Abel
1986 Directed by Alex van Warmerdam
Synopsis
An extremely weird comedy about the life of 31- year-old Abel, who has never left home. After failing with doctors and psychiatrists, Abel's father Victor brings home Christine, a friend, in an attempt to teach Abel basic social skills. After that trouble starts and Abel is thrown out into the street.
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This is starting to become my favourite Dutch film ever made.
This film shows us what happens when a 31 year old 'boy' with no social skills whatsoever is thrust into the real world. Now, this might sound a bit cliché, but this is a film by Alex van Warmerdam. Nothing in his hands turns into a cliché.
Van Warmerdam is know for his absurdism. Originally a playwright, Abel is his first venture into the wonderful world of cinema. He clearly tries to find his footing here and treats most of the film as a play. And that's why this film works so well. The script, art-direction and performances are executed to perfection. This film, from its opening to its…
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A charmingly witty and just plain weird Dutch comedy all about growing up, if only very belatedly. Its wild and wacky antics are bonkers and brilliant in equal measure, offering from the get-go laughs as rooted in amusement as they are in sheer bemusement. The titular character's stacking of all his possessions at the top of the stairs and then pulling them down on top of himself; the appointments with psychiatrists to evaluate his mental state; the way he messes with his parents and messes up their Christmas breakfast: it's a while since I laughed out loud so many times at a film. The comedy loses its effective frequency once Abel gets involved with his father's mistress and leaves the…
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There were a lot of things I loved about Abel. Eccentric characters, an absurd plot, witty dialogue. Still, despite it all, I just couldn't really fall in love with it. I think it was probably largely my own fault. The entire film was so dry. That could be a good thing. In fact, it's probably one of the things the film really had going for it. But in a language I'm unfamiliar with it just got a bit tedious and I wound up struggling to stay interested, especially in the first half. Like I said though, that's almost entirely my own fault. Alex van Warmerdam seems like a solid filmmaker with good comedic instincts. I'm glad I watched it, I just wish I could appreciate it more. Maybe it's time to learn Dutch (probably not).
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One of those bizarre little titles that you might find while raiding your father's pornography black unmarked VHS tapes and when you watch it you realize that it was left there by mistake, Abel is the male counterpart to films like Black Moon, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, Daisies, etc. with its comic roots deep with boyhood sexual perversion transforming into a wet fever dream. On Netflix now for anyone that is interested and recommended if you want a Guy Maddin film if he lusted over 80s cult cinema, a sitcom Roy Andersson, or a non-meta Quentin Dupieux.
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One of those bizarre little titles that you might find while raiding your father's pornography black unmarked VHS tapes and when you watch it you realize that it was left there by mistake, Abel is the male counterpart to films like Black Moon, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, Daisies, etc. with its comic roots deep with boyhood sexual perversion transforming into a wet fever dream. On Netflix now for anyone that is interested and recommended if you want a Guy Maddin film if he lusted over 80s cult cinema, a sitcom Roy Andersson, or a non-meta Quentin Dupieux.
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There were a lot of things I loved about Abel. Eccentric characters, an absurd plot, witty dialogue. Still, despite it all, I just couldn't really fall in love with it. I think it was probably largely my own fault. The entire film was so dry. That could be a good thing. In fact, it's probably one of the things the film really had going for it. But in a language I'm unfamiliar with it just got a bit tedious and I wound up struggling to stay interested, especially in the first half. Like I said though, that's almost entirely my own fault. Alex van Warmerdam seems like a solid filmmaker with good comedic instincts. I'm glad I watched it, I just wish I could appreciate it more. Maybe it's time to learn Dutch (probably not).
-
A charmingly witty and just plain weird Dutch comedy all about growing up, if only very belatedly. Its wild and wacky antics are bonkers and brilliant in equal measure, offering from the get-go laughs as rooted in amusement as they are in sheer bemusement. The titular character's stacking of all his possessions at the top of the stairs and then pulling them down on top of himself; the appointments with psychiatrists to evaluate his mental state; the way he messes with his parents and messes up their Christmas breakfast: it's a while since I laughed out loud so many times at a film. The comedy loses its effective frequency once Abel gets involved with his father's mistress and leaves the…
-
This is starting to become my favourite Dutch film ever made.
This film shows us what happens when a 31 year old 'boy' with no social skills whatsoever is thrust into the real world. Now, this might sound a bit cliché, but this is a film by Alex van Warmerdam. Nothing in his hands turns into a cliché.
Van Warmerdam is know for his absurdism. Originally a playwright, Abel is his first venture into the wonderful world of cinema. He clearly tries to find his footing here and treats most of the film as a play. And that's why this film works so well. The script, art-direction and performances are executed to perfection. This film, from its opening to its…