The Discovery of Heaven

It's been a long time since I've been impressed by dutch movies. I think Jeroen Krabbe managed to create a pice of art by filming this movie, after the book of Harry Mulish. I have not read the book, but I am convinced mr. Mulish will be proud of the end result. Beforehand, I was a bit sceptical about Stephen Fry, but all prejudice was unjust: this is a perfect cast. Unfortunately Jeroen appeared in this movie as Gabriel, his dutch accent makes his english sound funny. Luckily he had just a few few lines. In the spirit of dutch movies a lot of naked people, but everything was filmed with class.

In a tv interview, Jeroen recently told that people would talk to him on the streets, just to thank him for making this movie. If I would come across him in Amsterdam, I would do the same.

A must-see!

Casting is brilliant (apart from the 5 year old Quintin who had a funny foreign/cockney mixed accent which threw me, but luckily he's only got a short part in the film). Usually I can't see Stephen Fry without getting irritated, but he Is Onno Quist! Jeroen Krabbé as usual gave himself a nice little part in the film he was directing... All in all a fitting tribute to a brilliant book, and ok, yes the end is a bit dodgy but then again the end of the book was the same and if you think about it, there was no other way to end the story... Usually if I go to see 'the film of the book' I'm left feeling disappointed, but this time I was pleasantly surprised.

There is a lot to say about the movie, but I think you should enjoy it yourself. For me it was balancing the odds. First of all Harry Mulisch is not your average writer. I could never get into his books.

You might wonder why bother? Well that can be told in two words 'the Assault'. It got a Oscar, but even beyond that. The movie is an amazing story about the life of a boy that changes when a collaborator is executed in front of his house. The second factor was Jeroen Krabbe. He is an okay actor. Over the big international field nothing fantastic but for Dutch terms one of the best actors we have. When I saw his movie 'left luggage' I was totally overwhelmed. As a director he is at least 10 times better then as an actor. These factors made me check out 'The Discovery of Heaven.' The book I could never read. Well, it was an amazing journey. From the very beginning you will be mesmerized with the images of places unlike you would expect. The dialogues, the personality of the people and the settings. It is almost like the settings in the world politics were set up especially for these events. I think that the most amazing part is that you can go through the dialogues without ever wondering when the next action scene will be. Jeroen plays with the settings like they are part of the conversation itself.

But what is it about?

Well apparently god is not too pleased with the way the world turns. So he decides to remove his influence. This can only be done by sending someone down to get the tablets. So two men will meet a woman, the beautiful Ada Brons (Flora Montgomery) one will become the father and the child will grow up slowly receiving the images that will lead to the tablets containing the 10 commandments. The only problem is that time is running out. God's deadline must be met.

I can't wait to get this one on DVD.

Absolutely awful. Extremely sexist, theologically nonsensical, politically uninformed, . . . Characters behave in ever more absurdly uncharacteristic ways. Very irritating and boring. Also disappointing, because it is based on a book by a very good writer, Harry Mulisch and directed by Krabbe, who usually seems to be an intelligent actor. Here, he directs his actors with a lack of respect that appalls me.

After going to the cinema to view this unusual movie, we decided to purchase it when it came out on DVD. After viewing it again, we were glad we purchased this movie. Jeroen Krabbe did a splendid job of directing it, and the cast was perfect for their roles. I am trying to obtain a copy of this book in English, and my boyfriend has read it in its original language and loved it very much. We give it a definite 2 thumbs up!