'Een vlucht regenwulpen' ('A flock of whimbrels') leans heavily on the beautiful images of (mostly) rural (western) Holland. The other big plus is Jeroen Krabbé; he is perfect for the role of the clever, but lonely and plagued by religious torment Maarten (and his alter ego, who is rather sly). But the story consists of mostly repetitions of the same problem: Maarten does not know how to connect with life, or, more specifically, with women. Because of this, it lacks a proper build-up, and so it stayed devoid of the intended emotional impact.
In the final half hour things do pick up, but it's hardly enough. The imaginative side of Maarten (fantasy, flashbacks) was actually very well (and smoothly) done at times, but things hardly ever come together as the powerful story that it should have been. I don't remember having read the book (though back in school, I'm I sure once must have), but I'll immediately assume that the Dutch literary classic (written by Maarten 't Hart) is far superior to this.
5 out of 10.
In the final half hour things do pick up, but it's hardly enough. The imaginative side of Maarten (fantasy, flashbacks) was actually very well (and smoothly) done at times, but things hardly ever come together as the powerful story that it should have been. I don't remember having read the book (though back in school, I'm I sure once must have), but I'll immediately assume that the Dutch literary classic (written by Maarten 't Hart) is far superior to this.
5 out of 10.