carry Slee, child abuse and sexual harassment. Again heavy stuff, but thanks to the pleasant direction of (almost) permanent Carry Slee director Dave Schram, ‘Razend’ does not get bogged down in melodrama and the pedantic tone is avoided.

‘Razend’ revolves around two youngsters, classmates, whose storylines constantly switch for the attention of the viewer, but of course also influence each other. Roosmarijn (Abbey Hoes) is fifteen and considers himself quite ordinary. Yet Sven (Ko Zandvliet), the other main character, has had a crush on her for some time. Roosmarijn has – thanks to an incident with which the film opens – the name (wrongly) of being a fantasist, something that will break her up later. Meanwhile, Sven has other problems on his mind than just the butterflies in his stomach: he has been abused by his father (Sander de Heer) for a long time. All his positive attention goes to Sven’s brother Lennart (Lennart Timmerman), a swimming champion. Sven used to love swimming too, but since he’s covered in bruises, he doesn’t show himself in swimming trunks anymore. Sven’s mother (Ariane Schluter) half-heartedly tries to calm things down, but she also seems powerless against her husband’s violence.

Sven’s camera is at stake in the latest quarrels. Sven’s father stipulates that he can use the device whenever he wants and takes the camera with him without consultation to film Lennart’s matches or training sessions. However, Sven has promised his friend Bart (Mingus Dagelet) that he will film him and his friends while free running, but Sven’s father does not want that. After a serious beating, Sven no longer has the courage to go to his friends, who therefore assume that he has let them down.

Meanwhile, Roosmarijn’s life has become a lot more complicated: although she is very enthusiastic about the fact that Sven has given her the lead role in his film, because she can spend more time with him, the math lessons are with the popular teacher Bob (Thijs Römer) not nearly as fun as before. Roosmarijn is touched by Bob in places where she does not want to be touched. Her friend Halima (Juliet Daalder) first claims that she’s imagining it, but when it turns out that Roosmarijn stiffens with fear as soon as Bob is around, she has to admit that there must be a grain of truth in it.

The fact that both the situation of Sven and Roosmarijn is escalating is clear. That the solution presents itself at the end of the film is also a given. There is nothing wrong with that predictability, in view of the target group. It’s just such a shame that the way Sven’s life changes for the better isn’t very convincing. It’s just hard to believe that after that one confrontation everything is back to normal. In this way, the film really does the viewers – including the young – too short.

Nevertheless, ‘Razend’ is another fine film in the Carry Slee series of films. The director’s choice to sometimes let Sven’s drawings do the talking is very strong. And the free running scenes add the welcome merriment. Abbey Hoes is especially commendable of the young actors, who manages to turn Roosmarijn into a real-life teenager, whom you immediately care about (just like with all her roles, by the way). Thijs Römer stands out among the older, more experienced actors, who sends a shiver down your spine like the smooth Bob. And you make hope that your children will never have such a teacher. The same goes for Sander de Heer, who has perhaps the most difficult role as an unsympathetic, violent father. Finally, Olga Zuiderhoek also plays a great role as a grandmother. ‘Razend’ deals with difficult but important subjects in an appealing, smooth way and offers just enough drama, humor and romance for a movie afternoon well spent.