De Helleveeg (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
Almost every family has one or more members that are different compared to the rest. As a child, it might even occurred that you had a favorite aunt or uncle, someone who you could always turn to or understood what you were thinking. In ‘De Helleveeg’ or ‘The Fury’ we can see the story of a family where everything seems quite tumultuous, so let’s dive straight in.
Albert (Benja Bruijning) is a young chap that really likes his auntie Tiny (Hannah Hoekstra) or ‘Tientje Poets’ as her relatives call her. It is clear from the get-go that the two are best pals. They snuggle a lot in bed while she tells amazing stories, which is fuel for Albert’s wildest dreams. It is clear that Tiny doesn’t really get along with her parents or other relatives. She feels locked up, leading to a lot of arguments. Her mother (Anneke Blok) is always ill while her father (Gijs Scholten van Aschat) is keeping Tiny on the leash. Albert mostly hears these quarrels but sticks with his aunt. Tiny’s younger brother Hasje doesn’t like this situation either and tries to escape. This is how Tiny and police officer Henneman (Beau Schneider) meet. Their relationship was a blessing for her parents, but Tiny wasn’t that happy. In the end, things didn’t work out as planned.
To keep you from further spoilers, a lot of other events take place and it is obvious that there are a lot of underlying messages in conversations or broken relationships that cannot be mended. Even more, things will get quite weird at some points but just go with the flow. Story wise, you will probably understand the big lines quite fast but there are quite some details that might leave you flabbergasted. In the end, even the last few minutes held some intel regarding the past events. The overall flow of the movie was slow at first but began to speed up at the end. The jumps in time were ingeniously shown and gave you a bit of anticipation on what to expect next.
The lead actress of this movie was outstanding as she didn’t have an easy role. The evolution during the movie was visible and she really was able to convey both anger as sadness by just looks and a few words. Young Albert played a very important part and although there are a few different actors that are impersonating him, they all have their charms. In the end, the combination of those two characters and the support roles really make it a special and qualitative movie.
If you were hoping for some extras or even a main menu, then you’ll be disappointed. You’re thrown into the movie without a warning, so if you were fetching some snacks it could be that you’ve already missed a part of the beginning. Also, since this is a Dutch movie, there won’t be any subtitles unless you enable the English ones. It would have been nice that there was at least a menu or some insights regarding the story for example. It feels quite sloppy, although the movie really deserves a more finished setting.
Conclusion
‘De Helleveeg’ or ‘The Fury’ lets us get a glimpse of an explosive family with quite some secrets. If you were hoping for something light, it might be a good idea to reconsider as the subject might be a leaning a bit to the emotional side. Don’t worry though, the actors won’t let you down and let you immerse in these broken bonds. Get ready for some swearing and furious conversations.
De Helleveeg (Blu-ray) - Movie Review,
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