Godforsaken (2003)

A suburban teenager is drawn into a hellish world of violence in this fascinating and tragic tale from first-time director Pieter Kuijpers. Living at home and neglected by his wealthy stepfather, seven-teen-year-old Stan has no interest in school and is bored by his dull surroundings. His chance for adventure comes in the form of Maikel, a devil-eyed, long-haired, hot-tempered criminal. Accompanied by Maikel's beautiful lover Anna, they embark on a series of increasingly dangerous and brutal crimes. Stan and Maikel begin to emotionally spiral out of control as they lose their grip on reality. Based on the true story of a group of young killers who shook Holland in the mid-'90s, Godforsaken is a furious, heart-stopping, unforgettable ride. Product Description

The Dutch Masters

Godforsaken: deserted by God, outside the Love of God, refused and reviled by God, Pieter Kuipjer's film is bursting with Life, with Death, Murder, Mayhem and Kuijper's characters live in the world but are not really a part of it.
Mike (mascara'd, scary, violent, a murderer, a brazen, stupid thief portrayed by Tygo Gernhardt) thinks that he is a wise guy but he is merely playing a part: a part ascribed to him by his meager circumstances. He's a petty, not particularly bright crook who kills for money, is on the 3rd or 4th level of Crookdom who one day comes in contact with wide-eyed, handsome young sensitive guy, Stan (Egbert-Jan Weeber) who is ripe for the picking by anyone who is willing to give him some attention and love. Stan is without direction, without a code of ethics: waiting for someone to fill in the blanks. Unfortunately, Mike steps up and embraces Stan as both a brother and a partner in crime.
"Godforsaken" is all about outsiders, whose horrible private lives give them the impetus to act out: kill, maim, and steal. But all that Mike and Stan involve themselves with or more to the point get involved in is low class: trailer park-level mayhem. Director Kuijper's mise-en-scene is filled with the detritus of their pathetic lives: divorced or absent parents, lives without the basics: honor, respect and a reverence for Life.
"Godforsaken" is physically beautiful as well as morally ambiguous. It is like a handsome man or beautiful woman who, anointed by society with special powers and entitlements, are without the moral compass to do the right thing so they do anything they wish seemingly without a conscience to guide them.
April 12, 2008

sex,blood,murdering

A good boy, a son of dentist, befriended a bad boy with all sex/crime-related consequences just to kill his friend and be killed imminently by their crime-follower.

It is a dynamic, sexy, terribly cynic work of modern Holland.
October 31, 2007

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