I'm a fan of actor-director-writer Alex van Warmerdam. This goes back to the 70 's, when he started with theater groups like Hauser Orkater and Mexicaanse Hond. I like his dry humor, his lugubrious stories, his absurd dialogs. That he likes to make crime thrillers is obvious. It was already there in many earlier movies like Grimm, Last Days of Emma Blank and Borgman of course. In Schneider vs. Bax (2015) he goes back to basic: hit-man Schneider (Tom Dewispelaere) has to kill Ramon Bax (Alex van Warmerdam).
Schneider gets the assignment just after his two young daughters sang happy birthday. He is not very willing to work, because of his birthday party tonight and he promised that he helped his wife with the preparation. But she understands - she is over the top understanding. And although he keeps up his unwilling attitude when he talks to his client Mertens (Gene Bervoets), he is going to do it.
Bax is in a lake house in the reeds. He kicks his girlfriend out, because his daughter is coming. I thought we had a serious relationship? We have, how can I prove it? To introduce me to your daughter. Not now, My daughter is a little bit troublesome. Indeed, his daughter Francisca (Maria Kraakman) is depressed and making a scene out of everything. He offers her different kind of drugs, but she refuses and condemns his drug use. I don't' say anything about you eating muesli, Bax replies. Muesli is disgusting and for goats. Francisca gets so frustrated that she runs away into the reeds, the swamp and the woods. In the woods she finds shelter in a desolated shed. Woods and sheds appear often in Van Warmerdam movies and plays. Bax is going to look for her, but cannot find her and returns to the lake house.
This is my only spoiler, although it doesn't reveal a lot. Maybe if I reveal the full synopsis, it even let you discover other elements, because you are not distracted by the tension of the story.
Schneider vs Bax is constantly thrilling. The absurd and hilarious dialogs and scenes don't interfere with this tension. It doesn't become ridiculous or implausible; they seem normal. On the contrary: the unexpected events yield greater tension. The unexpected can happen and is not strange at all. For me that is the heart of the work of Alex van Warmerdam.
There are no explanations or motifs. Why Schneider or Bax have to be killed is not mentioned for a second and it is not bothering the story. Why Schneider and Bax are hit-man? Nevertheless is Schneider vs. Bax highly entertaining and gripping. The acting is cool and straight forward, strictly directed by Alex van Warmerdam. His wife Annette Malherbe helped him, did also the casting (and plays a main role). The movie is recorded is Groningen, in the north of Holland. Good to see that we still have such empty places in our small, over-crowded country. It is crime, but not all hatred. In the end there is love. Between Bax and Francisca. Between Schneider and Gina. And the overall happy family of Schneider, his wife and two kids.
We saw the movie in the impressive film institute of Amsterdam, where they show a subtitled version. So foreigners can enjoy the movie too, but they miss a lot of nuances that cannot be translated. Even my wife and I talked about so many details, that cannot be captured in a review. Another great movie of the happy Van Warmerdam family!
Schneider gets the assignment just after his two young daughters sang happy birthday. He is not very willing to work, because of his birthday party tonight and he promised that he helped his wife with the preparation. But she understands - she is over the top understanding. And although he keeps up his unwilling attitude when he talks to his client Mertens (Gene Bervoets), he is going to do it.
Bax is in a lake house in the reeds. He kicks his girlfriend out, because his daughter is coming. I thought we had a serious relationship? We have, how can I prove it? To introduce me to your daughter. Not now, My daughter is a little bit troublesome. Indeed, his daughter Francisca (Maria Kraakman) is depressed and making a scene out of everything. He offers her different kind of drugs, but she refuses and condemns his drug use. I don't' say anything about you eating muesli, Bax replies. Muesli is disgusting and for goats. Francisca gets so frustrated that she runs away into the reeds, the swamp and the woods. In the woods she finds shelter in a desolated shed. Woods and sheds appear often in Van Warmerdam movies and plays. Bax is going to look for her, but cannot find her and returns to the lake house.
This is my only spoiler, although it doesn't reveal a lot. Maybe if I reveal the full synopsis, it even let you discover other elements, because you are not distracted by the tension of the story.
Schneider vs Bax is constantly thrilling. The absurd and hilarious dialogs and scenes don't interfere with this tension. It doesn't become ridiculous or implausible; they seem normal. On the contrary: the unexpected events yield greater tension. The unexpected can happen and is not strange at all. For me that is the heart of the work of Alex van Warmerdam.
There are no explanations or motifs. Why Schneider or Bax have to be killed is not mentioned for a second and it is not bothering the story. Why Schneider and Bax are hit-man? Nevertheless is Schneider vs. Bax highly entertaining and gripping. The acting is cool and straight forward, strictly directed by Alex van Warmerdam. His wife Annette Malherbe helped him, did also the casting (and plays a main role). The movie is recorded is Groningen, in the north of Holland. Good to see that we still have such empty places in our small, over-crowded country. It is crime, but not all hatred. In the end there is love. Between Bax and Francisca. Between Schneider and Gina. And the overall happy family of Schneider, his wife and two kids.
We saw the movie in the impressive film institute of Amsterdam, where they show a subtitled version. So foreigners can enjoy the movie too, but they miss a lot of nuances that cannot be translated. Even my wife and I talked about so many details, that cannot be captured in a review. Another great movie of the happy Van Warmerdam family!