Turkish Delight
1973
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
I am trying to figure out something remotely intelligent to say about this film. All I can come up with so far is "that was disgusting" and "damn, those Dutch girls sure are hairy." Hopefully, I will come up with something further into this review.
Eric is upset about his break up with Olga, so he picks up women in the street. There are some very frantic sex scenes, one of which includes Eric cutting off a woman's pubic hair and wearing it as a mustache. Ah, art. Anyway, the film flashes back to his relationship with Olga, which is no less disturbing and gross.
Well, I don't think anyone would predict that I would enjoy this movie. Apparently, this is the most successful Dutch film of all time, so enough people like it. I honestly don't get it; have you ever seen two less charismatic leads? Maybe in Moonstruck.
By the way, has anyone tried Turkish Delight? I find it to be rather disgusting. Curmudgeon out!
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.
My surprise is that you ended up giving it two stars!
ReplyDeleteWhilst I didn't 'like it' .. - you will not be surprised that I found several characters unpleasant - I didn't dislike it either. On the whole. Sure, lots of parts I disliked, but as a film.. well, I got through it without throwing something at the player. Have you done 'Soldier of Orange' yet? That's a lot better... Don't forget we are talking Paul Starship troopers' and 'Showgirls' Verhoeven ' here. Compared to those, we are almost in art cinema territory here,,
I haven't watched that yet. I am surprised you didn't dislike this one. I thought it was pretty gross.
DeleteThis was really bad. Hated it, actually.
ReplyDeleteIf this is the best Dutch movie ever, that would explain why there are so few on the list.
for the record I do like that Turkish sweet. Most Turkish food is super delicious.
I ate Turkish delight as a child before I became vegetarian. I think it's one of those things where the good stuff is amazing and the bad stuff is almost inedible.
ReplyDeleteI find Paul Verhoven very interesting. As usual, this begins not just trashily but almost like a manifesto for trash itself. But dig a little deeper and it's probably more the opposite.
The Netherlands is a great place, but the title of Greatest Dutch Film Ever isn't a very hotly contested category.