Heavenly Realms (2019)

Directed by: Stanley Kolk | 92 minutes | crime | Actors: Esmée van Kampen, Jennifer Welts, Tim Olivier Somer, Maarten Heijmans, Ayrton Kirchner, Fred Goessens, Stijn Kosterman, Wilco Maas, Conny Wilhelmus, Askr Laurens Caminada, Vivian Liebregts, Anne Katic, Relinde de Graaff, Keely Caplinha de Andrade Martes , Ilias Chouitar, Vivian Dabrowski, Bianca Brouwers, Björn van der Doelen, Victor Bottenbley, Lisanne Sweere, Michael Bot, Lisanne Pol, Tim van den Heuvel, Arianne Fennema

‘Rich in Heaven’ is yet another variation on the theme ‘crime doesn’t pay’. The only striking difference: it is not a man who returns to society after a prison sentence, who wants to improve his life, but due to circumstances cannot help but turn to his erroneous former friends. ‘Hemelrijken’ is about sisters Kelly and Samantha (Jennifer Welts and Esmée van Kampen). The first was incarcerated for unknown reasons (“she’s not a criminal, she was just stupid,” older sister Samantha defends her). Kelly moves in with Samantha, who does her utmost to keep her sister on the right track. She even arranges a job as a courier at Eindhoven Direct, where she also works.

But against her better judgment and with negative advice from Samantha, Kelly immediately reconnects with her boyfriend Eddy (Tim Olivier Somer), who visited her zero times in prison and who actually got her into trouble. Eddy immediately arranges for Michel (Maarten Heijmans in a role that you also see Tygo Gernandt play) on Kelly’s path (nice, such a friend!). Kelly apparently owes Michel a lot of money, so she has no choice but to deal for him.

The screenplay of ‘Hemelrijken’ does not feel new or fresh. In fact: it is predictable (as soon as there is a ‘mysterious’ boss that Michel works for again, you immediately realize who that is). Just about the only character who deserves the viewer’s sympathy is Samantha, but the reason why is too obvious. She’s kind of the underdog in the story, has an unattractive haircut, a heart of gold, is an animal lover and feels uncomfortable when a man takes a genuine interest in her. Kelly is barely developed as a character. You just have to assume that she is incapable of making wise choices. The makers have tried to make her into a singing talent, but that hardly comes to the fore, except for a silly singing scene (in which the song Kelly starts, in a montage of all the characters whose lives she has touched in a short time) . Despite Esmée van Kampen’s acting talent, ‘Hemelrijken’ (named after a neighborhood in Eindhoven (Woensel-Zuid) where the story takes place, with an accompanying accent resembling Brabant’s must-have) is not a high-flyer.