Spetters (1980)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writer:

Gerard Soeteman (scenario)

Release Date:

28 February 1980 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sport

Plot:

A Dutch film, post-Saturday Night Fever, which follows the lives of three young men who are amateur dirt-bike motorcycle racers...

Plot Keywords:

Motorcycle | French Fries | Accident | Wheelchair | Love

Cast

Hans van Tongeren	...	Rien
Renée Soutendijk	...	Fientje
Toon Agterberg	...	Eef
Maarten Spanjer	...	Hans
Marianne Boyer	...	Maya
Peter Tuinman	...	Jaap
Saskia Ten Batenburg	...	Truus
Yvonne Valkenburg	...	Annette
Ab Abspoel	...	Rien's vader (as Albert Abspoel)
Rudi Falkenhagen	...	Hans' vader
Hans Veerman	...	Eef's vader
Ben Aerden	...	Oude Homosexueel
Kitty Courbois	...	Doctor
Margot Keune	...	Meisje op bromfiets
Jonna Koster	...	Gerrit's vrouw

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Norway:18 (cut) (1983) | UK:18 (cut) | USA:R | Netherlands:16 | Canada:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | Argentina:18 | UK:18 (video re-rating) (uncut) (2004) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2005) | West Germany:18 (original rating) (1980) | Finland:K-16 (1995)

Filming Locations:

Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Endemol Entertainment

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Paul Verhoeven] [religious imagery]In one scene, a character is shot from a low angle, with a light bulb creating a halo around his head (c.f. Flesh+Blood (1985)).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Eagle

Don't miss this one!

I just saw this film last night and was really amazed by it. Unlike the Verhoeven films that most American audiences are familiar with (Robocop, Total Recall etc) it was a compelling coming of age piece set in Holland. Like most of his early Dutch films, you can feel many of the hallmarks of his style coming together and it's a testament to his skill as a director that he can make a small character-driven film about ordinary people like SPETTERS every bit as compelling as a gigantic special effects driven spectacle like ROBOCOP.

This is an 80's disco motocross movie that has very little disco and very little motocross. What it has are many strong characters, all of them navigating life transitions and trying to figure out their place in the world.

As for the "shocking" scenes that a lot of people are referring to in the posts, there is a fair amount of sex and nudity (male especially) in this film but to call it "shocking" is misleading. The reason the film's frank treatment of sexuality is so eye opening is the way Verhoeven handles it as no big deal. Two men sneak into a subway for a tryst, and you actually see one of the guys go down on the other guy. Two pairs of teenagers sneak into an abandoned building to have sex and you see it. Or when a man and a woman lay in bed talking after having sex, you see the guy totally naked as well as the girl. What happens happens and it's presented as is.

Verhoeven doesn't cut away from nudity, but at the same time doesn't artificially sexualize it by zooming in it, laying in sexy background music etc etc. Like the co-ed shower scene in STARSHIP TROOPERS, it's presented in a completely matter of fact way. Verhoeven doesn't allude to anything in these scenes, and it gives the film a power and honesty and that wouldn't be there otherwise.

Overall I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this movie to anyone.

Bart Blackstone * Film Club Hollywood, CA