Film: Blind Date
Year of production: 1996
UK Release date: 9th May 2011 (part of The Theo Van Gogh Collection)
Distributor: Network
Certificate: 15
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Theo van Gogh
Starring: Renée Fokker, Peer Mascini, Roeland Fernhout, Wouter Brave, Jan Jaspers
Genre: Drama
Format: DVD
Country of Production: Netherlands
Language: Dutch
Review by: Sarah Hill
When Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh died in 2004, aged 47, he left behind a controversial legacy. A relative of the renowned artist, Vincent van Gogh, Theo van Gogh was a provocative newspaper columnist who was a staunch advocate of freedom of speech and used his columns as a platform from which to voice his opinions about well-known public figures. He was particularly critical of the treatment of women in some Islamic societies. This was highly evident within his 2004 film Submission, for which he received numerous death threats. Theo van Gogh was assassinated by Dutch-Moroccan Mohammed Bouyeri on 2nd November 2004. Van Gogh’s life story is certainly dramatic; therefore, it is little wonder that in the years following his death, Hollywood has remade some of his most well-known films, giving him the kind of international recognition that he never received during his lifetime. However, on 9th May 2011, Network Releasing are releasing the first DVD collection of van Gogh’s work in the UK (The Theo Van Gogh Collection), which features arguably some of his best films. The first film in this three-film collection is the 1996 film Blind Date.
Pom (Peer Mascini) is a failed comedian. His wife, Katja (Renée Fokker) is still mourning the death of their 3-year-old daughter. They regularly pretend to be other people by placing adverts in the ‘lonely hearts’ column of their local newspaper, all of which are targeted at each other. With their new personas, they go on weekly dates, often to the same bar, under the observant gaze of the same barman (Roeland Fernhout).
The film is narrated by their deceased child, whose voice innocently informs the viewer that “mum and dad like to play games” and explores the couple’s attempts to simultaneously escape their grief and reconnect with each other...
Blind Date has a very interesting premise in that it examines the relationship between a couple who, it seems, can only communicate with each other when they are pretending to be other people. The film also has a pervading sense of darkness. This is evident from some of the earliest scenes within the film. On the first date that takes place within the lifespan of the film, we witness Pom, as a barman, chatting to Katja in a bar. It begins as a typically flirtatious conversation between a barman and a female costumer. However, it soon becomes much more menacing as Pom decides to tell Katja some ‘truths’ and refuses to let her leave by forcing her to partake in karaoke. The image of Katja sobbing as she sings jars greatly with Pom’s dancing to an upbeat song. It’s like witnessing a car crash: horrible to watch, but almost impossible to look away from.
The unease continues as each date reveals more and more painful details about their past, such as the fact that Pom once raped Katja. This is act of violence is mentioned on numerous occasions and forms a significant part of the verbal battles which take place between the couple. Their differing perspectives convey that they really don’t understand each other; they are talking at each other rather than to each other. During a scene in which they go dancing, Katja tells Pom: “You’re out of step.” This line succinctly sums up the characters, for they are not just out of step with the music, but out of step with each other. As they dance, the camera swirls around them; it’s highly unsettling and the circular motion seems to suggest that there is no end to their verbal and emotional battles - they are trapped.
However, the fact that the film depicts two people locked in constant conflict with each other means that it does, at times, lack pace, as the conversations tend to be very repetitive, and although this adds to the feeling of confinement within the film, it can also become somewhat irritating. There is also a sense that the same effect could have been achieved with fewer dates and a slightly shorter running time.
Despite the film’s claustrophobic and sinister feel, it does contain a number of comedic moments, albeit of the very dark kind. When Pom places an advert stating: “Serious reporter seeks aggressive woman,” he goes along to meet Katja at a restaurant, where she greets him with a forceful and well-timed punch to the face. The film’s blend of menace and humour calls for good performances from its actors and Renée Fokker, in particular, doesn’t disappoint. She moves effortlessly through a range of emotions, such as anger, grief, love and hate, and serves to make the film’s ending all the more convincing.
Blind Date is an unusual and interesting film, which is dark, unsettling and claustrophobic. Ultimately, however, it is a tragic film and although its ending is almost inevitable, this makes it no less upsetting. SH
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