Redemption - Hugo Claus

Original Dutch film title:
DE VERLOSSING
Year:
2001
Length:
96 minutes

Tagline:
Psychological drama about the last day in the life of a woman.

Logline:
On her deathbed a woman looks back on her disappointing marriage, until she eventually passes away peacefully.

Synopsis:
A sunny autumn day. The house of the Vanderginste family is near the river Leie. It’s a dilapidated building, a farmhouse, not very well restored. Broken furniture, cast iron stoves, garden statues and rusty refrigerators lay scattered around in the family’s fairly large garden. Some skinny chickens are roaming around. They belong to Oscar, the family patriarch.
Inside the house is Magda, Oscar’s bedridden wife. While suffering from physical ailments, she also has visions of her dead sister Marleen.

On this autumn day the family receives a visit from their rather dull son Johnny, a security guard, and from their daughter Julia, who unfortunately married a not-very-gifted soccer player.
‘Redemption’ tells the story of Magda’s final day. She looks back on her life, her children and her marriage. Her dead sister Marleen repeatedly interrupts the narrative in the form of a vision or in flashbacks as a real person. She makes comments, challenges her, disapproves and blackmails.
Magda, with the assistance of her daughter Julia, makes several clumsy attempts to end her life; euthanasia in a manner of speaking. This leads to humorous situations that, however bizarre, are also poignant.
In the end, she passes away peacefully, leaving behind a shattered family.

Cast:
Gilda de Bal (Magda)
Jan Decleir (Oscar)
Willeke van Ammelrooy (Marleen)
Peter van den Begin (Johnny)
Elke Dom (Julia)
Reinhilde Decleir (voice Marleen)
and: Lucas van den Eynde, Mireille Leveque, Jef Lambrecht, Amin Hagouchi, Hugo van den Berghe, Blanca Heirman, Adriaan van Dis

Crew:
script & direction: Hugo Claus
camera: Goert Giltaij
sound: Lieven Callens, Willem van Nieuwenhuyzen
art direction: Kurt Loyens
costume design: Catherine van Bree
make-up: Brigitte Pleijzier
editing: Menno Boerema
sound design: Peter Flamman
laboratory: Color by DeJonghe
music: Henny Vrienten
co-producer: Catherine Vandeleene
producers: Paul Breuls & René Scholten

this film is a co-production of Corsan Film (Belgium) with Studio Nieuwe Gronden

this film is financially supported by:
Fonds Film in Vlaanderen
Nederlands Fonds voor de Film
Canvas
KRO
Canal +