Review of Borgman (2013) by Adam M — 07 Jun 2014

Borgman - Dutch mystery-suspense film, directed and co-starring Alex van Warmerdam (as accomplice of Borgman). This is the first Dutch feature film in 38 years to be at competition at Cannes Film Festival. Starring Jan Bijvoet, Hadewych Minis, Jeroen Perceval, Sara Hjort Ditlevsen, Eva van de Wijdeven, Annet Malherbe, Alex van Warmerdam. Film has been receiving praise and accolades world-over.

(Spoiler-alert).

Film opens with a caption before blank screen "And they descended upon the earth to strengthen their ranks". A priest and his followers prepare separately, sharpening tools and taking their sniffing-dogs through the forest. They arrive at place in the jungle---under their feet a beard man 'Borgman' (Jan Bijvoet) is hiding, who already found out about their presence and now begins to move out through hidden tunnel. He goes about few distances and wakes up other two of his mates.

Borgman looks like a wizard, who wears an untidy jacket. He goes straight ringing bells of people in the neighborhood, asking them to allow him to take a shower. He arrives at the house of a well-to-do family of Marine (Hadewych Minis) and Richard (jeroen perceval). Borgman lies to Richard that he knows her wife as nurse who previously took care of him for three months - this rages Richard who scuffles with his wife and also beats the hell out of Borgman.

Soon, Richard leaves for the office, and Marine realizes that her servant-house light is on-upon checking she finds Borgman bruised and taking shelter. She offers him bread and meals, plus a shower and asks him to leave before her husband arrives.

Richard and Marine live together, they've got three grown up children, two daughters and a son. There's also a young nanny at the house who speaks English. Richard gets cross very easily, and it seems the two had been at odds previously - where they'd made some pacts to not to hide anything from each other.

After Marine becomes sick of playing hide-and-seek but she also cannot think of letting him go. She agrees to fire a gardener so that he (Borgman) could take gardener's place. Borgman calls on his both male colleagues and two women (who're supposedly mother and daughter) to conspire to kill the gardener and his wife, by poisoning them. They bury their faces into bucket full of raw-cement and let it until they thaw. Later, they dump their bodies in the river. The now heavy-heads with bucket, calmly sit their body at the bottom of small river, like mushrooms.

Borgman appears clean-shaven following the ad for new gardener (but not before killing anyone else who shows up at the house). It turns out that Borgman and his colleagues have been playing jinx at home, turning their children into walking dead-bodies. Their ultimate mission reaches its success when they grow rift between Richard and Marine-instilling nightmares inside Marine's that her husband is inclined to kill her. And before she believes he does so; she gives it green-signal to Borgman to finish him off.

I did not read about this movie I just saw the poster some time back and only then did I realize that film has been earning praise for its murky plot. The film keeps momentum within by gripping its plot tight; but in the process it was not doing anything that would give the audience something that they wish to with them and discuss with their friends, the entertainment they had had. Literally speaking I found it less enjoyable, but even then I would not shy away from saying that in a desperate urge to see its nearing ending I kept visualizing certain scenes to take place - and in doing so, to rid us of sickening games that Borgman and team had been playing around the house and beyond.

If we were to take out the ending factor, thereafter it becomes 'predictable'. And if we their fragile 'trust' in each other - and which is to be blamed for the consequences that they suffered-therefore this movie stands accurate, to the way the events have unfolded. But it's also to be noticed that:- has one got to be that naïve and stupid to let the things unfold as they do in the film? The answers are best within yourself once you watch this film.

The problem with the film is that it fails to highlight the mission of the hunting-team from the beginning. For some time I kept wondering whether, that team was going to show up, or their help, was to be called in. Anyways if you loved watching films like 'Dogtooth' and 'Funny Games' - then, this is certainly your chance another bizarre film.

I give this film 80% for its maintenance of plot without touching the core-subject of sexuality, and for stay away from any other exploitation.