De tweeling (2002)

Director:

Ben Sombogaart

Writers:

Tessa de Loo (novel)
Marieke van der Pol (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 December 2002 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Verbonden Voor Het Leven, Gescheiden Tot De Dood. (Bound For Life, Separated Until Death.)

Plot:

Twin Sisters is an epic love story based on the Dutch bestseller by Tessa de Loo that has been read by more than 3.5 million readers in Holland and Germany.

Plot Keywords:

Twins | Love | Epic | Female Nudity | Frontline

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Sina Richardt	...	Anna Bamberg, young
Julia Koopmans	...	Lotte Bamberg, young
Thekla Reuten	...	Young Lotte
Nadja Uhl	...	Young Anna
Ellen Vogel	...	Old Lotte
Gudrun Okras	...	Old Anna
Betty Schuurman	...	Mother Rockanje
Jaap Spijkers	...	Father Rockanje
Roman Knizka	...	Martin
Margarita Broich	...	Martha
Ingo Naujoks	...	Uncle Heinrich Bamberg
Barbara Auer	...	Charlotte
Jeroen Spitzenberger	...	David
Hans Somers	...	Bram
Hans Trentelman	...	Mr. De Vries

Also Known As:

Twin Sisters (Europe: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brief sexuality and a scene of violence.

Runtime:

137 min

Country:

Netherlands | Luxembourg

Language:

Dutch | German | English | French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Chile:14 | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:R21 | UK:12A | USA:R | Germany:12 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

IDTV Film

Goofs:

Factual errors: Anna and Martin are seen wearing their wedding rings on their left hands. In Germany and Austria however, people wear them on their right hands.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004) (TV)

Beautiful WW II drama with a great story.

"De Tweeling" is more than just another WW II drama and truly adds something and is made interesting by a very good story.

The story is truly the power of this movie. It shows the perspective of WW II from the Dutch as well as the German side, which makes this movie really interesting and powerful. It shows how the twin sisters that already didn't had any contact for years are driven further out of each other because of WW II. It doesn't only show the Nazi-German military perspective of war but also that of the German civilians and in a way helps you to understand why so many Germans supported the Nazi's in WW II. It's a shame that there are still some "typical book elements" present in the movie that I sure work fine in the book but not in the movie, including the typical book ending (I say no more.).

The acting is for especially Dutch standards pretty high. Jeroen Spitzenberger acts magnificent but of course also the German actors pull of very well.

There are some excellent and impressive scene's. The movie doesn't show any gore or horror of WW II but focuses on the emotional effects of it on individuals and especially the twin sisters of course, of which one grew up in the Netherlands and the other in Germany. It doesn't only show the effects of the relationship between the two during the war but also long after it.

I even like it a bit better as "The Pianist".

9/10