This feels quite a bit like a spiritual sequel to one of my favorite movies of all time, which I also perceive as perhaps the most underrated movie I can think of, Paul Verhoeven's debut feature film, Turkish Delight. This is also directed by Verhoeven and has the same two leads, the iconic Rutger Hauer in some of his earliest roles, and the utterly beautiful and charismatic Monique van de Ven. I guess there's a bit of a swap as Hauer is the main character in the previous, while van de Ven is most certainly the main character in this.
I expected less from this hardly-referenced second offering from Verhoeven, considering it's never even spoken of, but the combination of van de Ven's electric allure with that of Verhoeven's provocative, fast-paced directing keep this film riveting through every sequence. On paper, you'd think it might be a slow-burner, but it hardly ever feels the part. In summary, it's quite a simple film - a poor girl who is the eldest child in her extremely impoverished family seeks more out of life, and slowly, through recognizing the power of her own allure, amongst other things, she begins connecting with people who are a little bit richer, or a little bit more powerful - and so she makes her sporadic journey into higher society rather suddenly. Of course, one can only "pretend" to be something for so long...
If you're watching for Hauer, you'll find much more within his performance in the other early gems of Verhoeven (Spetters is another great one...I've yet to watch Soldier of Orange - That's the last of Verhoeven's Dutch classics remaining for me), but this film is absolutely worth watching regardless. There are bundles of intriguing, stylish, innovative, and very memorable sequences scattered throughout it. Specifically, one featuring a giant vat of intimidating green liquid, and one where many people are being shot in a dark alley!
All of Verhoeven's Dutch classics are more than worth exploring. This is no different. Fully on par with Spetters and The 4th Man. I love Paul Verhoeven films - he's truly one of the best that cinema ever had.
