©All Yours Film VoF
distribution C-Films
photo's courtesy The Publicity Company
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As a man hangs from the ceiling, being tortured to the tunes of Karaoke, we feel
the energy released in an unfamiliar criminal world of retribution. "Leak" is a
Dutch police film aimed at a wide audience. In attempting to target their
viewers through a commercial film with an interesting story and believable
characters, the producers have succeeded in making a thriller that exemplifies
life on both sides of the police fence. Based on the true experiences of a
Dutch officer confronted with corruption inside his force, the film is an
adaptation of the original novel by Jan van Daalen.
Eddy's a cop bumpin' around the beat. He's going no place fast and even his
sperm seems a bit on the slow side. Both at work and in bed, all reports have
shown no results to date. Wanting to climb the blue ladder of Amsterdam's
finest, he agrees to work a job for CID (Criminal Investigation Department) and
approaches his old school friend Jack with an offer that he can't refuse. His
buddy, it would seem, has spent his post-school years not only becoming a
middleman in the drugs business, but a happy father as well. Jack turns
informer with the understanding that Eddy will remain his only personal contact
person on the side of the law. He figures he can trust his old buddy. Agreeing
to this setup, the police hope to catch the notorious drug baron Haveman. Jack,
who hopes to make a big score in his attempt to begin a new life, views this
curious partnership as the revival of lost friendship: "We'll be a team, just
like in the old days." When, however, the transports repeatedly manage to
escape the long arm of the law, it becomes clear that there is not only a leak
among the gangster's, but a leak in the police station as well. Eddy, trained
to be aware of the suspicious behavior of others, now falls victim to paranoia
as he unexpectedly finds himself coming under suspicion. With no one left to
trust among his buddies in blue, Eddy joins forces in yet another fashion with
Jack to find out where the leak is.
Their privates live also become inescapably affected by the circumstances
surrounding them. Jack's a simple kind of guy who enjoys carrying his tot (baby
Jakey) around with an easy philosophy: "There are three things that every guy
wants to have: a woman, sex, and a Lamborghini Diablo." His red speedster,
however, won't be able to help him escape danger. Eddy makes do without such
flash wheels at home and spends his time in bed frolicking around while wearing
his wife's red cowboy hat. Not having any success in the kid department, he and
his wife console themselves with their pet penguins & turtle. Their
troublesome situation will lead them closer to disaster than either suspect.
When you jump in that deep, you better know where you're going.
The most disturbing element in the story is the lack of cleverness displayed by
our cop/hero when doing things like opening a train station locker to find a bag
full of money with a greeting card that reads ""oogjes dicht, snaveltjes toe"
("close your eyes and keep your mouth shut"). On this occasion, he nervously
proceeds to leave his fingerprints all over the place before returning the
evidence to the locker. This young cop is obviously dumb and unhandy. (One
might well wonder what Jack has gotten himself into by agreeing to depend on
Eddy for his safety.) After reporting this incident to the CID, he is placed
on non-active for two weeks. The boy winds up getting himself into further
trouble all the time. Look before you leap seems to be an adage of which he's
never heard. Although he becomes more macho in his battle against the baddies
by the end of the film, he still doesn't impress anyone with exceptional
brightness when he begins shooting off his pistol as if it's a game of cops and
robbers. One thinks of the comment one of the criminals made earlier when
referring to Eddy, "Ask what we should do about Serpico."
Cas Jansen, familiar to audiences as Julian in the Dutch soap "Good Times, Bad
Times," finally has a chance to show his abilities as an actor, albeit the
character in the script has some definite shortcomings. As he says, Jansen
found it exciting to deal with the mortal flaws plaguing his character "from the
rather inexperienced Eddy in the beginning to the vengeful man who suddenly gets
an idea into his head, loses control, and wants to take revenge on everyone.
This line of development is a central to the story because the film is
experienced mostly from Eddy's point of view. You have to let yourself go with
it. That was the most difficult thing for me, to make sure that I succeeded in
that."
