Feature film
Village by the River
Dorp aan de rivier
Fons Rademakers · 1958
Synopsis
At the beginning of the century, in a Brabant village on the banks of the Meuse, Doctor Tjerk van Taeke, a Frisian, treats his patients in his own way, unorthodox but effective. In this God-fearing community he remains an outsider; the notables, the burgomaster first among them, barely tolerate him, while the poor take him to their hearts. When one of his patients takes his own life, the village's hostility turns against him.
Context
For his first feature film, the director adapts Antoon Coolen's village chronicle from a screenplay and dialogue by Hugo Claus; Eduard van der Enden was behind the camera and Oscar Rosander signed the editing. Released on 19 August 1958, the film combines an almost documentary realism with the tales and figures of the village. It has been reissued on DVD in a box set devoted to its director.
Who it is for
Ninety-two minutes in Dutch, in black and white, made up of episodes rather than a continuous plot.
Prizes and reception
The first Dutch film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and in competition the same season at Berlin.