Review of Borgman (2013) by Arun G — 14 Aug 2015

The vagrant Camiel Borgman (Jan Bijvoet) and some of his associates are chased from their underground hiding places by the local priest and some helpers. Soon after their escape, Borgman is randomly knocking on doors of wealthy people, asking if he can use bathing facilities in their house. In attempt to do good after her husband Richard (Jeroen Perceval) has beaten Camiel for being too persistent of using their bath, Marina (Hadewijch Minis) helps Borgman by giving him temporary shelter in the garden shed on their premises. Soon enough he turns their lives into a psychological nightmare...

Alex van Warmerdam´s "Borgman" is uniquely different and one of those movies you simply don´t know where it takes you and the story. It´s a dark weird satirical and surreal film that has great storytelling and I love the unpredictability that kept me intrigued during the whole film. Jan Bijvoet´s Borgman is the Antichrist or an evil being and leader of a group of people which has cult written all over it and a goal of adding new followers along the way that will help him achieve whatever plan he might have in his head. Borgman is not interested in money or wealth, nor seducing women or hurting children. His only interest is to bring out the evil residing in all humans - men, women, children. He manipulates, sedates or kills people when it is necessary, but it is not a goal, just a tool for him to execute his ideas. "Borgman" is shot in a simple way, while the focus is on the story and the character development. Great performances from everyone involved. The lovely danish actress Sara Hjort Ditlevsen as Stine added some beauty to the story and the oddness. The film ends with several question marks and Alex van Warmerdam leaves it up to you what you want to make out of it. Once you´ve seen "Borgman" it will not leave your mind. Ever.