You Won’t Believe What Happens to This Selfish Gangster

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Michiel ten Horn’s “Fabula,” kicking off this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam, presents a character who is both dumb and self-centered – a gangster, as the director puts it. However, there’s more than just criminal antics at play; the film also carries a profound philosophical undercurrent.

This tale is reminiscent of ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens. The main character, much like a character from one of his stories, undergoes a series of transformative experiences guided by four spiritual entities, learning valuable lessons along the way.

In the crime-comedy he stars in, Fedja van Huêt (“Speak No Evil”) has long been accustomed to misfortune, given his family’s history. However, when a drug deal goes awry and compounded by the shock of learning he’s about to become a grandfather, Jos decides it’s time to put an end to this cycle of bad luck once and for all.

According to Ten Horn, the author of the script, it seems that the crowd appreciates seeing characters who are grappling with challenges yet persistently striving for their goals. It appears that people admire individuals who work diligently towards their aims. He adds this with a chuckle.

As a storyteller at heart, I’ve yearned to create a film that pays tribute to the power and beauty of stories themselves. This journey promises to be an exhilarating ride with a touch of poetry woven in. It delves into profound questions such as “What is the purpose of existence?” or “Why are we here?” but presents them in a humorous light, aiming to keep things less serious and more approachable.

His protagonist might be on a spiritual journey, but real life is never too far away in “Fabula.”

When he looks towards a higher power or the grandeur of the universe, everything seems immense, almost overwhelming. Yet, the solutions he seeks are hidden in something minuscule, as tiny as a tick that’s been unnoticed on your neck for quite some time.

Drawing inspiration from filmmakers like Wes Anderson and Anders Thomas Jensen, whose “Riders of Justice” kicked off the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2021, Ten Horn found himself drawn to dark comedy.

He mentions that he’s had a long-standing familiarity with this topic due to his upbringing and background in animation. While he has certain boundaries, he acknowledges a level of acceptance towards scenes involving characters being harmed excessively, such as having an anvil dropped on them only to keep moving.

He was “pleasantly surprised” when IFFR selected “Fabula” as the opening film.

Perhaps festivals aren’t always focused on delivering a specific message or making a statement anymore. While I’ve never shied away from being unconventional, I hope that people seeking comedy will be pleasantly surprised by something much deeper instead.”

“Maybe festivals have stopped trying to make strong statements or deliver particular messages. Although I’ve always been open to taking risks, I aim for audiences looking for humor to stumble upon something far more meaningful instead.

Alongside van Huêt, Sezgin Güleç, Michiel Kerbosch, Anniek Pheifer, Livia Lamers, Georg Friedrich, and David Kross, the actors portrayed larger-than-life characters. Yet, it was equally important for everyone to maintain a sense of realism in their performances.

I don’t actively seek out eccentric roles; instead, they seem to emerge naturally in my imagination. However, when I find myself drawn to characters so strongly that they seem worthy of their own standalone stories, it brings me joy because it indicates they are intriguing. In the case of Fedja, I had confidence he would excel from the moment I saw his first audition. His unique personality, intelligence, and comedic timing allowed him to bring Jos to life convincingly and, most significantly, endearingly. Moreover, while the story contains local aspects, my intention was to craft a ‘European tale.’

I’m in awe of this production that beautifully blends talents from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Despite the diverse languages spoken, the end result is far from feeling quintessentially Dutch, as it seems the dialogue isn’t in Dutch at all!

He asked his actors to learn a dialect spoken in the south part of the country.

I wanted to incorporate elements from where I’m originally from, including its unique folklore. Since it’s predominantly Catholic, many people grow up hearing biblical stories about morality. The landscape is breathtakingly beautiful and distinct in its own way. The Dutch media has already characterized the film as a celebration of this region. However, as the saying goes, the more local or specific something is, the more universal its appeal seems to be.

The film titled ‘Fabula’ was distributed by The Searchers, a company that represents the production houses New Amsterdam Film Company, Fobic Films, and 2Pilots.

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2025-01-30 01:47