User Reviews

Today the global youth is raised with Harry Potter books and films. This was different half a century ago, when each land had its proper literature about brats and pickles (although Tom Sawyer of Mark Twain managed to get some universal fame). In the Netherlands we had Ciske de Rat, Cees de Jongen, Dik Trom, Pietje Bel and of course Merijntje Gijsen. We were all fond of these boys, and all stories were sooner or later transformed into films. In IMDb.com the Ciske de Rat films got good critiques, but the Merijntje Gijsen films are of equal quality. His creator, A.M. de Jong, wrote eight volumes of 200 pages each about the youth of Merijntje Gijsen. I have them all in my bookcase, but alas, lack time to read them. The stage is a village in a southern province of the Netherlands, at the beginning of the twentieth century. Village life is still slow and isolated, and the society revolves around the parish priest, as the representative of the catholic church. A.M. de Jong was a teacher and writer, who himself lived in the province. It was a somewhat hostile environment, since he was a socialist. However his socialdemocratic preferences are not propagated in the narrative, apart from a true interest and pity for the hard life of the common people. Eventually de Jong had a lamentable death, since during WWII he was murdered by a Dutch fascist. The film covers only the first two volumes "Het verraad" (the betrayal) and "Flierefluiters oponthoud" (Freebooters stop) of the Gijsen saga. Although the boy Merijntje Gijsen is the main character, the story actually focuses on the local poacher Kruik ("Jar"). Kruik is a strongarm man, once a sailor, impulsive but with a heart of gold. Despite of his bad reputation he and Merijntje fraternize. This is beneficial for Merijntje, who is still naive, and caught in catholic morals. A nice aspect of the film is the role of the priest, who is played by de Jong himself. Kruik is on good terms with the village belle Janekee, and plays cat and mouse with the forester ("de Grenswachter"). However, dark clouds gather at the horizon, when Janekee yields to the advances of the Grenswachter. The simpleton Kruik confronts her: "Why do you do that?". Upon her reply "I don't fancy you any more", he gets wild, beats her up, and vows: "I have warned you!" The local intellectual, a writer, advises Kruik to sign on again, and leave. Merijntje is present, and wonders: "Where are your crucifixes?" The writer jokes: "These books are Gods dreams". When Kruik tries to sign on, he is unfortunately persuaded by Merijntje to abandon the plan. Then during the next carnival, the Grenswachter and Janekee show off during the village ball. Kruik has an evil drunkenness, and kills the couple in the dark of the night. He is arrested, but evidence is still lacking. Then Merijntje in his naivety recognizes the knife, and shouts (the unwanted betrayal): "Look! We have found your knife. Aren't you glad?" Subsequently Kruik is sent to jail for ten years (apparently in those days passion was counted as a mitigating circumstance). The priest tries to comfort Merijntje: "We have to maintain our faith in people, even when they do terrible deeds" (the only socialist profession in the film). There is an immature nearly-replay of the murders, when Merijntje is teased by another boy and a girl, and smashes their toys. However, it is suggested that the girl is actually hooked on Merijntje. Now Merijntje decides to visit Kruik, and on his own walks off to the prison. Eventually he reaches the dome-shaped building in the province town some thirty miles away, and wanders across the huge walls. In the last scene we leave him, shouting "Kruik!" and sobbing at the foot of the walls. It is perfect drama, with the climax at the end. The film is definitely worth watching, especially if you have family roots in the area. Later in 1975 there has been a remake, which covers the entire saga in several episodes. For the forthcoming review, and also for other social films, check my list of IMDb film reviews.