De scheepsjongens van Bontekoe (2007)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Steven de Jong

Writers:

Mischa Alexander (screenplay) &
Steven de Jong (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 November 2007 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Adventure

Plot:

A ripping adventure yarn about teenage boys who join the crew of a ship of the Dutch East India Company in the 17th century. After a dramatic shipwreck and escape from an attack by natives, they must make their way to safety by themselves.

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Sea | Captain | Coming Of Age | Shark

Cast

Pim Wessels	...	Hajo
Martijn Hendrickx	...	Rolf
Billy Zomerdijk	...	Padde
Reena Giasi	...	Dolimah
Peter Tuinman	...	Willem Ysbrantsz Bontekoe
Thomas Acda	...	Koksmaat Harmen
Bart Slegers	...	Schele
Cees Geel	...	Koopman
Mads Wittermans	...	Pieterszoon
Bas Keijzer	...	Jopkins
Chris Zegers	...	Chirurgijn Langjas
Jack Wouterse	...	Kapitein Bruinvis
Rense Westra	...	Dove Nelis
Thijs Feenstra	...	Stuurman
Stijn Somers	...	Stuurman

Runtime:

Netherlands:135 min

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Netherlands:9

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Bridge Entertainment Group

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Steven de Jong]2 short appearances as the father of Hajo

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The ship Nieuw-Hoorn shows a steering wheel. Dutch ships in this age used a tiller.

Soundtrack:

Pak maar m'n hand

An entertaining adventure of three friends in the Age of Sail

"De Scheepsjongens van Bontekoe" ("The ship-boys of Bontekoe") is an entertaining adventure of three boys who travel to the East-Indies and back in the 17th century. The movie takes you to Batavia with all kinds of adventures on the way, and it shows that you can achieve anything if you really want to. The main characters Hajo, Padde and Rolf also show that friendship makes you stronger. The journey of Bontekoe really did happen, but the story of the boys is fiction. The movie is based on a Dutch youth-adult novel by Johan Fabricius, a popular book ever since it was first published in 1924. Although everyone in Holland knows the plot of the story, the movie is still very entertaining because of the acting by the main characters. Especially Billy Zomerdijk plays a admirably clumsy Padde, who did not really wanted to go to sea. The film crew was able to use the replica of the Batavia, a ship of the same period, and together with all kinds of anecdotal incidents, the feeling of see travel in those days is convincingly visualized.

A must see for every boy and girl who wants to see the book in action, and for everyone who is fond of the Age of Sail.