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Het Smelt (2023)

Drama | 111 minutes
3,38 206 votes

Genre: Drama

Duration: 111 minuten

Alternative titles: When It Melts / The Melting

Country: Belgium

Directed by: Veerle Baetens

Stars: Rosa Marchant, Charlotte De Bruyne and Sebastien Dewaele

IMDb score: 7,2 (1.680)

Releasedate: 25 October 2023

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Het Smelt plot

Eva grows up with two boys in the small village of Bovenmeer. At the onset of puberty, the boys come up with cruel plans and Eve is faced with the choice of whether or not to participate. A choice that really isn't there. Thirteen years after the summer that got out of hand, Eva returns to her native village with a block of ice in the trunk. She wants to deal with her past.

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Reviews & comments


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avatar van Fisico

Fisico

  • 10039 messages
  • 5398 votes

Excellent debut by Veerle Baetens as director. I read the book when it came out, so I certainly don't remember any details. The book was a hit at the time and is still highly regarded today. I think I understood that Baetens really worked hard to get the book made into a film. The adult Eva in particular turned out to be a problem because there was not enough verve in the film.

Baetens has handled this very well. There is a beautiful symbiosis between past and present. The editing is good, very good in fact, and the acting is OK for most of the characters.

We follow Eva through the years, past and present. Baetens uses colors as symbolism, warm, cheerful colors for Eva's innocent youth, dark colors for her present where she has not been able to give place to her past. Now, that youth was not entirely carefree either, but as long as she could relate to the Musketeers, it worked out. Until a certain event causes the house of cards of trust to collapse. The ending is harsh and will linger for a while. I suspect that Lize Spit is satisfied with the way her book has been adapted into a film. And Veerle Baetens undoubtedly too.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van Film Pegasus

Film Pegasus (moderator films)

  • 31144 messages
  • 5447 votes

I am a fan of Lize Spit's book and was looking forward to the film adaptation. With Veerle Baetens directing and the great Charlotte De Bruyne in (shared) lead. The film starts well, you see that the main character has a heavy baggage and something that weighs on her. We then play ping-pong between the past and the present to discover step by step what ever happened that has an impact on her current life.

The strength of the film is the story. Not a simple story, because in the book we are constantly in Eva's head. And you are left with a solid plot that continues to resonate. And perhaps that set the bar too high, but I still miss the impact of the film adaptation. It sometimes seems too coincidental and many things are left insufficiently developed. As a result, the finale lacks its effect. It will be a bit different for people who have not read the book.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van Dayer

Dayer

  • 120 messages
  • 131 votes

Nice directorial debut for Veerle Baetens. A film adaptation of the book 'het smet' by Lize Spit. Baetens chooses to build up the story very quietly and serenely over an hour and a half. You see a young woman, Eva, who is clearly marked and you also feel a subcutaneous tension. The film constantly alternates with shots from childhood. You know something is coming, a painful and traumatizing event, and it is only late in the story that we get to see what is going on.

Baetens builds the film so carefully that, in my opinion, the last part has to be finished a little too quickly. We see a 13-year-old Eva and a 27 or 28-year-old Eva. It seems as if there is much less time between the traumatizing event and the end of the film. As if time has stood still between the two events. We are also no longer given any context about the relationship with her parents.

Nevertheless, the film still sticks. A typical Flemish film, a beautiful film adaptation of 'het smelt'.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original