rating:
(out of
4 stars)The Netherlands; 2007
Directed by Joram Lürsen; produced by Jeroen Beker, Job Gosschalk, San Fu Maltha, Frans van Gestel; screenplay by Kim van Kooten
Starring Carice van Houten, Thomas Acda, Paul de Leeuw, Wendy van Dijk, Daan Schuurmans, Anneke Blok, Chantal Janzen
'Alles is liefde' (translating to "everything is love") is the Dutch version of 'Love Actually'. The backdrop here is not Christmas, but a Dutch holiday called Sinterklaas, probably limiting its potential outside The Netherlands and Belgium. The cast exists out of Dutch stars; an international audience might recognize the always terrific Carice van Houten ('Zwartboek', 'Valkyrie', 'Body of Lies'). The different love stories are nicely constructed, one a little more entertaining than the other. It is no 'Love Actually', but 'Alles is liefde' contains enough charm to recommend it.
To explain all the storylines would take too much time. Most characters have a connection with each other, sometimes not directly. What amazes about Kim van Kooten's script is how unforced everything feels. Of course some things happen for the convenience of the script, but it never felt that way. Jokes come naturally from behaviour that fits the characters and they feel like people you might actually meet.
The holiday taken as the backdrop could be a letdown for viewers who have no idea of the traditions around it, but Dutch viewers will understand the hilarity of different situations. In her writing Van Kooten has more than once found the right note to both pay hommage and ridicule it. She has used 'Love Actually' as an inspiration and created her own story, instead of just copying all the best parts. If she is able to rewrite romantic comedy the way she has here, I would not mind to show her another film or two.