Victor Löw (familiar to Dutch audiences from previous roles in "Abeltje",
"Missing Link", and "Rent-a-Friend") turns the character of Jack into the
sleazy, wealthy type of criminal often seen frequenting the streets and hidden
corners of the red light district in Amsterdam; a guy with a good heart who
makes your skin crawl. He wants to get out of this underworld, but hasn't found
the opportunity. Löw comments, "What I found so intriguing about the underworld
is the emotional ties bound up with this situation. Every wrong decision could
mean the end. It's always hit and run. Jack has to make so many decisions at
the same time that he finally winds up in an emotional mess. I recognize that
split personality very well. It's a combination of great spontaneity with
immense repression. That's why, in the middle of a sudden spontaneous reaction,
I can find myself suddenly asking who I am and why I'm doing something."
©All Yours Film VoF
distribution C-Films
photo's courtesy The Publicity Company
|
Ricki Koole (previously seen in the Dutch films "All Stars" and "The Dress")
plays the young innocent wife desperately trying to have a child and winding up
in a situation she never could have imagined as the result of being married to a
policeman.
Director Jean van der Velde, who appeared several years ago on the Dutch scene
with his film "De Kleine Blonde Dood" ("Little Blonde Death"), shows that he has
a handle over the elements necessary to get an audience involved. His hand in
co-writing the scenario with Simon de Waal has obviously assisted him in keeping
an eye on how each scene would work while planning the final shoot. His
intention was to show that cops are people made of flesh and blood like everyone
else by showing them not only at work, but, more importantly, in their private
lives. With corruption spreading further through the ranks in Amsterdam the
past ten years into the realm of lawyers and politicians, the arena of the Dutch
underworld became more interesting to him as a subject for a film. As van der
Velde says, "You don't have to make things up and people are less likely to say
that something like this couldn't happen in Holland."
As he tells it, "The great thing is that these two worlds run so parallel to
each other. If there's one place where an office atmosphere can be found with a
typical 'office' sense of humor, it's among the police in the police station.
Their entire body of work as professionals has to be recorded in dossiers,
statements, and reports. The real adventure doesn't take place there. It takes
place in the unrestricted brain of the criminals. They are the adventurers who
can get rich from one moment to the next. I didn't feel I had to put the
emphasis, like many other scripts have in the past, on the concept that
criminals are no good. The challenge was to make it possible for the viewer to
like them. In different ways, it's an exciting and attractive world they live
in; otherwise nobody would ever become part of it. You come across normal
people just as easily in the underworld as anywhere else, like Jack, a man who
has recently become a father and is absolutely crazy about his kid."
Perhaps it is easiest to summarize the plot of the film is by using an often
repeated phrase of Mr. Klaus Wilting, the public relations officer for the
police of Amsterdam: "It appears to have something to do with settling accounts
within the criminal milieu."
Footnote: Although it arguably has little to do with the movie, one cannot help
but make some reference to the locations. Many can be found in the Indonesian
neighborhood of Amsterdam (aka East), although they have been embellished in
different ways to fit the bill. When the police walk into a snack bar (called
the "Vlampan" (Frying Pan), they find a crowd of local residents waiting to
order take-aways. Disgruntled by the thought of waiting in line too long, one
officer calls out, "Foreign police, papers please." The place rapidly empties
and the cops get their sandwiches for free. (Humor?) This snack bar has,
incidentally, been closed by the police since the shooting of the film took
place. Nearby, behind the cozy "Badhuis" café, whores are roaming the street
looking for another clientele. (Don't try going there. You won't find any. By
the way, this café has gone bankrupt and closed since the making of the film.)
A pregnancy test can always be a good idea when you're doing your best to have a
kid, but doing it on the Molukkenstraat in front of the apothecary on a parked
car seems a bit flamboyant, even for a policeman. (This location is situated
across the street from the nearest police station.) This last location also
offers a good shot-filling background of the monumental Berlage buildings (which
may possibly be scheduled for demolition by the city council in the coming year
or so.) Keep an eye out for these locations; they may not be around for long.
© 1994-2006 The Green Hartnett
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