Van de koele meren des doods (film)
Encyclopedia
Van de koele meren des doods is a Dutch
film from 1982, directed by Nouchka van Brakel
and based on the same-named novel
by Frederik van Eeden
. Book and film give an account of a bourgeois woman who struggles with her sexuality. The film is known internationally as Hedwig: The Quiet Lakes and The Cool Lakes of Death.
tells her that she is sinning and she won't be able to get children anymore. Humiliated, she tries to commit suicide but fails.
Three years later Hedwig is a lady and meets Johan, now a poor aspiring artist. He wants to marry her but she thinks that she will make him unhappy, and instead marries a notary
called Gerard. Their marriage is without passion: he has sworn chastity. Her resulting unhappiness soon manifests itself as sickness, and on the advice of her doctor the couple decide to have sex. It turns out to be a traumatic
experience. She admits to her friend Leonora that she finds life too boring and predictable.
One day she gets a letter from Johan, who accuses her of being a prostitute. After a confrontation he shoots himself. Hedwig also tries to shoot herself but is stopped by Gerard. Soon after she meets Ritsaart, a romantic pianist with whom she begins an affair. When he wants her to go to bed with him she sends him away but at night she can't control her sexual fantasies.
During a passionate night with Ritsaart, Hedwig enjoys sex for the first time and intends to leave Gerard. He, filled with jealousy, plans to kill Ritsaart when he comes visiting, but their confrontation is interrupted when they note water running down the walls of the house: they run upstairs to find Hedwig in the bathroom with a slashed wrist. Gerard sees how Ritsaart turns out to be Hedwig's saving angel and lets his wife go. She moves with Ritsaart to Cobham, Kent
, and impresses English society, and gives birth to a daughter, but the child dies after a few days.
Hedwig doesn't know how to separate reality and fantasy and impulsively goes to Calais
, where she is fooled into going with a man whom she thinks is her husband but turns out to be a thief. On the train to Paris
, he steals her bag, which she thinks contains her daughter. She ends up in an isolation cell of a psychiatric institution. After she is released she becomes addicted to morphine and prostitutes herself.
Hedwig faints from hunger on the street and is taken to a hospital. She gets help from the French convent sister Paula, who helps her overcome her addiction. When she is healthy again she returns to the Netherlands. She decides to visit Joop and runs into Ritsaart, telling him that she will always love him but doesn't want to see him again. She spends her last years with a farmer's family.
, with whom van Brakel had worked previously, most notably on Zwaarmoedige verhalen voor bij de centrale verwarming (1975). The budget was small—some E900,000 in today's currency—which led to conflict between van Brakel and van Heijningen. The former was concerned with artistic integrity, the latter with money; van Heijningen publicly criticized the director and her staff (he called them lazy amateurs in a leading Dutch movie magazine), leading to a work stoppage. Van Heijningen apologized, again publicly, and work was resumed; afterward, he took out a full-page ad and congratulated the crew—they did likewise.
Several scenes in the movie were shot at the Hof van Moerkerken in Mijnsheerenland
where Frederik van Eeden lived in the 19th century.
Note: Dutch actor Hans van Tongeren
was initially cast as Johan, the character who commits suicide—but he committed suicide just before the filming started.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
film from 1982, directed by Nouchka van Brakel
Nouchka van Brakel
Nouchka van Brakel is a Dutch film director known for her 1982 movie Van de koele meren des doods. That movie, and a movie about Eve and a documentary about Mary, established her as an important Dutch feminist film director...
and based on the same-named novel
Van de koele meren des doods
Van de koele meren des doods is a Dutch novel by Frederik van Eeden, first published in 1900...
by Frederik van Eeden
Frederik van Eeden
Frederik Willem van Eeden was a late 19th century and early 20th century Dutch writer and psychiatrist...
. Book and film give an account of a bourgeois woman who struggles with her sexuality. The film is known internationally as Hedwig: The Quiet Lakes and The Cool Lakes of Death.
Plot
The film begins in 1869. Hedwig is a girl from an upper-middle class family. Since the death of her mother she is mainly interested in reading English books. During a visit to a cemetery she meets Johan, a young man whom she falls for immediately. She has sexual fantasies about him and is unable to hide this from her strictly religious family. Her governessGoverness
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
tells her that she is sinning and she won't be able to get children anymore. Humiliated, she tries to commit suicide but fails.
Three years later Hedwig is a lady and meets Johan, now a poor aspiring artist. He wants to marry her but she thinks that she will make him unhappy, and instead marries a notary
Civil law notary
Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...
called Gerard. Their marriage is without passion: he has sworn chastity. Her resulting unhappiness soon manifests itself as sickness, and on the advice of her doctor the couple decide to have sex. It turns out to be a traumatic
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
experience. She admits to her friend Leonora that she finds life too boring and predictable.
