Simon (2004)
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Duration: 102 minuten
Country:
Netherlands
Directed by: Eddy Terstall
Stars: Cees Geel, Marcel Hensema and Nadja Hüpscher
IMDb score:
7,8 (8.322)
Releasedate: 30 September 2004
Simon plot
"He'll change your life"
Simon tells the story of the unlikely friendship between the Amsterdam straight and hash dealer Simon and the shy gay dentistry student Camiel. During a holiday together in Thailand, the friendship is put to the test, after which the two lose sight of each other. When they accidentally bump into each other twelve years later, Simon turns out to be seriously ill.
Actors and actresses
Simon Cohen
Camiel Vrolijk
Sharon
Layko
Joy
Ellen
Marco
Bram
Nelson
Floris
Reviews & comments
Fisico
-
- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
To be honest, expectations were very good at the start of this Simon. Couldn't help but be good, I thought. Still somewhat disappointed. I probably don't like the whole idea of the film. I don't like bringing heavy subjects in a light-hearted, let alone comically direct way, and will often be categorized as a hit or a miss.
In itself also a little innovative film of again characters who are each other's polar opposites, but who nevertheless become each other's friends. Simon jumps through life with his humor and ability to put things into perspective. Camiel is a bit more reserved, but does look up to Simon. In addition to their characters, their lives also appear to be far apart. One is getting married, the other has cancer and is thinking about euthanasia.
It is mainly the jokes, the light-heartedness, the simple one-liners - the Dutch directness - that I find difficult to place in the whole. Nice and thick chapeau how Simon looks at his life, but as a film lover I couldn't do much with it. Perhaps it also plays a role that I was not always up to date with Simon's drivel without subtitles. I watched the film with little emotion and that is exactly what you need in this film...
Translated from Dutch · View original
Baboesjka
-
- 891 messages
- 1994 votes
It took me a lot of effort to finish this movie. Simon's character doesn't appeal to me. I don't like his humor and I find him very unsympathetic. Since he is an important character in the film, that makes the film a lot less fun. The other characters didn't do much for me either. The film did not stir up many emotions in me, despite the nasty illness. I think the acting is okay. 2.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
-
- 11549 messages
- 6800 votes
Surprisingly.
So it is possible. Dutch cinema can simply triumph, and it absolutely does with this Simon. I've had my eye on the film for a while because of its top 250 listing, but it just never happened. Recently managed to borrow from a family member and turned it on on a hot afternoon. It certainly didn't disappoint.
In the meantime I had given up a bit in the Netherlands. Simon, however, is a film of a different nature, which starts a lot fresher than you might think. Visually it is just a bit disappointing. Terstall really dabbles in it but seems to forget that elements such as framing and camera work also exist. As a result, the busy presentation is not always correctly compensated, so that the energy from the direction cannot keep up with that of the story.
Also regularly a very Dutch film with lots of sexual thoughts, dialogues and actions. Still, it doesn't always feel boring here, or perverse. It does feel quite clumsy, something that is not necessarily necessary to make the character of Yellow (from which most of the sexual things seem to come) clearer. Incidentally, the film can give him a personal hand, because Geel takes the film on his shoulders and it seems to cost him little effort.
It also looks well away and manages to actually hit towards the end. The film starts a bit rude and has a quirky, vulgar character, but after it starts to come in that the characters are indeed made of flesh and blood, it slowly starts to play on you. When the final arrives I still got a lump in my throat. Visually it sometimes lags a bit, but Simon feels more human and closer than you might think. So a positive surprise from our own soil.
Incidentally, that Hüpscher absolutely cannot act. My God. It was really painful to watch.
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