After watching this movie, I was left with the feeling I still didn't know what exactly it wanted to say. It touches on so many different subjects and moral dilemmas, but never goes deeper to actually try and give its view on what happens. It goes from ethnic problems in society to the influential power of the media and the moral role of comedians,and more, all in one movie. I believe exploring one or two of these themes in one movie is difficult enough as it is. This is the movie's biggest flaw, in my opinion.
But the same criticism can be applied to the characters. Their motivations are all over the place. They change with almost every scene. And after so many changes, you stop believing in them. The actions of some characters simply don't make sense. Why would Max, a man who lives for caring for others and simply snapped at one point, a man who has honest remorse, actively plan to threaten all the people who have made things hard for him? Why would Felix help/exploit him in such a way? Why do we never see the girlfriend again? I know these questions are sort of answered, but in my opinion, it doesn't make that much sense. The story is full, moves at a very quick pace and doesn't seem to know what it wants to get across. You could even say that there is too much story.
In the strongest scenes of the movie, the atmosphere speaks for itself and there is no need to explain anything or make things more complicated. In the scene where Max watches in silence what his actions on the fatal night have resulted in, there is no commentary or plot line necessary. It's about life and death and the hard work of an ambulance worker standing in between, shown in a grim but realistic manner. It never exaggerates in the way I thought of lot of scenes did. I found myself asking 'are there really so many people out there who act like this?' The problems and difficult people the ambulance workers are faced with seem so plentiful and over the top that it seems as if everyone is out to get them.
The locations and interesting music add loads of atmosphere to this movie, and are, next to the great, intense performances from everyone in the cast, the best part of it. The camera is well used to intensify this. The only thing I did not think was necessary at all, was the temporary shift to black and white. I thought it was more distracting than anything else.
Theo Maassen is great in this role. The script makes him play many different aspects of Max as a character (powerless and remorseful at first, angry later and desperate in the end) but he pulls them all off naturally. It's also very interesting from a 'meta' point of view to see an actor playing a comedian make fun of a comedian who is an actor here. The self-referential value of the scenes with Max on stage is remarkable. These points, and the destructive but touching ending makes this movie worth watching, in my opinion.
But the same criticism can be applied to the characters. Their motivations are all over the place. They change with almost every scene. And after so many changes, you stop believing in them. The actions of some characters simply don't make sense. Why would Max, a man who lives for caring for others and simply snapped at one point, a man who has honest remorse, actively plan to threaten all the people who have made things hard for him? Why would Felix help/exploit him in such a way? Why do we never see the girlfriend again? I know these questions are sort of answered, but in my opinion, it doesn't make that much sense. The story is full, moves at a very quick pace and doesn't seem to know what it wants to get across. You could even say that there is too much story.
In the strongest scenes of the movie, the atmosphere speaks for itself and there is no need to explain anything or make things more complicated. In the scene where Max watches in silence what his actions on the fatal night have resulted in, there is no commentary or plot line necessary. It's about life and death and the hard work of an ambulance worker standing in between, shown in a grim but realistic manner. It never exaggerates in the way I thought of lot of scenes did. I found myself asking 'are there really so many people out there who act like this?' The problems and difficult people the ambulance workers are faced with seem so plentiful and over the top that it seems as if everyone is out to get them.
The locations and interesting music add loads of atmosphere to this movie, and are, next to the great, intense performances from everyone in the cast, the best part of it. The camera is well used to intensify this. The only thing I did not think was necessary at all, was the temporary shift to black and white. I thought it was more distracting than anything else.
Theo Maassen is great in this role. The script makes him play many different aspects of Max as a character (powerless and remorseful at first, angry later and desperate in the end) but he pulls them all off naturally. It's also very interesting from a 'meta' point of view to see an actor playing a comedian make fun of a comedian who is an actor here. The self-referential value of the scenes with Max on stage is remarkable. These points, and the destructive but touching ending makes this movie worth watching, in my opinion.