De reünie

This film is 'not OK'. The story of the book is very thrilling. The story of the film is totally different. Some important characters are left out. Because its a 'rtl entertainment' movie there is a lot of advertisements i think this is very annoying. but i will not blame the movie on that.

When the break in the cinema came i sad: 'I'm going home, this totally ruins the book' I stayed, and when i was on my way back i wanted to cry because it was not the story i knew. They should of just change all the names and no one had complaint (except for advertisement)

And i was not the only one, lots of people were saying not nice things about the movie when it ended.

If it was not based on the book the film was still a 6. The beginning is slow. Menno Meyjes used a lot of flashbacks but sometimes it was not really clear why a flashback comes or if it is a flash back. Nothing happens in the first hour of the movie, Sabine comes to work starts dating and her date turns out to be really weird than everything is totally random and the film ends.

I say spend hour and a half of your life better and watch an other movie or just read the book!

The film really should have been full of suspense. The past events are slowly revealed over the course of the story and at each turn a potential culprit comes to light. What did the creepy school caretaker (a pedophile) have to do with the disappearance of Isabel? Which of the many boys who lusted after Isabel played a role in her demise? Robin, Sabine's much-loved older brother? Bart, her own teenage boyfriend who kept their relationship a secret? Or perhaps Olaf, Sabine's current boyfriend who is reluctant to talk of his own link to Isabel? Although she now lives in Amsterdam Sabine keeps returning to the small town where she grew up in an effort to help the memories that she has locked away to resurface, so there is a constant juxtaposition between the present and the past which should help to flesh the story out. But I found myself wondering at several loose ends left at the end, including what might have become of all the other missing girls that Sabine uncovers in her search for the truth surrounding Isabel's disappearance. The Reunion has a flashback structure that gives great potential for some dramatic tension, but the director simply doesn't know how to use it to any effect. The narrative becomes inert and aimless. There are many cartboard characters, such as Renee, the nasty lady boss and the autistic colleague with his laptop, who have no other role in the story than just being... (i) a nasty boss and (ii) an autistic colleague...

I really liked the story and the way it was scripted, it makes us kind of "lost" amid the flashbacks, but the style attracts me, and the characters captivated me, the plot and the suspense content involved me, and finally it was mega curious, where are you going Izabel... Very Good...

No pun intended - we all know that stuff from the past can come and haunt us. We may also remeber stuff differently than they actually happened ... our mind can play tricks like that. On the other hand, even if we remember something ... others may not actually believe us.

All that said, there is a high chance you will know what at least one of the big twists is - or was. It really wants you to have some patience with it - and if you are not able to wait and dig the pace this has (it is quite slow) ... well you will end up not ... ending the movie I reckon (as I can tell) ... which would be a shame, since there is something here ... something to find and something that is quite .... good and bad I suppose.

Well acted and some red herrings (not swimming - more puns I guess) ... you will be able to see through it. Moral of the story? Don't be a bully ...