Kickers (2018)

Directed by: Lennah Koster | 24 minutes | documentary

Teledoc Campus is the initiative to give young directors and producers the opportunity to make progress. The short documentary ‘Keetschoppers’ is also being released under the banner of Teledoc Campus, about a group of old men who gather around their two-year-old shack.

Where the term loitering youth evokes certain associations, the word loitering is somewhat more difficult to link. But it turns out that the two groups do not differ that much from each other. There is a lot of kidding among themselves (usually of a questionable level), the motorized arsenal is available, people shout and flirt at passing girls and a few have the highest say, although they have not earned it in terms of content.

Yet the group of loiterers is a lot more endearing, mainly because of the vulnerability that the age of these men entails. They instinctively look death almost straight in the eye. And death (as a subject) lurks in every conversation. That, however, makes these men pitiful and pitiful to a certain extent. Because no matter how loud they shout, in the end they are more than aware of their own mortality.

What ‘Keetschoppers’ does well is creating meaning through contrast. In the beginning of this short film, for example, a picture is mainly sketched of old boys currant bread. Bland jokes, uninteresting anecdotes with a punchline that isn’t: it looks like (or maybe is) superficial bullshit. This “emptiness” then gives more depth to the subsequent conversations about the finiteness of life. Then it turns out that the biggest mouth has the saddest story.

The only downside is that this contrast deserved much more time. What are the stories behind these men? Are the biggest mouths the men with the most sorrow? As an old man, do you always have a fascinating story to tell or is it sometimes just what it seems, namely nothing special? Many things remain intriguing after watching ‘Keetschoppers’ and that is largely due to the film itself.