SYNOPSICS
Off Screen (2005) is a English,Dutch movie. Pieter Kuijpers has directed this movie. Jeroen Krabbé,Jan Decleir,Astrid Joosten,Theu Boermans are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2005. Off Screen (2005) is considered one of the best Crime,Drama,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
March 11th, 2002. John R. takes the head of security and 17 others hostage in Amsterdam biggest skyscraper. John R. demands to speak with the Philips head of Sound&Vision. His goal is to warn people about a large-scale fraud, aimed at brainwashing consumers by means of widescreen TV sets. In the film, we find out about John's preliminary frustrations, his bizarre encounter with Philips head of Sound&Vision Gerard Wesselinck, their impossible friendship, rivalry and John's armed attempt to force the executive to do penance in public.
Off Screen (2005) Trailers
Same Actors
Same Director
Off Screen (2005) Reviews
Better than currently rated
I had high expectations of this movie, everybody in The Netherlands was shocked when they heard the news that a man took a building and the people in it hostage. Sometimes the movie is quite confusing you do not always know what is real, at the end it becomes clear. Probably the reason why the rating is so low. But it tells the story about the man who takes people hostage and how he comes to his act and justifies it. I think they did a great job in trying to tell the story behind this man. You even start feeling for this guy. I gave it a 7 out of 10. Go see it, it is worth it. Jeroen Krabbé was good as ever and I also liked Jan Decleir. Both are very good and experienced actors. Definitely no waste of time.
Great character study.
I was very skeptic when this movie came out. The movie is based on a true story of a man who takes a building and several employees hostage because he is convinced of it that there are hidden encoded messages in Philips widescreen televisions and he demands that Phillips admits this to the general public, in a TV press conference. Only problem is...he has taken the wrong building hostage. Sounds like more than enough material to make a comedy about, so needless to say that I was very skeptic and even a bit angry when I found out that they wanted to make a serious heavy drama about this man and what drove him to his actions. But the movie ended up being far better than I could have ever had expected it to be. The movie perfectly shows the growing paranoia of the main character and how he slowly looses all sense of reality. The already unstable character (his wife has left him after more than 30 years and he has trouble at his work as a bus driver) becomes more understandable, he's a man who has got nothing more to loose and wants justice. The two main actors are really what drives this movie. Jan Decleir is a truly fantastic actor. This guy has had several big Hollywood offers already (Kubrick wanted him in "Eyes Wide Shut" and he was offered a part in "The World is not Enough" and he has played in several Academy Award winning Dutch movies.). But Jeroen Krabbé really impressed me the most. I already knew what a great actor he was of course but I had never seen him playing a better role as he did in this movie. It's too bad that the story is told in a typical 'Dutch way'. The story keeps jumping from present time to what happened prior to this man's desperate action. It feels kind of pointless that the story is told in this way and it became a bit irritating after a while. Still the movie is not worth the low rating it receives here currently. (Only a 5.3? What's up with that?) and obviously so far all the other movie reviewers here agree with that. The movie is not just good, it's great, thanks to the good directing from big talent Pieter Kuijpers and the acting of the two main actors, Jan Decleir and Jeroen Krabbé. The script could had used some more work here and there though. 8/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
genial movie!!
The movie is simply excellent. The plot is intriguing and it really makes you wonder of what is true. Is it really all the fantasy of John Voerman, or is Philips director kleisterlee really lying. Philips has always been a company with a lot of secrets and a certain "mist" around its tech knowledge.. and in this story it all comes together.... the movie shows a drama of a lonely bus driver who commits a desperate deed and works with flashbacks to how it all came that far. The viewer always remains in doubt of what is true and what isn't.... The cinematics, the music, the script, the brilliant acting(!!) it all comes together in a marvelous movie with shocking end (even if you know the story from the newspapers) In one word brilliant movie!!!
A fantasy life inside of a confused man's head confuses audience until the end
This movie is made with mastery and excellent timing. It draws the audience in to the point where you may get completely lost. A near 60 year old man loses everything in his life, his job and his family and is now losing his mind. The film is not told in an especially emotive way, which is why it may be difficult to follow. When this man, John V. takes it upon himself to crusade against a large company, his internal life runs away with him with imagined friendships and conversations, until he goes over the edge. This film is extremely well made, from the art direction to the lighting to the costumes and especially the work of the actors, director and writer. The twist in the story will stay with you for a long time and will make you think about the characters, the director, the writer and about yourself.
Superb Psychological Thriller from the Lowlands!
I have seen this movie, because I was curious about the way the fact of the hostage was being filmed and about Jan Decleir and Jeroen Krabbé working together. The film tells the story behind the hostage taker John V. He is lonely man living in his own world. He is product of our society. Wesselinck is a self made top manager and can afford everything. He gets to know John by coincidence ( or not ). John is writing letters to Philips because he suspects the multimedia company of putting encoded messages in 'widescreen'tv-sets. John is no longer seeing his wife and children and is a bus driver. In his spare time he writes letters to Philips and watches recorded tapes of a popular knowledge quiz. When he meets Wesselinck the top man, they become friends because they are alike. Wesselinck lets John in on a top secret project which has to do with manipulation. The film takes the audience behind the screens and only reveals at the end. All the time you think it's like this and in the end there is a complete turnaround! Superb! I happened to have an interview with Jan Decleir in Rotterdam last February and he told me the movie had been made in three weeks. The cast worked very hard and the result is a great movie! Go and see for yourself!