With "King of Katoren" Jan Terlouw wrote one of the most famous children's books of the Low Countries. I read the book as a child - Dutch is my mother language - and I recommend it wholeheartedly : it is a successful mix of suspense, wit, horror and whimsy. Behind its fairytale trappings it is also a satire on various evils both old and new, such as sectarian intolerance, pollution, bureaucracy and the greed of powerful elites hoarding knowledge which should be common.
The movie is based on the book ; it's a fairly free adaptation, although it treats a number of the same themes. The plot is brought resolutely into the 21st century, what with various characters using modern social media. It's not a bad adaptation, but it struggles to find the specific Terlouw tone, perhaps because it's too superficial and busy and flashy. For instance, the dark storyline about the beggar/magician who comes calling for alms (and who takes along people's most prized possessions, including things such as pet dogs or babies) doesn't feel all that grim - or all that deep.
The hero's quest also begins in a clumsy manner. Our protagonist gets born under an unfortunate star : shortly after his appearance on this earth, his mother dies of childbirth complications and his father dies in an accident. He gets raised by his uncle, a royal servant. Forward to the scene where our protagonist, now seventeen years old, declares his intention to become king, because parrrrty ! Some bureaucrat remarks that any attempt along these lines is going to need approval from his parents. The reply, with a great big sunny grin : "They're both dead". A young man of deep emotions ! The viewer thinks : "Well, at least he's nice to the uncle who raised him" - but the next scene shows him being not-nice to the uncle who raised him.
The first impression, in other words, is not good - and I'm pretty sure that a lot of viewers are going to watch the rest of young Stach's adventures in hopes that someone will remove that arrogant smirk from his face, preferably with the aid of a halberd...
In fairness I need to add that I'm too old to belong to the target audience ; so a rating of six stars may be unkind.
The movie is based on the book ; it's a fairly free adaptation, although it treats a number of the same themes. The plot is brought resolutely into the 21st century, what with various characters using modern social media. It's not a bad adaptation, but it struggles to find the specific Terlouw tone, perhaps because it's too superficial and busy and flashy. For instance, the dark storyline about the beggar/magician who comes calling for alms (and who takes along people's most prized possessions, including things such as pet dogs or babies) doesn't feel all that grim - or all that deep.
The hero's quest also begins in a clumsy manner. Our protagonist gets born under an unfortunate star : shortly after his appearance on this earth, his mother dies of childbirth complications and his father dies in an accident. He gets raised by his uncle, a royal servant. Forward to the scene where our protagonist, now seventeen years old, declares his intention to become king, because parrrrty ! Some bureaucrat remarks that any attempt along these lines is going to need approval from his parents. The reply, with a great big sunny grin : "They're both dead". A young man of deep emotions ! The viewer thinks : "Well, at least he's nice to the uncle who raised him" - but the next scene shows him being not-nice to the uncle who raised him.
The first impression, in other words, is not good - and I'm pretty sure that a lot of viewers are going to watch the rest of young Stach's adventures in hopes that someone will remove that arrogant smirk from his face, preferably with the aid of a halberd...
In fairness I need to add that I'm too old to belong to the target audience ; so a rating of six stars may be unkind.