"Tim Frazer... etc." is a German-language thriller/police procedural with a strangely clumsy title. It is set in the Belgian city of Antwerp. In the movie, Antwerp has become a playing-ground for at least one ruthless international gang of marihuana smugglers. Sadly for all inhabitants of the known world, the subject matter still exists and has only grown in severity and scope. By now hard drugs representing billions of dollars move to, through or from Antwerp, ready to enslave the weak, the gullible and the vulnerable.
Let's begin by stating the movie contains some impressive moments of sheer stupidity. For instance, in the beginning the protagonist arrives in Belgium, in the company of his fiancee. (Whoever said romance is dead ? Nothing spells L-O-V-E like bringing your fiancee along on a hideously dangerous mission.) The both of them console themselves with the idea that the fiancee will probably find something, somewhere to amuse herself while staying in Antwerp. In American terms : this is the equivalent of stating that visitors will probably find something to do while staying in New York. Any person with a lively interest in history and culture can spend three happy weeks just visiting the various Antwerp musea. And I've not yet mentioned the Zoo, the shops, the parks, the outings along the Scheldt, the peerless Central Station, the superb City Hall, the magnificent Cathedral, the...
Another example, this time in the "How to make friends and influence people ?" category. Two men are hanging perilously from a bridge. In despair, one of them shouts something along the lines of : "Why are you making my life so difficult ? Why do you hound me, follow me, persecute me ? I've never murdered anyone !" Immediately afterwards he kicks the other man, hoping that he will lose his grip and fall from a great height.
However, the movie is not wholly without merit. While clumsy and uneven - don't expect another "The Third Man" - it does at least try to tell an exciting tale about international drug smuggling. Moreover, the many images of Antwerp, port and city, have taken on a considerable time capsule interest.
Movie lovers interested in "compare and contrast" may want to watch "Meeuwen sterven in de haven". As I've written in my small review with regard to "Meeuwen" : in the 1950's and 1960's, viewers watched the scenes set in the Antwerp port with a mix of awe and alarm. So many giant ships ! So many hyper-modern cranes, bridges, machines ! And nowadays, anno Domini 2020, much of this daunting technology has become either sweetly familiar or charmingly quaint. Whoo, look at that darling little boat !
Times change and we change with them...
Let's begin by stating the movie contains some impressive moments of sheer stupidity. For instance, in the beginning the protagonist arrives in Belgium, in the company of his fiancee. (Whoever said romance is dead ? Nothing spells L-O-V-E like bringing your fiancee along on a hideously dangerous mission.) The both of them console themselves with the idea that the fiancee will probably find something, somewhere to amuse herself while staying in Antwerp. In American terms : this is the equivalent of stating that visitors will probably find something to do while staying in New York. Any person with a lively interest in history and culture can spend three happy weeks just visiting the various Antwerp musea. And I've not yet mentioned the Zoo, the shops, the parks, the outings along the Scheldt, the peerless Central Station, the superb City Hall, the magnificent Cathedral, the...
Another example, this time in the "How to make friends and influence people ?" category. Two men are hanging perilously from a bridge. In despair, one of them shouts something along the lines of : "Why are you making my life so difficult ? Why do you hound me, follow me, persecute me ? I've never murdered anyone !" Immediately afterwards he kicks the other man, hoping that he will lose his grip and fall from a great height.
However, the movie is not wholly without merit. While clumsy and uneven - don't expect another "The Third Man" - it does at least try to tell an exciting tale about international drug smuggling. Moreover, the many images of Antwerp, port and city, have taken on a considerable time capsule interest.
Movie lovers interested in "compare and contrast" may want to watch "Meeuwen sterven in de haven". As I've written in my small review with regard to "Meeuwen" : in the 1950's and 1960's, viewers watched the scenes set in the Antwerp port with a mix of awe and alarm. So many giant ships ! So many hyper-modern cranes, bridges, machines ! And nowadays, anno Domini 2020, much of this daunting technology has become either sweetly familiar or charmingly quaint. Whoo, look at that darling little boat !
Times change and we change with them...
