ABSTRACT

Referring to two films by Lili Rademakers and the so-called ‘Manifesto for the Imagination’, I argue why the oft-mentioned ‘realism’ of Dutch cinema has contributed to a lack of appreciation for Dutch fiction features. There are good reasons to read Dutch cinema ‘anew’ and to privilege fantasy over realism, as brief re-readings of SOLDAAT VAN ORANJE, TURKS FRUIT, and BORGMAN ILLUSTRATE. Some recent films are promising, for they seem to breathe new life into that repressed history of Dutch art cinema from the late 1960s, discussed in the introduction.

KEYWORDS

Manifesto for the Imagination – Reading ‘anew’ – Fantasy rather than realism – Foreign influences

MENUET [MINUET] (1982), one of only two films directed by Lili Rademakers, has a realistic setting with three protagonists: the taciturn worker at a brewery Pol, his wife Mariëtte, and their young maid Eva. There are only a few developments, shot in a non-spectacular and matter-of-fact style: Mariëtte receives regular visits from her brother-in-law André, who obviously fancies her. Pol is not aware of this flirt, too busy collecting romantic images of wildflowers as well as cutting out gruesome reports from newspapers. Eva has detected the obtrusive behaviour of André, although she has not been witness to the fact that Mariëtte, tired of his persistence, has permitted him to have sex with her in the back of the garden. Pol is surprised to hear that his wife is pregnant, for during the three years of marriage he has been very cautious, he claims. Since Eva makes some insinuating remarks, Mariëtte fires her, but after the baby is born, she is allowed to return. A few days later, Pol falls from a staircase in the cold-storage cellars of the brewery. In the final scenes we hear voice-overs by the three main characters. Mariëtte thinks that Pol knows about her affair with André and that his accident at work is a veiled suicide attempt. Recovering at home from the fall, Pol muses on his unexpressed love for the pretty young maid and the sheer beauty of the hand Eva does not use while cleaning the house. Eva recognizes his sexual excitement; she kneels by his side and puts her hand in his coveralls, whispering: that child is not yours.