Let’s start off by saying that I love that this film got made and is actually showing in the biggest cinema chain in The Netherlands. As someone who wants a successful Dutch film industry, but despises the unfunny and unromantic romcom’s and the endless slew of movies about the Second World War that the film industry seems obsessed with, Fabula is refreshing.
In Fabula we follow small-town criminal Jos. Jos has, to his great frustration, been completely sidelined both in his personal life as in his line of work. As he tries to fix a drug deal gone wrong, he desperately searches for an answer to the question: Who or what is punishing me?
'Fabula, like it’s mentioned ‘Baklavlaai’ is a mix of differences. It’s a darkly comedic fable with elements of magical realism, fantasy and crime. And surprisingly it manages to balance them all very well.
What also surprised me was the acting. I can be quite critical of acting in Dutch films, usually I find the performances in Dutch films a bit wooden, and while there are some line deliveries like that, overall I really liked the performances. Especially the lead performance from Fedja van Huêt, who nails the Limburgs dialect and is quickly becoming one of my favourite Dutch actors. I’ll also use this to recommend another Dutch film, 'Karakter', a completely different type of film but it also stars Fedja van Huêt and is one of my all time favorite Dutch films.
If I had to mention something that let me down, it would be some of the pacing. Especially in the middle act of the film it drags a little bit. There are also some visual effects shots that don’t look all that convincing, but I’m willing to let that go considering the rest of the film’s qualities.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by and really enjoyed Fabula and I really hope that it does well at the box office.
Let’s start off by saying that I love that this film got made and is actually showing in the biggest cinema chain in The Netherlands. As someone who wants a successful Dutch film industry, but despises the unfunny and unromantic romcom’s and the endless slew of movies about the Second World War that the film industry seems obsessed with, Fabula is refreshing.
In Fabula we follow small-town criminal Jos. Jos has, to his great frustration, been completely sidelined both in his personal life as in his line of work. As he tries to fix a drug deal gone wrong, he desperately searches for an answer to the question: Who or what is punishing me?
'Fabula, like it’s mentioned ‘Baklavlaai’ is a mix of differences. It’s a darkly comedic fable with elements of magical realism, fantasy and crime. And surprisingly it manages to balance them all very well.
What also surprised me was the acting. I can be quite critical of acting in Dutch films, usually I find the performances in Dutch films a bit wooden, and while there are some line deliveries like that, overall I really liked the performances. Especially the lead performance from Fedja van Huêt, who nails the Limburgs dialect and is quickly becoming one of my favourite Dutch actors. I’ll also use this to recommend another Dutch film, 'Karakter', a completely different type of film but it also stars Fedja van Huêt and is one of my all time favorite Dutch films.
If I had to mention something that let me down, it would be some of the pacing. Especially in the middle act of the film it drags a little bit. There are also some visual effects shots that don’t look all that convincing, but I’m willing to let that go considering the rest of the film’s qualities.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by and really enjoyed Fabula and I really hope that it does well at the box office.
