Off Screen (2005)

Directed by: Pieter Kuijpers | 100 minutes | thriller | Actors: Jan Decleir, Jeroen Krabbé, Astrid Joosten, Marjon Brandsma, Chris Comvalius, Aat Ceelen

Six months after the attacks of September 11, 2001, a man enters the Rembrandt Tower and takes the staff hostage. He wants to speak to Philips CEO Kleisterlee to complain about widescreen television. For director Pieter Kuijpers and screenwriter Hugo Heinen, this absurd hostage-taking in the Rembrandt Tower was an excellent basis for a film. In all the newspapers it could be read that the John R. was confused and that he shot himself in the head before the end.

It was too easy for Kuijpers and Heinen to believe that they were dealing with a confused man. They came up with a conspiracy theory in which fact and fiction intertwine. From the start, the viewer is drawn into the world of John Voerman. While ‘Off Screen’ is set on the hostage day, a large number of flashbacks provide an explanation for John Voerman’s act of despair. In addition to all kinds of personal circumstances, we see how this bus driver meets the director of the ‘sound and vision’ department, who confides in him about all kinds of absurd business secrets: the widescreen television is said to broadcast hidden codes. Until the last moment, the viewer can decide that John Voerman is crazy or that the world has gone crazy. The emphasis of this film is therefore not so much on the hostage situation itself, but more on the psychological developments of John Voerman. Voerman is obsessed with Philips’ widescreen television and its creator (here Gerard Wesselinck’s character). From the chance meeting in the bus between the two gentlemen, Wesselinck doesn’t let go of him. Fact and fiction seem to alternate continuously and cause interesting confusion: who is crazy?

In addition to a strong story, Kuijpers has managed to attract a great cast. Jan Decleir and Jeroen Krabbé make this film a true work of art. The characters Voerman and Wesselinck are very evenly matched and are not inferior to each other. The dialogues are interesting and careful in themselves, but certainly a feast for the ears when spoken by the two top actors. Astrid Joosten makes her acting debut as herself in this film. Her talent is not (yet) shown and sometimes it even seems as if she is reading her texts on the spot. This is probably extra noticeable because of her two fellow players. However, her appearance should not spoil the fun, because Decleir and Krabbé make up for her shortcomings.

Such a method was used for ‘Van God Los’, Kuijper’s directorial debut. Newspaper clippings and news stories that have only kept the media busy for a short time turn out to have such a dramatic content that a movie can follow. ‘Van God Los’ yielded Kuijpers a Golden Film and no fewer than three Golden Calves. The expectations for ‘Off Screen’ were therefore high. But Kuijpers and Heinen managed to live up to these expectations, because ‘Off Screen’ is a well-crafted psychological drama, about an ordinary bus driver, about a confused man.