Win/Win (2010)

Directed by: Jaap van Heusden | 83 minutes | drama | Actors: Oscar van Rompay, Leon Voorberg, Halina Reijn, Hans Kesting, Phi Nguyen, Pepijn Schoneveld, Hannah van der Sande, Christiaan Jelsma, Tamer Avkapan, Turan Furat, Pepijn Cladder, David Eeles, Denise Rebergen, Bob Schrijber, Anne Prakke, Doris Baaten, John Serkei, Bright Omansa Richards, Gijs de Lange, Jaap ten Holt, Frank Rigter, Wim Bouwens, Jurgen Theunissen, Jessy Love, Bob Stoop, Jack Luceno

Jaap van Heusden has already impressed with short films such as ‘Anderman’ (2006) and ‘Ever’ (2008), so expectations for his first feature film were high. Fortunately, the director, born in 1979, does not disappoint, in fact: he goes a step further: ‘Win/win’ is a sublime production, on which there is little to argue with.

Ivan Lucas van der Wegen is 24 years old, born on September 27, 1984, comes from Brussels, but makes a career at Cahen Greeson on the Zuidas, a financial focal point in the Dutch capital. His sense of numbers, patterns and logic exudes from every pore. It’s clear: Ivan is a star waiting to happen. He takes immense pleasure in leaving post-its everywhere with tips for stock traders. Of course, this does not go unnoticed. Trader Stef, who describes his trading partners on the basis of the car brand they drive, which drink their poison is, and what kind of women (brown with a thick behind or bleached Russians) they like, sees the potential of this young figure god and offers Ivan takes a job as a junior trader. Ivan is doing well: at first he earns sums per day for his company with six decimal places, but soon it is seven or eight. The sudden success also leaves its mark: Ivan can’t handle it, especially when he sees the downside of success in the dealing room.

Actually, Ivan is very alone. The apartment he lives in feels too big for someone who doesn’t come home until the sun is long gone. His family probably still lives in Belgium, but he does call his grandmother for a while, but he gets the most comfort from a cigarette. Almost immediately, the young twenty-something knows how to evoke sympathy in the viewer, and this is reinforced by his attitude towards colleagues. There is Paul, a Korean with a gift that is just as autistic as Ivan, but reveals itself differently. The two cautiously befriend, which is reflected in a touching scene at the end of the film. He tries to dispel Ivan’s remaining moments of loneliness by making contact with Deniz, Cahen Greeson’s receptionist. A beautiful scene is where Ivan and Deniz lie on their stomachs in Ivan’s new apartment, watching a nest of mice. A bond forms very carefully, perhaps a romance, but Van Heusden does not show anywhere during the film where the relationship will be when the credits roll over the screen. That controlled tension can be felt in many scenes; you notice that something is coming, but you are not offered any handles, so that you are carried away throughout the film.

In addition, Van Heusden has the talent to initiate the public in a completely natural way in a world that is normally far from our bed; where snapping and barking at your colleagues and bringing in millions of euros is commonplace. Because the central character is just as well out of place, the viewer feels closely involved. The activities within the company are of course opaque to a layman, but in ‘Win/win’ it all seems very logical. The fact that the cast also acts very believably helps, of course. Oscar van Rompay is someone to keep an eye on, but Phi Nguyen also stands his ground. Furthermore, Leon Voorberg convincingly portrays the role of Stef and Halina Reijn knows how to captivate as Deniz.

Finally, the cinematography of ‘Win/win’ is unparalleled. Take, for example, the hopscotch scene or the aforementioned scene in which Halina Reijn and Oscar van Rompay watch the mouse’s nest. And watching that: that is precisely what makes ‘Win/win’ such a particularly enjoyable film. Watching people and seeing and believing what moves them, motivates them. To bring that onto the screen is a gift that only a select group of filmmakers possess. Jaap van Heusden does have that gift.