Grimm

Alex van Warmerdam's Grimm is not the great film it could have been. Having this surrealistic flair, it has a nice starting point with its two main characters left in the woods like Hensel and Gretel, though, this seems to be the only really clear refercence to its title which insiuates a reference to the two famous fairytale storieteller brothers. Grimm however seems nothing like a fairytale at all, even though it has a somewhat happy ending structure and is quite unusual, if not weird. But after this nice start Grimm becomes a bit too long after the two main characters come to live with a guy the sister gets to know. From this moment on the film seems to be settling down, as if taking a break from the little adventure the sister and brother came to be on in an attempt to get to Spain as fast as they can, stumbling upon little problems and strange characters on their way. After this break the film tries to recover itself, but it's already too late. The real interest in the film is gone and as a spectator you no longer really care for the brother and sister. Also the weirdness of the film, which in the beginning seems nice and interesting comes to make no sense in the end. Apart from the knowledge the brother and sister need to go to Spain to stay with family, because their parents can no longer take care of them, there isn't much more information you come to inherit. It's never made clear who the brother and the sister really are, what kind of lifes they live. All you end up knowing is that once they leave the forrest in which their father has left them, they come to be on the run. This lack of clear information, make the film a bit too distant, containing what can be understood as too many plot holes. Also as a spectator you seem to fall from one genre into the other. The beginning is still kind of fairytale-like with its landscape and surrealistic elements when the two get rid of a farmer and his wife, but then the film turns into a roadmovie and the sister pointing a gun at a woman. After this the film comes to contain some mystery and starts having some thriller elements with chases, eventually ending in a western-like landscape with abandoned saloons and a goat and donkey the brother and sister come to befriend. As a spectator in the end you just come to wonder what all this was for and what you have gained by watching this film and what exactly it is it wanted to tell. Still the film is quite enjoyable, especially the beginning and beside solid acting, even though there's seems little real substance for the actors to work with, the film looks great. Especially those scenes with the brother and sister running through the woods holding hands is a treat to watch. Grimm thus can be said to be quite nice but it isn't as if you would have missed something really important if you would not have watched it.

What is it about?

A brother and a sister, Maria and Jacob, are left in the woods by their father who can together with their mother, no longer take care of them. A note from their mother tells them to go to Spain and stay with their uncle, which make the two set of on a trip, going from winter to sunny Spain meeting some strange characters and dealing with some risky situations along the way. When their uncle no longer seems to be alive, Maria happens to meet a Spaniard, Diego, who she falls in love with and very fast seem to come to live with. Jacob is allowed to live with them too. However Diego, seems to be very dominating and protective of Maria, preventing Maria from leaving when she wants to. The reasons for her leaving are a secret Diego happens to have for her, which has to do with the real reason she and her brother came to be welcomed into his home.

Final Verdict: ***

The cinematography probably is the most interesting aspect of Grimm, which shows that Dutch films can be quite nice. Being myself Dutch, I don't think that highly of the Dutch cinema, and therefore was pleasantly surprised of how good this film looked. I therefore also happen to be quite dissapointed with the direction the story took, which could have been much better, but now seems to be a sequence of loose ends used to create a suspenseful narrative, but one which lacks some common sense. Actors Halina Reijn and Jacob Derwig succeed in keeping the film more interesting than it would have been without them. They make you to keep paying attention and not turning off the screen. Reijn especially is nice to watch with her big eyes and quite unusual appearance. It's a real pity this film doesn't become what it could have been. The whole look of the film is great and it has some strong scenes, but as a whole it lacks clearity. Still it's nice to see a Dutch film which tries not to copy Hollywood, but rather tries to give Dutch cinema a face of its own. It's for this reason it's sad to see such a nice attempt fail.