Phileine Says Sorry (2003)

Well, I have to admit that I (like most of the people from Holland) think most of the Dutch movies are plain bad. Seriously. Most of the time, I even got a good reason for that because most Dutch movies are bad. But it wouldn't be fair if I'd call this movie bad.Phileine zegt sorry is a very good movie to Dutch standards. OK, Ronald Giphart is definitely not the most literal Dutch writer and he really overuses sex in his books, but isn't that typical for Dutch writers? In fact, aren't Dutch movies known for that too? Turkish Delight is a good Dutch movie, yet has a lot of sex in it. Oh well, I think I should tell you what makes me like this movie, not what makes it less bad.I think Kim van Kooten is great as Phileine. OK, she might overdo the bitchiness sometimes, but most of the time the girl's just good. She has a good timing for one-liners and even though even I (as a 16 year old... No, we're not brainless) think Ronald Giphart overuses cursing in his books, Kim van Kooten makes Phileine enjoyable to look at and listen to.I really like the movie's soundtrack, as, throughout the movie, it just seems to fit in the place where it is.I like a lot of the scenes in the movie, as I think there's enough emotion in it to make it an enjoyable movie. Yes, call me crazy, but I thought the end-scene was very emotional. This might be because I'm still young and I have no life-experience whatsoever, or something, but just because I'm a teenager doesn't mean I'm emotionless.But there are some bad points in the movie too. For example, the dutch actors that pretend to be American. Bad English or American accents in a movie really irritate me, and because a lot of Dutch people don't have a perfect English accent I don't think they should be portrayed as English or American. I found this especially annoying in Kenan Raven's case. But then again, I think Kenan Raven is annoying to begin with. His face looks completely emotionless to me.I thought some scenes in the movie were pointless. For example, you had Gulpje and the guy from the restaurant. The whole restaurant scene was rather pointless, just like a few other scenes.But I liked most of the movie. I don't think everyone will like it as it's dutch and therefore a bit sexistic, but I do recommend it to people my age.7/10.

Genre: Drama / Comedy / Romance. This is what IMDB says. It's a drama to see that it isn't a comedy and you'll probably get romantic with the audience, since watching the screen will ruin one and a half hour of your life.As Dutchman I mostly feel embarrased with the typical Dutch movies of the last decades. Swearing, sex and agression, preferably a book converted to a movie. Here it's the same.For those of you who know BNN, the Dutch broadcasting organisation that has a trademark for rudeness, dumb&dumberness and programmes full of sex and swearing: yes, this movie has its trademark all over it.The actress Kim is overacting as a bitch and the story is so dumb that I really can't believe the hype when it was released.

At times, I'm proud to be a Dutchman. I admit it. Then, there are other times, when I feel quite ashamed. Funny thing that mostly happens after watching a Dutch movie.I can live with the shortcomings the Dutch film-industry has, like little money and few actors to carry a movie. But that is not an excuse for the complete and utter garbage Phileine Zegt Sorry is.The first thing that went wrong is that the movie is based on a book by Ronald Giphart. Now, I don't think anybody above the age of 16 that has a good pair of brains appreciates his work. So why make a movie based on one of his books? 'Ik ook van Jou' was crap as well, so why go for yet another one?Even the combination of Westdijk and Van Kooten (which worked well in Zusje) can't make this waste of time, money and tape work, as the story is stupid, the characters not believable and the ending one of the worst in movie history (oh my, she said sorry!).Everything sucks, from the 'mother who has sex in her daugthers bed with 4 guys at the same time', through the 'robbing When Harry Met Sally thing' right until the Dutch actors playing Americans, and making a crappy job of it. Stupid beyond belief. Now here's the best part: this movie actually won several awards in Holland. Dutch cinema must be dead. Get me out of here!1/10 and a place in my bottom 10.

'Phileine zegt sorry' is an adaptation of a Ronald Giphart novel (he's in the film, praising the film as better than the book). His novels are notorious for sexual explicitness, humor and lightness of tone. The film manages to capture this tone. This makes it an entertaining film with Ally MacBeal-like effects to emphasize the emotions of the lead character (Phileine). The cosmopolitan attitude of the characters, the sexual explicitness and the place of action (New York) gives it a Sex and the City touch. So the atmosphere is OK. However the film just doesn't give enough story to make it great. In the book this lack isn't a problem, however film is (as we all know) a different medium. The story line is too thin and sometimes not very credible. This is also due to the the low level performance of some the actors (especially the 'American' characters). Kim van Kooten however gives a superb performance and is a good enough reason to go and see it.So 'Phileine zegt sorry' is not a memorable meal but a nice expensive snack.