Van God Los (2003)

Director:

Pieter Kuijpers

Writers:

Pieter Kuijpers (co-writer)
Paul Jan Nelissen (writer)

Release Date:

24 April 2003 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Keihard En Confronteren (Rock Hard and In Your Face)

Plot:

Two small town Dutch boys whose socially unnatural friendship is so close, they care nothing for human or divine rules and lose all grip on reality, sliding into violent crime.

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Beating | Pregnancy | Clobbering | Monkey Costume

Awards:

7 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Egbert Jan Weeber	...	Stan Meijer
Tygo Gernandt	...	Maikel Verheije
Angela Schijf	...	Anna Sprengers
Mads Wittermans	...	Sef
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Selma Avkapan	...	Granddaughter of Osman
Tamer Avkapan	...	Nadir
Marnie Blok	...	Joke
Bacha Chilaia	...	Frank
Loek Ewalds	...	Police officer 1
Mark Kleuskens	...	Police Officer 2
Cemil Kurtgözu	...	Suleyman
Pim Lambeau	...	Mevr. van de Velde
Frits Lambrechts	...	Dhr. van de Velde
Johnny Lion	...	Johan Schreurs
Peter Post	...	East-European man
Harry van Rijthoven	...	Bert
Ronald Schuurbiers	...	East-European man
Ergun Simsek	...	Hassan
Els Ingeborg Smits	...	Moeder Anna
Huub Stapel	...	Herbert Meijer
Alden Susa	...	Boy at funeral
Diego Teixeira	...	Stan (11 years)
Brader Torun	...	Osman
Mike van den Akker	...	Friend of Yuri
Deryl van Mieghem	...	Yuri
Joop Wittermans	...	Vader Anna
Helmert Woudenberg	...	Inspecteur Geukers

Also Known As:

Godforsaken! (literal English title)
Stir Crazy

Runtime:

Netherlands:83 min

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch | Turkish

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Germany:18 | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

BNN TV

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first shot of the black Ford Sierra that they use in the final robbery, the license plate on the car (XB-two digits-two letters) is the same one as on the Opel Senator that was used earlier. In the shot that follows (when they drive up to the elderly couple's house), the car has a different plate, with the combination XH-two letters-two digits. A plate with this combination was not issued until 1998/99.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Baantjer: De Cock en de moord op herhaling - Deel 1 (#12.3)" (2006)

Privileged kid ends up as a cold-blooded criminal.

Intense movie with a plot that seems inevitable. "Van God Los" (which literally means "detached from God/to secede from God" and not "Godforsaken") is loosely based on the infamous "Bende van Venlo" (Venlo Gang) whose mostly youthful members allegedly committed over 250 crimes in 1993 and 1994.

The cold-bloodiness of the murders is acted out very well. It's hard to understand how a 15-year-old privileged dentist's son from the rural Netherlands can commit such crimes. The movie gives a very uncomfortable answer: That there is nothing to understand, that these things just happen because our society is the way it is.

In my opinion, the original title speaks volumes about the tone the movie sets and the answers it tries to give. Whereas "Godforsaken" implies that God "left" us alone, perhaps in disappointment, "to secede from God" means deliberately leaving him behind. Unfortunately, I have no information on the writer's intention here. It befits the film to have to think for yourself about what it means to you. The film will definitely get you thinking for a long while after the credits are over.