The 25 year old Ramses (Hans Teeuwen) has been
living for 8 years in a religious commune in the south
of Holland. The members of the cult, who are
flamboyantly pierced and looking fairly fashionable
(with the exception of their cheesecloth draperies),
busy themselves tending the land.
Jezus is een Palestijn
© 1999 Warner Bros. / Lagestee Film BV
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The arrival of
the Hindu leader, Kahn-Goeroe (not to be confused
with the similar sounding "Kangaroo"; played by
Anis de Jong), is followed quickly by the decision to
initiate Ramses, luckily still a virgin, as priest in the
community. One of the first rituals necessary will be
to attach a new ornament to Ramses' private parts,
somewhat similar to an "Albert's Ring" (for those of
you familiar with those).
As fate would have it, Ramses' sister Natasha (Kim
van Kooten) comes searching for her brother with
the news that their father (Peer Mascini) is on his
deathbed in Amsterdam. The Hindu leader lends
permission for the boy to visit, but he must return as
soon as his father has died. After seeing dad, who
is paralyzed and hanging upside down in the
hospital, Ramses spends the night at Natasha's
house and meets her roommate Lonneke (Dijn
Blom). Ramses discovers, for the first time in his
life, that he has a strong attraction to the opposite
sex and falls immediately in love or lust or
something.
The following day, Ramses is told by his sister that
the actual reason she brought him to Amsterdam
was because their father has been in a comatose
for four months and costing a pretty penny at the
hospital. The law, it seems, demands not only
Natasha's signature, but her brother's in order to
proceed with euthanasia. Ramses refuses to lend
his hand to these proceedings.
More nonsense to come as the Kahn-goeroe follows
Ramses to Amsterdam, dad turns out not to be in a
state of coma (,but patiently waiting for the new
Messiah to come), a Palestinian prophet named
Rashid (Najib Amhali) who lives in the local housing
estate is sought for advice on the arrival of the
Messiah, followed by such pleasures as neon
crosses and crucifixion.
Writer/director Lodewijk Crijns (director of the prize-
winning movie/documentary "Lap Rouge") explains
that he has tried "to explain how someone can reach
a certain moment in their lives when they are
capable of converting from one religion to another."
He tells that during "research on this subject I
discovered that many of the faithful only become
truly devout when they find themselves in the middle
of a personal crisis." The main theme of this movie,
according to Crijns, is SPIRITUALITY (N.B.- in
capitals) and the main character in the story acts as
redeemer. I would continue with more information of
this kind, but I do want you to remember that the film
is a comedy.
Well acted for a Dutch feature film with the exception
of the extra's, who stand there obviously being
extra's and make it more than clear that they don't
(for the most part) have any acting training or ability.
Peer Mascini may be strapped down a good deal of
the time, but he remains one of the strongest actors
around in Dutch films.
Hans Teeuwen, a popular stand-up comic on the
Dutch scene, proves delightfully humorous in a
tongue-in-cheek pose throughout most of the film,
but the more he begins to metamorphose and
become a part of "normal" society, the more he loses
the comic effect of his droll restraint. Nevertheless,
he delivers a fine performance in his first Dutch
feature film.
It's a comedy, so try to laugh.
© 1994-2006 The Green Hartnett
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