Synopsis
After 21-year-old student Tonio dies in a traffic accident, his novelist parents face sorrow and regret as they suffer the agony of losing their only child.
Tonio
2016 Directed by Paula van der Oest
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Alternative Title
Тонио
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Crossing this one of my Hype-a-de-Hype List
Added to: 2016 RankedIn comparison to Paula van der Oest's previous film, Lucia de B, Tonio is a huge step forward. We still have to deal with a lot of cliches and on a whole the film is still very much a "basic example" at most. But there's definitely some improvements that make this film a lot more engaging then her previous effort.
Firstly we have the main characters who are very lively portrayed by Pierre Bokma, Rifka Lodeizen and newcomer Chris Peters. Although the latter doesn't get much screen time, since his character dies at the beginning of the film, the event that sets the whole story in motion, he still…
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Tonio is a Dutch drama film directed by Paula van der Oest. It is based on the book of the same name by A.F. Th. van der Heijden.
At the age of 21, Tonio is hit by a car and taken in critical condition to the hospital, where he sadly dies. This tragic event drastically changes the lives of his parents, they saw their only son passing away in intensive care. Now they must fight to stay on their feet, for their son and for their own well-being.Tonio is an intense and moving film, it takes you on a roller coaster of emotions. The grieving process of losing a loved one never ends, you can heal and accept the…
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agree with everyone the last half hour makes this worth it. there were some underdeveloped ideas in here and some that ended up above any of my expectations so it's kind of a mixed bag but as far as dutch cinema goes this is def one of the best examples in recent years
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An interesting and emotionally gripping look at grief, through the eyes of two parents
At times, the quality of the acting (mostly by Rifka Lodeizen, because Pierre Bokma is great and actually delivers what may be my favorite male performance of 2016) is.... Debatable, but the screenplay, directing and editing are all really good!
The last half hour is extremely heartbreaking :(
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Tonio never comes close to the book. Where the movie just uses a simple flashback structure the book is so much more. The book shows how memories keep circling in your head, there’s a very effective repetitiveness. The book has eye for detail. The movie is alright, but it doesn’t really do anything special and thus doesn’t show the way remembering works as I thought the book did so well. The coolest scenes are the ones in which Adri imagines himself into Tonio’s life and bring that certain sense of dread and the grief that accompanies the idea of how it so easily could’ve turned out differently, but again the book impacted me so much more.
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Read the book the film is based on -
Terrific Dutch drama. One of the most mature films the country has ever produced. I normally don't expect a combination of great performances, directing, editing and sound design with films from The Netherlands. As a film it's one of the best films about the grief of parents after losing a child. Maybe even second, next to Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter.
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[...]"Al in het originele boek wordt er een spel van feit en fictie gespeeld. De roman draait immers om de innerlijke perceptie van de hoofdpersoon, naast de werkelijke geschiedenis. Zo gaat dat in literatuur, en zeker in het geval van A.F.Th. van der Heijdens werk. Film neemt door die geconstrueerde valsheid echter nog meer afstand van de werkelijkheid en creëert bewust schijnwerkelijkheden. De echte Tonio is ver weg. Nu ziet de toeschouwer niet meer dan een acteur, die speelt dat hij te overlijden komt. Dat heeft iets enorm wrangs.
Daartegenover staat dat ‘Tonio’ als pure fictie heel goed werkt. De camera blijft de hele film dicht bij het personage van Van der Heijden (een uitstekende vertolking van Pierre Bokma) zelf.…
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I haven’t read the book, so I can’t say if the film does it justice, but it was good on its own. Loved how the father becomes sort of a detective into his son’s life, trying to find out about what he was up to. But the answers do not give closure, of course, nothing can.
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The raw sadness comes through. The cutting back and forth works well. Bokma and Lodeizen both perform their roles as grieving parents in what seems like career highlights. Still, some cliches and lack of definition prevent this from being a very good movie.