Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Gurlyndrobb
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Boba_Fett1138
This movie surpassed all my expectations. Its very raw in its violence and story. The characters are well developed and the actors that portray them are most excellent.I couldn't help thinking about "Goodfellas" while watching this movie. Both movies have certain parallels. The main character doesn't begin his life as a criminal and murderer but slowly becomes so and transforms throughout the movie. Also the criminal activities in both movies are quite the same. Still this doesn't mean that "Van God Los" is a cheap Dutch rip-off of "Goodfellas", no not at all! "Van God Los" is a powerful movie on its own that is driven by its well developed characters. The movie has some pretty violent scene's, they were really not holding back here and I found it even quite shocking and disturbing at times but in a good way.The story is very solid and well written and it's loosely based on true events. Yes people, these events and gangs are so rare in The Netherlands that they make movies about them. All of the events in the movie feel all very realistic which is I think also thanks to the fine actors. But it's not all violence in this movie, the movie is driven by some powerful emotions and the movie has several layers. It's a both powerful emotional movie as well as a violent one. In a way the movie shows that everyone has it in him or her to become a criminal. Basically there is no reason why this couldn't happen to any of you out there.The movie is very well directed by Pieter Kuijpers, who is a great character director. The fine cinematography by Bert Pot impressed me and the music by 'Het Paleis van Boem' set the mood for the movie perfectly.To be honest, I was kind of worried when the movie and its narration began. All of the main characters in the movie are speaking with a certain Dutch accent they speak in the southern province Limburg. I'm from the absolute most northern province of The Netherlands and Limburg is the most southern province of The Netherlands. Needless to say that the accents are completely different and in my ears even irritating, than I'm used to. But those worries were all for nothing, you get used to the accents very quick and after a while you don't even really notice them anymore. Of course for all the people outside The Netherlands who don't speak one word of Dutch, this isn't a complaint because they will simply of course not be bothered by it at all.This movie most certainly surprised me in a positive way and I think that this movie deserves an international audience.9/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
Diand
Van God los / Godforsaken! is about the gang of Venlo. They committed a series of murders between carnival (hence the carnival scenes and the costumes) 1993 and 1994, were subsequently caught and sentenced to prison. The murders shocked because they were committed by people with little motive and committed against random targets. And because violence on this scale is known here mostly from large (foreign) drug gangs where the financial stakes to obtain a cartel are high (several gang-related murders in Amsterdam alone last year).The real and complete story was a lot more complex and involved more people and more killings but is reduced here to the two main people convicted and a girlfriend they both loved. One (Maikel; Tygo Gernandt) has a deprived background but is very talkative and convincing; the other (Stan; Egbert Jan Weeber) more silent and from the upper echelons of society.You make a documentary and get as many facts right and tell the whole story, or you make drama and reduce the story to its bare essentials and fantasize and invent everything else. Here they choose the latter, but can't do away with the documentary style. But you can't have it both ways and that's why this fails somewhat. So we end up with a strange mix where the love relation is probably not that accurate but the details of the killings are.The difficulty is then to get some drama out of a series of random and senseless murders. There's some catharsis at the end, but overall this movie is too bleak and offers no redemption. There are no characters to identify with so the only shock comes from the murders that are brought with well-built tension here. (For a movie without these problems I refer to Boys don't cry).Intensity does not equal good acting. The whole cast is performing above average, not just the intense Tygo Gernandt. A big mistake is the voice-over, because it neither has the dramatic intensity to impress and the movie gets stuck a bit by not letting that go somewhere along the way. In the story I found it strange to see the character of Sef disappearing and re-entering at random.With its Gothic and catholic themes and classical music the movie has a sufficient overall art direction and design. Also the depressing town of Venlo is well projected. The movie sometimes looks too grainy and amateuristic technically.Overall direction is not strong. This is not A Clockwork Orange, but some parts are interesting: for example the part where the Turkish gang is presented in the Godfather-way (in fact the godfather never looks the two Dutch gang members in their face and refuses to speak their language).This movie is hailed as one of the best ever made in the Netherlands where in fact it is an average, but somewhat interesting movie. As about dramatizing actual events, wouldn't it be a good idea to pick up on the Van Gogh-murder.
bas rutten
It's well known that Dutch movies have a notoriously (and completely deserved) bad name, but over the last couple of years they're starting to get better, as "Van God Los" clearly exemplifies. First of all, there's finally some good acting in a Dutch movie, which is rather surprising since most of the main characters are soap actors that normally can't act their way out of cartboard box, but in this movie they all exceed themselves and deliver very convincing parts, complete with believable accents. The atmosphere has also been done very well..I originally come from the region where the movie takes place, and the director really hit the spot with the ambiance by including things like Carnival parades and lots of greenhouses. Overall, the region comes across as just as dull as it is in reality, which in this case is a definite plus.The story, although rather predictable (you know that the movie isn't going to end well), is again very plausible and well thought out. The characters show believable emotions and undergo believable developments, and somehow you care for them even though most of them would be aptly described as "scum". All in all, "Van God Los" is a very realistic, strong and emotional movie that tells a slightly predictable but nonetheless fascinating and tragic story about friendship and crime. Dutch movies are definitely going the right way...
weste117
Its a good movie bout 2 mates that are by coincidence hitman for the Turkish maffia, Good performances by all actors. This movie makes a shocking impression, by the use of cassual violence and characters based on the real events in a city in The Netherlands called 'Venlo'. A lively movie with a touch of reality.
