• 169.545 movies
  • 11.118 shows
  • 31.844 seasons
  • 630.251 actors
  • 9.178.096 votes
Avatar
 
banner banner

Cloaca (2003)

Drama | 109 minutes
3,57 853 votes

Genre: Drama / Comedy

Duration: 109 minuten

Country: Netherlands

Directed by: Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen

Stars: Gijs Scholten van Aschat, Pierre Bokma and Peter Blok

IMDb score: 7,4 (1.930)

Releasedate: 23 October 2003

US
UK

This movie is not available on US streaming services.

JustWatch

Cloaca plot

Four old college friends are temporarily thrown back on each other by circumstances. Joep is a member of the House of Representatives. He is in a marital crisis and goes into hiding with Pieter for so long. Pieter works as a civil servant at the municipality. For years he was allowed to choose a painting from the municipal art depot for his birthday, but now that they turn out to be worth a lot, the municipality wants the works of art back. Tom is a top coke-addicted lawyer. He tries to help Pieter, but because of his addiction he has actually been sidelined as a lawyer. The fourth friend, Maarten, is standing just before the premiere of his play in which Joep's 18-year-old daughter, with whom he has a secret relationship, plays a role. Out of a sense of solidarity, the men decide to help each other, but the old friendship and former expectations prove unable to withstand the test of time and their selfish ambitions.

Reviews & comments


Guest

  • messages
  • votes

Let op: In verband met copyright is het op MovieMeter.nl niet toegestaan om de inhoud van externe websites over te nemen, ook niet met bronvermelding. Je mag natuurlijk wel een link naar een externe pagina plaatsen, samen met je eigen beschrijving of eventueel de eerste alinea van de tekst. Je krijgt deze waarschuwing omdat het er op lijkt dat je een lange tekst hebt geplakt in je bericht.

* denotes required fields.

Pay attention! You cannot change your username afterwards.

* denotes required fields.
avatar van Baboesjka

Baboesjka

  • 891 messages
  • 1653 votes

This movie isn't quite my thing. I didn't really get into it and I don't like this theatrical way of acting. I think it's special and I think it's well played, but I prefer acting that feels more realistic. The story really captivated me. The ending is a bit abrupt, but not bad. All in all a small sufficient (6). 3*

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van Fisico

Fisico (moderator films)

  • 9740 messages
  • 5300 votes

Cloaca had been on my wish list for a while. Heard a lot of good about it. Cloaca will stay with me most of all as a film with an excellent script where all the events and characters are intertwined.

The four main characters are all interesting and, despite their many years of friendship, very diverse. Tom is a gay civil servant who is in court with the municipality because of received paintings that suddenly turn out to be worth a fortune. Pieter is a drug addict suffering from a depressed top lawyer. Maarten is a stage director who has an affair with his friend Joep's 18-year-old daughter, and Joep, after all, aspires to a ministerial post, but puts his career above his family. Detachment and individualism are central to this film. You just know that this rather melancholy drama isn't going to have a happy ending. We have to wait until the bomb explodes and the friendship falls apart.

Very strong and beautiful scenes here and there, a good script and a good story. It is also clearly working towards something. The carefree friendships of the past have given way to a future or desire that no one will eventually achieve despite the high toll paid for it.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van Shadowed

Shadowed

  • 10032 messages
  • 5993 votes

uh.

Film apparently based on a play. Even before I saw this post roll over the credits, I could have imagined that it is based on such a scenario. A real abundance of characters, each with their own problem, with theater even being a central subject. it can hardly be otherwise.

The problem is that the four gentlemen also make quite a bit of theater themselves, so that not a single figure really succeeds. The completely retarded dialogues make it impossible for the viewer to take the film seriously. The subjects are heavy and the tone is constantly serious, but the rather stupid behavior of the main characters makes it easy to dismiss them.

I could appreciate the visual layout at times, but all in all, this also leaves a rather cheap impression. Camera work is impossible and the editing also shows few beautiful things. In principle, everything about this film screams that it had to be professional, but I especially taste hopelessly old-fashioned and a lack of balls. Only the combination of colors works well, otherwise the audiovisual level continues to disappoint.

Cloaca is a film that considers itself smart and that also has enough basis and support from the story. The problem then arises when you hold writers liable who apparently have not been in contact with real life, because basically no interaction feels natural. It's still a shame, because somewhere a strong film is hidden with some artistic excesses.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original