| Reviews MARC SAVLOV Austin Chronicle 1993-10-22 This gorgeous, strange film (based on the novel by Dutch author Rudi van Dantzig) starts off looking like John Boorman's life-during-wartime remembrance Hope and Glory, and ends up becoming, midway through, something completely different. In the pre-liberation Amsterdam of 1944, parents are sending their children off to the country to live with relatives, hoping that the farms are safer. Young Jeroen (Smit) is placed in the care of one such family, ably headed by God-fearing patriarch Hait (Smink). Before long, the area is liberated by a group of Canadian soldiers who then take up a brief residence in the local hotel before pulling out. One young soldier, the handsome, melancholy Walt (Kelley), develops a close relationship with Jeroen, teaching him to dance the lindy and palling around with him at every opportunity. Sensing a kinship in the boy, Walt begins what can only be called a tentative flirtation, which eventually ends with the boy's initiation into his first sexual encounter. It's this 90-degree turn, three-quarters of the way through the film, that may leave some viewers either shocked or confused, but taken in context, it's the only obvious avenue for these oddly mismatched lovers. Kerbosch has framed the film with scenes of an adult Jeroen (now a ballet choreographer in Amsterdam) discussing the situation with his ghostlike, younger self, and as contrived as this may sound, it works. Hauntingly beautiful in its depiction of the somnolent Dutch countryside and its people during the war, this is one of those films almost guaranteed to slip through the cracks. It shouldn't be allowed to, though. It handles some extremely risky subject matter with grace and charm, and deserves to be seen. DAVID LITTON Movie Eye Critic's Grade: B+ For every step that Louis Malle's "Pretty Baby" took in the wrong direction, Roeland Kerbosch's "For a Lost Soldier" manages to put its foot on a more solid path. Both films deal with the controversial subject of the pairing an adult with a much younger intimate partner, and each features casting that remains true to form in this respect. But child actor Maarten Smit all but blows Brooke Shields out of the water with his quietly understated performance as Jeroen, a young child whose life growing up in the Netherlands is forever changed in the aftermath of World War II. Having been sent by his mother from his home in Amsterdam to a foster home in the countryside, where food is more plentiful, Jeroen finds himself in surroundings that are cold and indifferent to him, despite the best efforts of his "parents" to try and welcome him. Soon after, however, the country is liberated by the Allies, which brings he and Canadian soldier Walt (Andrew Kelly) together in what begins as a friendship, and eventually consumates as a romance. I've heard various comments from some viewers who lament over the film's inability to capture the source novel's examinations of how the adult Walt more often than not uses Jeroen for his own personal pleasures, knowing full well that their time together is limited. Not having read Rudi van Dantzig's book, I cannot attest to this statement; I can, however, report that this lack of stance seems to enhance the overall effect of the film. It's obvious that Walt isn't taking Jeroen's feelings into consideration during their various encounters, both sexual and non-sexual, but rather than spend his time condemning his character, director Kerbosch focuses on Jeroen's emotional evolution throughout the film, and delivers a heart-wrenching ending made slightly cumbersome by its inability to completely resolve its present-day subplot involving an adult Jeroen (Jeroen Krabb?). As for the pairing of young and old, the film scores points for not allowing the taboo nature of the subject matter to becomes its focal point; in the end, "For a Lost Soldier" is a simple story of first love, lovingly told. |
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| FOR A LOST SOLDIER 1993 - Netherlands - 92 min. - Feature, Color AKA -Voor een Verloren Soldaat (Original Foreign title) Director -Roeland Kerbosch |
| Genre/Type -Romance, Coming-of-Age, Gay & Lesbian Films Keywords -ballet-dance, homosexual, liberation, soldier, war, Holland, coming-of-age, Canadian [nationality] Themes -Sexual Awakening, First Love, Age Disparity Romance, Interracial/Cross-Cultural Romance, Life Under Occupation Tones -Compassionate, Reflective, Understated, Warm, Sexual, Sentimental, Wistful Moods -In a Minor Key Box office -$194,312 Color type -Eastmancolor Produced by -AVRO Television / Sigma Films Released by -Concorde Pictures Cast Jeroen Krabb� -- Jeroen Boman (adult) Freark Smink -- Hait Elsje de Wijn -- Mem Moniek Kramer Plot Synopsis For a Lost Soldier was originally released in the Netherlands as Voor een veloran soldaat. Using a flashback framework, the film deals with a gay "coming of age". Forty years after the fact, choreographer Jeroen Krabbe recalls a wartime romance. During the Allied liberation of Holland, the young Krabbe (played as a youth by Marten Smit) entered into a tender relationship with a Canadian soldier (Andrew Kelley). Back to the present, Krabbe attempts to incorporate his experiences in his latest ballet work, a celebration of the Liberation. This delicately handled tale was written by its director, Roeland Kerbosh. - Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide |
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