Jesse (2017)

Directed by: Joey Boink | 52 minutes | documentary

‘Jesse’ is a portrait of Jesse Klaver, the young, charismatic political leader of GroenLinks during the most difficult period of his life so far: a fierce campaign for the parliamentary elections in 2017 and then the sledgehammer blow of his mother’s death during the negotiations for a new cabinet. Negotiations that turn out to fail at the end of the film.

The documentary follows Klaver in the long run-up to the elections, when he has taken over from Bram van Ojik and GroenLinks only has 4 seats left in the House of Representatives. Klaver has the task and ambition to make GroenLinks the largest ‘movement’ on the left and to surpass the results of predecessors Paul Rosenmöller (11 seats, 1998) and Femke Halsema (10 seats, 2010).

‘Jesse’ was made by Joey Boink, who was employed by GroenLinks during the campaign to make films and gradually became friends with Klaver. This was criticized when the channel BNNVARA wanted to broadcast the documentary on the public broadcaster. Without anyone having seen the film, there was already a harsh judgment about a lack of independence and that no tax money should be spent on a GroenLinks promo film. It is understandable in itself that this raises questions: filmmaker Boink was employed by the party when he shot his material and the plan to make a film of it only came afterwards. Yet the fierceness of the criticism also had something untrue.

‘Jesse’ has not become a revealing portrait in which family and acquaintances, supporters and opponents have their say and the politician is interpreted by third parties. That is a classic view of documentary or journalistic reporting. Here Boink is part of the campaign and after a debate he even gets a ‘box’ from Klaver (which in itself is a superfluous moment that should have been cut out).

What the film is mainly about is a Jesse-centric sketch of a hectic campaign and above all a look behind the scenes at Klaver and his closest employees of GroenLinks. The question arises whether this “look” has not also been staged. Are they all always so sweet and cuddly in that left-wing party the way they treat each other? Apart from a single swear word, there is not a cross word. There is kidding, laughter and debates, but that doesn’t make a documentary very exciting. Anyone who thinks they can learn more about the inner workings of a political party will only see a small part here. Election program? Substantive points of view? Battle between personalities? How is Jesse’s relationship with the other (absent) candidates? The viewer is none the wiser, except for how they practice on slogans and one-liners. That there was quite a bit of fuss about the list of candidates, especially about the candidacy of Member of Parliament Liesbeth van Tongeren? There is nothing to see in the documentary. It’s hard to imagine that this took place completely outside of Klaver’s field of vision, but you don’t see any of that. In that respect, the film is selective, especially considering the running time of 52 minutes. Had there been room for more contemplation or reflection? More context and explanation for all images? Yes definitely. The viewer is only presented with fragments – in which the choice quite often puts Klaver in a positive light. Winner of one of the debates, trumping PvdA leader Lodewijk Asscher, it is small moments of triumph that get a lot of attention.

To be fair, some of the criticism that it is just a GroenLinks promo film is, to say the least, overstated. The camera captures some ‘raw’ sides here and there: especially his obvious nerves when a debate is about to start. It is therefore not all that slick, certainly not compared to America (which is often cited as an example for campaigns).

And then the film also ends on a bad note: after the sky-storming rhetoric, the sky-high polls and the massive following at the “meet ups”, GroenLinks won 16 seats in the first results (later corrected to the final result of 14 seats). The best result ever, but also disappointing at the same time. GroenLinks is going to negotiate with VVD, CDA and D66 to form a new cabinet, but then his mother Marcella Klaver becomes seriously ill and dies shortly afterwards. The choice to show that personal part, the funeral, Jesse making coffee in his mother’s house and then packing framed photos, is intriguing, but it is just as little interpreted as the previous one. These are images that would never be used for a GroenLinks campaign film, so apparently Klaver and Boink had already decided by then that the latter was making a documentary.

Supported by sombre music, ‘Jesse’ ends with the failed formation talks and the faintly expressed desire to shape the started movement in the coming years. After all the build-up and euphoria, it’s a sad ending. The documentary is a personal portrait of a nice and passionate boy who, as a politician, talks a lot, but unfortunately often has little to say.