As far as Dutch films are concerned, De Oost does a decent job. I'm from The Netherlands myself, so I have seen my share of Dutch films, and I have to be honest, the majority is not great. We do not have many actors, which, unfortunately, also entails that we do not have many solid actors. Dutch actors are especially terrible at dialogue, trying way too hard to make it sound convincing and realistic, and it almost always ends up having the opposite effect.
De Oost actually manages to avoid this flaw, and it also passes as a decent film, which came as a surprise. The cinematography, costume design, editing, and pacing are fantastic, especially in the first half. This might have influenced my verdict of the film, because I could not help but feel proud of the Dutch for being able to make something of this quality. Unfortunately, there are some flaws to it as well, and it's the second half. The second half takes way too long and does way too little to let it mean anything. The ending is very insignificant and empty, and the plot becomes chaotic and choppy.
That being said, it will probably not meet certain viewers' standards, but it does stand proudly as one of the better Dutch films.
De Oost actually manages to avoid this flaw, and it also passes as a decent film, which came as a surprise. The cinematography, costume design, editing, and pacing are fantastic, especially in the first half. This might have influenced my verdict of the film, because I could not help but feel proud of the Dutch for being able to make something of this quality. Unfortunately, there are some flaws to it as well, and it's the second half. The second half takes way too long and does way too little to let it mean anything. The ending is very insignificant and empty, and the plot becomes chaotic and choppy.
That being said, it will probably not meet certain viewers' standards, but it does stand proudly as one of the better Dutch films.