The Coat of Arms of Geldrop (2008)

Directed by: Thijs Römer | 88 minutes | drama | Actors: Thijs Römer, Katja Römer-Schuurman, Tara Elders, Marcel Hensema, Huub Stapel, Catherine Keyl, Jan Mulder

Thijs Römer has no shortage of attention for his directorial debut. What do you want when his whole family plays along and shows his face just about very well-known in the Netherlands. It is thanks to the fame of Thijs that ‘Het Wapen van Geldrop’ gets so much attention, because he doesn’t like the quality of the film. The film has loose ends and will certainly not mean Römer’s breakthrough as a director.

Thijs Römer has asked about his entire circle of friends to play in the film. Together with his wife Katja Römer-Schuurman and Tara Elders, he plays the leading role in his own film. Sister-in-law Birgit Schuurman also briefly appears as a flight attendant. It is a bit of a shame that Thijs has chosen this. There is nothing to criticize about the acting performances of Katja and Thijs. They play their roles well and it is a relief to see Katja without makeup for the entire film. But if you put two good actors next to an actress who plays the stars from heaven, and is really on a higher acting level, the rest immediately becomes insignificant.

Tara Elders plays Maddox, the mentally ill daughter of Piet Veerman. She plays her part with such charm that it still brings a smile to the viewer’s face. She forms one heart of the Geldrop Coat of Arms. The other two hearts symbolize the TBS prisoner John and Joke van Buren, who has just killed her husband. They meet by chance and decide to go to Geldrop together. The whole ‘why’ of this road trip remains in the middle. Why did Joke kill her husband? It is difficult to feel sympathy for a main character when it is unclear what her feelings and motives are. And what happened to Maddox that made her like that? It is clear that John has been incarcerated for being a pedophile. But should that be emphasized every time a cute child comes into the picture? That is a bit on the edge of what you can or cannot make to portray.

And why do these three people just meet each other and why do they decide to go to Geldrop without knowing each other? John comes from Geldrop and wants to go back to his grandmother. Maddox and Joke have no purpose in their lives and so they go with him. Then follows a long journey of these three strange figures. Unfortunately, too little thought has been given to a few details. Firstly, the road from Leidschendam to Geldrop is not so far that you have to spend the night twice. Secondly, if you are on your way to Geldrop, you will not pass through Limburg and you will not encounter the strange accents that they have played in the hotel on the way. It is a pity that Thijs did not opt ​​for a story that is better put together, the success is highly credited to him. Yet the film still gets two stars, one for the effort and the other for Tara.