Review of Katie Tippel (1975) by Drago? C — 30 Mar 2016

An interesting socialist-leaning movie about the struggles of life in 1880s Amsterdam. Based on the memoirs of well known icon of proletarian literature, Neel Doff, Keetje Tippel is an interesting foray into the seedy underbelly of Amsterdam's night life in the belle epoque, directed by one of my favourite 'low-brow' directors, Paul Verhoeven.

Starring a young and strapping Rutger Hauer and the fantastic Monique van de Ven this is an interesting film to watch. Starting from the gutters of back-alley Amsterdam, into the workhouses and whorehouses of the city and finally into the upper class restaurants and salons Keetje Tippel is best watched as a snapshot of Amsterdam-that-was rather than some commentary on social class, which it attempts but, in my opinion, fails at completely.