Spetters

'Spetters' begins like one of the countless American teen coming of age "romps" we had to endure in the 1980s (....shudder...), but being a Paul Verhoeven movie things quickly become darker and more subversive. Verhoeven's most recent Hollywood effort 'Hollow Man' was a stinkeroo, but this shouldn't detract from his past achievements. Especially his brilliant output in the 1980s, a decade where mainstream movie making hit a new low (since surpassed I'm sad to say). Verhoeven didn't direct a bad movie in the 80s, which is something very few American directors can say truthfully. Even David Lynch gave us 'Dune' during this period. 'Spetters' is much tougher and confronting than you'd expect from scanning the basic plot line - three young horny guys pursue their dreams which centre around motorcross. That's what makes this movie so surprising and memorable. Verhoeven regulars Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbe pop up in quite good cameos, but the movie is carried by the three young unknown (to international audiences) male leads. All are well cast and impressive. As is the foxy Renee Soutendijk, who would go on to play a major part in Verhoeven's next movie, the brilliant erotic thriller 'The Fourth Man'. 'Spetters' is raw and unpolished compared to many of Verhoeven's subsequent movies, but is definitely worth watching. Another winner from this often maligned director who I'm certain will one day get the attention and praise he deserves.

Watching Spetters I felt like going full speed in a roller coaster. But not like in action films where the action often starts to feel monotonous. No, this roller coaster is full of life, emotions, all kind of things. The pacing is somehow well done, so that there are a lot of scenes with a lot of going on all the time, but also slower moments to even it out. The drama is very good, there is a lot of comedy, and what makes this a Verhoeven movie, there's a lot of nudity. I've never seen as many male private parts in an actual movie than here. But somehow I was more at home in this movie than in Verhoeven's "Turkish Delight" which I wached a while ago. I found that one somehow more difficult to stand, but this one was all-around an enjoyable ride.

Oh, and great, great music. Being a huge music fan I always get more kicks out of a movie if the music fits the movie.

Rough, passionate, uncomproised film-making. I might have to raise my rating later on because I felt like stumbling upon something unique, the kind of movie that makes an impression and you have to come back to it eventually.

rating 8/10

Spetters in dutch has two meanings: "splashes" (of grease, dirt or blood) and "pretty people/hunk".

This movie is quick. To me it's enjoyable as an action movie, but also as a movie like "easy rider", depicting bikers' life in holland of the late 70's. It wouldn't be dutch if there ain't some tits'n'ass in it. But I don't think the movie evolves around it. It deals much more with choices, luck and destiny everyone makes. And that's the reason why i think it's a good movie. Beyond the action sequences there's a moral to be found. I think the story shows many stereotypes of people and let's them all interact realistically. That's the true strength of this movie. and always keep in mind: it's dutch, and up to that time, there were not many action movies made in holland. shortly after this movie Paul Verhoeven went to Hollywood, to my knowledge partly because of the bad dutch criticism to this movie.

While I wouldn't call this film anything great, it did manage to consistently keep me entertained and interested, and that usually isn't an easy task. The music stood out as a particularly effective part of the movie, as I often found it to be chilling. There were also a number of fascinating scenes in this movie, many of which would probably not be for all tastes. In fact, much like most Verhoeven films, this movie probably isn't for everybody, since it does get somewhat graphic at times. However, if you are a person who can handle the occasional disturbing image, then I would say that you should give this film a look.

I just saw this film last night and was really amazed by it. Unlike the Verhoeven films that most American audiences are familiar with (Robocop, Total Recall etc) it was a compelling coming of age piece set in Holland. Like most of his early Dutch films, you can feel many of the hallmarks of his style coming together and it's a testament to his skill as a director that he can make a small character-driven film about ordinary people like SPETTERS every bit as compelling as a gigantic special effects driven spectacle like ROBOCOP.

This is an 80's disco motocross movie that has very little disco and very little motocross. What it has are many strong characters, all of them navigating life transitions and trying to figure out their place in the world.

As for the "shocking" scenes that a lot of people are referring to in the posts, there is a fair amount of sex and nudity (male especially) in this film but to call it "shocking" is misleading. The reason the film's frank treatment of sexuality is so eye opening is the way Verhoeven handles it as no big deal. Two men sneak into a subway for a tryst, and you actually see one of the guys go down on the other guy. Two pairs of teenagers sneak into an abandoned building to have sex and you see it. Or when a man and a woman lay in bed talking after having sex, you see the guy totally naked as well as the girl. What happens happens and it's presented as is.

Verhoeven doesn't cut away from nudity, but at the same time doesn't artificially sexualize it by zooming in it, laying in sexy background music etc etc. Like the co-ed shower scene in STARSHIP TROOPERS, it's presented in a completely matter of fact way. Verhoeven doesn't allude to anything in these scenes, and it gives the film a power and honesty and that wouldn't be there otherwise.

Overall I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this movie to anyone.

Bart Blackstone * Film Club Hollywood, CA