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Three Dutch teenagers - Rien (Hans van Tongeren), Eef (Toon Agterberg), and Hans (Maarten Spanjer) - seek a way out of what they would consider a dead-end existence in their native land. They share a passion for motocross racing, and idolize reigning champion Gerrit Witkamp (special guest star Rutger Hauer). They will ultimately have to realize the difference between their dreams and reality, especially as an ambitious, sexy fast-food vendor (Renee Soutendijk) enters their lives and spends time with each of them.
What you get with this effort from leading Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven is a story complete with vignettes both funny and very, very serious. Anchoring the whole thing are a bunch of ingratiating performances from our leads, and another prominent Dutch export, actor Jeroen Krabbe, delivering a hoot of a performance as a sleazy TV announcer. One hilarious reveal involves what actually goes into the "delicacy" known as "Croquettes"; some of the heaviest drama involves Rien, who suffers a major setback and who just can't deal with it.
What the viewer notices in short order is how upfront and matter-of-fact Verhoeven is about human sexuality. He never shies from showing nudity (especially male nudity) or homosexual encounters. This has led to various reviewers labelling said footage as "shocking" - particularly in the unrated cut - but Verhoeven is still to be respected for being so straightforward about this sort of thing. He did, however, get excoriated by his people for including this sort of material in the first place.
But no review of this fine film should focus exclusively on this aspect. At no point do the characters in "Spetters" not feel like real people, complete with both assets and flaws. We do sympathize with the characters in the end, even Eef; although he hits upon a seedy way to make money, we can see that the young man is living in a state of denial about himself.
Wonderful performances all around, as well as some well-executed (but not frequent) motocross action scenes. This is proof to Verhoeven's versatility, moving from little character-driven dramas like this to over-the-top comic-book satire with "RoboCop" and "Starship Troopers".
Eight out of 10.
score 8/10
Hey_Sweden 27 July 2020
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw5946765/ |
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24-2-2021 00:05:18