A few years back Ben Sombogaart directed the film version of my favourite kids book Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek (Crusade in Jeans). He did an excellent job by not only following the events in the book but also adding elements that would make the story stronger and more realistic. My hopes for the movie adoption of my second best kids book, Koning van Katoren (King of Katoren) were therefore very high. Too bad the film disappoints on most levels.
The story is about 17 year old Stach. He wants to be the new king of Katoren and has to complete five missions in order to do so. Along the way he's followed by a beautiful young journalist, Kim, who turns out of having a hidden agenda. Jan Terlouw's original book is a fantasy story with some of little nods to the political climate of the seventies. Director Ben Sombogaart updated the story with the use of smartphones, Wikipedia, big televisions and that is all fine. His use of landscapes and locations is thrilling: Koning van Katoren looks like it costed 40 million euros. The casting of Mingus Dagelet (Stach) and Abbey Hoes as Kim is well done.
It all goes wrong with the storytelling. To break with the (boring?) chronological way of telling the story in the book, director Sombogaart uses short confusing flash forwards and flash backs. The thread of a looming war is illustrated by documentary- like images of war planes, tanks and big war ships that pretty seem out of place in the overall atmosphere of the movie. To make the movie more realistic in some parts of Kartoren other languages are spoken (Italian and German). A European may respect that, but for kids and people who haven't read the book it slows down the action.
Ben Sombogaart is one of the most respected filmmakers of the Netherlands. His desire to also tackle kids literature can be applauded, but in this case it works out the wrong way. Perhaps a more fun and less serious tone would have been a better choice.
5/10
The story is about 17 year old Stach. He wants to be the new king of Katoren and has to complete five missions in order to do so. Along the way he's followed by a beautiful young journalist, Kim, who turns out of having a hidden agenda. Jan Terlouw's original book is a fantasy story with some of little nods to the political climate of the seventies. Director Ben Sombogaart updated the story with the use of smartphones, Wikipedia, big televisions and that is all fine. His use of landscapes and locations is thrilling: Koning van Katoren looks like it costed 40 million euros. The casting of Mingus Dagelet (Stach) and Abbey Hoes as Kim is well done.
It all goes wrong with the storytelling. To break with the (boring?) chronological way of telling the story in the book, director Sombogaart uses short confusing flash forwards and flash backs. The thread of a looming war is illustrated by documentary- like images of war planes, tanks and big war ships that pretty seem out of place in the overall atmosphere of the movie. To make the movie more realistic in some parts of Kartoren other languages are spoken (Italian and German). A European may respect that, but for kids and people who haven't read the book it slows down the action.
Ben Sombogaart is one of the most respected filmmakers of the Netherlands. His desire to also tackle kids literature can be applauded, but in this case it works out the wrong way. Perhaps a more fun and less serious tone would have been a better choice.
5/10