Feature film
Turkish Delight
Turks fruit
Paul Verhoeven · 1973
Synopsis
In the Amsterdam of sexual liberation, Eric, a bohemian sculptor obsessed with sex, goes through one woman after another and records them in a notebook; he cannot get over his break-up with Olga. The film then goes back to their meeting and to the years they lived together: a free young woman, from a conservative family, whom he marries, and a passion made of fury, crudeness and tenderness, which Olga's relatives find hard to bear.
Context
The film adapts Jan Wolkers's novel, published in 1969, from a screenplay by Gerard Soeteman, for the producer Rob Houwer, with Jan de Bont behind the camera and music by Rogier van Otterloo. It introduced two performers for whom it was the first film, Monique van de Ven and Rutger Hauer, the latter already known from a television series by the same director. The novel, scandalous when it appeared, has since been brought to the stage several times, even as a musical.
Who it is for
One hundred and eight minutes in Dutch, with subtitles. It is worth knowing that the sex and illness scenes are explicit.
Prizes and reception
The greatest success of Dutch cinema, with more than three million viewers; nominated for the Oscar in 1974, best film of the century in 1999.