‘De Z van Zus’ review: a Dutch comedy that conquers hearts
Director: Jonge gelatin Script: Jildau Hartzema, Jelle de Jonge, Eveline Hagenbeek Cast: Elise Schaap (Rianne Schouten), Bracha van Doesburgh (Juliette Schouten), Sarah Janneh (Kaylee), Mariana Aparicio (Pilar), Joke Tjalsma (Lien), Martin van Waardenberg (Cornelis Schouten) and others | Playing time: 100 minutes | Year: 2024
Z for sister is a welcome relief in the Dutch cinema landscape of boring, let alone innovative films. It’s a contemporary, light-hearted story that breaks the boredom of Dutch romantic comedies and poorly acted family films that rarely become truly romantic or funny. Jelle de Jonge has created a wonderful contemporary comedy that is not only incredibly relatable, but also infectiously funny and refreshingly fluid.
In the opening film, twin sisters Rianne and Juliette share their associations with the alphabet on a Spanish beach: Z is for sister. His father looks at the images with nostalgia. Their daughters are older, but they are as different as day and night. Rianne stayed in the bar in Rotterdam and filled her parents’ house with garbage. Juliette no longer wants to leave the south of Amsterdam, she works as an “organizer” for a well-known television show and helps people decorate their living rooms. She lives with her furry cat (bred) in an elegant canal-side house with crisp white Des Bouvrie-style walls. She likes to make lists.
As a successful businesswoman, Juliette primarily tries to support her father financially. His sister is in charge of informal care. She takes him to the market in a wheelchair, receives visitors on his birthday and wipes his buttocks. Juliette is single and Rianne is struggling in a dormant relationship. She listens to her boyfriend’s failed metaphors about his different trains, tracks and stations, while she puts her terminally ill father to bed.
Much to their surprise, their father has a last wish that puts the sisters to the test: he wants them to spread his ashes together in Spain. He curtly declares that he can no longer do it himself. However, the sisters have grown so distant that they can barely tolerate each other anymore. Surely they don’t really want to go on a joint trip. Their two best friends, Kaylee and Pilar, volunteer to accompany them. The four women come from completely different worlds and that is why it is not easy for them to get into the same car. But the motto of this movie is: no friction, no shine.
That Z for sister What makes it so good is the carefully composed script. It forges the film into a rich, coherent whole with countless references that are well developed and returned to in a playful way. The dialogues consist of witty and well-resonant responses, as is to be expected from sisters and friends who have known each other for years. The competitive spirit between the sisters is over the top, culminating during the funeral with a (not so pure) sister duet of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ accompanied by a passionate harp solo. The awkwardness that sometimes comes with a farewell is magnified to the point of absurdity and, therefore, tragicomic. The sisters argue over the proper flavor and the underlying poison flies stronger and stronger as they look at coffins with their “best adult face.”
As a director, De Jonge clearly enjoyed bringing current hustle and bustle and class differences to the big screen. The Netherlands is supposed to be completely egalitarian, but in the meantime the differences are quite large. The sisters have become the embodiment of their different paths in life. One is polite, introverted and neurotic, the other is loud, extroverted and wild. One wants to do everything perfectly down to the last detail, while the other brings chaos everywhere. One person likes to approach things rationally, the other has explosive emotions. They have ended up on opposite sides of a spectrum. Finding each other again is not possible without struggle.
Contrasting the sisters isn’t the only way the film plays with class differences. Little by little it becomes clear that the different characters are less simple than expected. When the dignified Southern Pilar wants to draw an affirmation card, she almost runs the group off the road. Then you would especially like to know what is on the card. As a salesperson, intrepid Kaylee speaks with religious devotion about the difference between good and bad pillows. When Juliette gets emotional, her elegant ABN gives way to her Rotterdam accent. Rianne has a big mouth but a small heart. Despite her exuberant attitude, she is secretly less forward than her twin sister. He, in turn, has a less quiet behind-the-scenes existence than you might think.
Despite subcutaneous family resentment. Z for sister nothing heavy. When the sisters are locked in a cell together in France to cool off, they start laughing. It is the recognizable roller coaster of sisters who grew up together and share their joys and sorrows. All four actresses play their roles with conviction. The supporting roles, like his Aunt Leen, are all recognizable types who come off well. The film makes great use of classics and clichés and, in fact, throws all subtleties overboard. That gives you the Z for sister a certain boldness that is not often seen in Dutch films. The result is a refreshing, sparkling and conquering film.