One day she gets a letter from Johan, who accuses her of being a prostitute. After a confrontation he shoots himself. Hedwig also tries to shoot herself but is stopped by Gerard. Soon after she meets Ritsaart, a romantic pianist with whom she begins an affair. When he wants her to go to bed with him she sends him away but at night she can't control her sexual fantasies.
During a passionate night with Ritsaart, Hedwig enjoys sex for the first time and intends to leave Gerard. He, filled with jealousy, plans to kill Ritsaart when he comes visiting, but their confrontation is interrupted when they note water running down the walls of the house: they run upstairs to find Hedwig in the bathroom with a slashed wrist. Gerard sees how Ritsaart turns out to be Hedwig's saving angel and lets his wife go. She moves with Ritsaart to Cobham, Kent
Cobham, Kent
Cobham is a village and civil parish in the Gravesham District of Kent, England. It is located south of Watling Street, the old road from Dover to London, six miles south-east of Gravesend. The hamlet of Sole Street lies within the parish, which covers an area of 1,240 ha and has a population of...
, and impresses English society, and gives birth to a daughter, but the child dies after a few days.
Hedwig doesn't know how to separate reality and fantasy and impulsively goes to Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, where she is fooled into going with a man whom she thinks is her husband but turns out to be a thief. On the train to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he steals her bag, which she thinks contains her daughter. She ends up in an isolation cell of a psychiatric institution. After she is released she becomes addicted to morphine and prostitutes herself.
Hedwig faints from hunger on the street and is taken to a hospital. She gets help from the French convent sister Paula, who helps her overcome her addiction. When she is healthy again she returns to the Netherlands. She decides to visit Joop and runs into Ritsaart, telling him that she will always love him but doesn't want to see him again. She spends her last years with a farmer's family.
Production
The film was produced by Matthijs van HeijningenMatthijs van Heijningen
Matthijs van Heijningen is a Dutch film producer. He is one of the country's most successful producers, and became known for a series of commercial successes and for screen adaptations of literary works. His collection is now housed in the Filmmuseum.-External links:...
, with whom van Brakel had worked previously, most notably on Zwaarmoedige verhalen voor bij de centrale verwarming (1975). The budget was small—some E900,000 in today's currency—which led to conflict between van Brakel and van Heijningen. The former was concerned with artistic integrity, the latter with money; van Heijningen publicly criticized the director and her staff (he called them lazy amateurs in a leading Dutch movie magazine), leading to a work stoppage. Van Heijningen apologized, again publicly, and work was resumed; afterward, he took out a full-page ad and congratulated the crew—they did likewise.
Several scenes in the movie were shot at the Hof van Moerkerken in Mijnsheerenland
Mijnsheerenland
Mijnsheerenland is a village on the Hoeksche Waard in the Dutch province of South Holland with 4,435 inhabitants . It is located on the shores of the Binnenbedijkte Maas about 14 km south of the city of Rotterdam, in the municipality of Binnenmaas...
where Frederik van Eeden lived in the 19th century.
Cast
- Renée SoutendijkRenée SoutendijkRenette Pauline Soutendijk, known as Renée Soutendijk, is a Dutch actress. She was a favorite star of director Paul Verhoeven's films and is perhaps best known for her work in his 1980 release Spetters. Her good looks and striking blond hair secured her status as a Dutch sex symbol in the 1980s...
as Hedwig Marga 'Hetty' de Fontayne - Derek de LintDerek de LintDick Hein de Lint is a Dutch film and television actor.De Lint was born in The Hague. In 1977, he played the character Alex in the film Soldier of Orange, directed by Paul Verhoeven. In 1986 he played the role of Anton Steenwijk in The Assault, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language...
as Ritsaart (Richard Delmonte) - Adriaan Olree as Gerard Johannes Hendrikus Wijbrands
- Erik van 't Wout as Johan
- Peter FaberPeter Faber (actor)Peter Faber is a Dutch stage, television and film actor.- Early career :Faber was co-founder van Het Werkteater and twice won a Louis d'Or for his roles in Het Koekoeksnest and Avondrood.- Television and film career:...
as Joop - Claire Wauthion as Sister Paula / Mother
- Krijn ter Braak as Father
- Lettie Oosthoek as Governess
- Kristine de Both as Leonora
- Huub StapelHuub StapelHubertus Wijnandus Jozef Marie Stapel is a Dutch actor. He is especially known from the films De Lift , Flodder and Amsterdamned by Dick Maas. He also appeared in the Golden Earring video When the Lady Smiles.- External links :* at the New York Times Movies & TV...
as Herman - Siem Vroom as Religion teacher
- Rudolf LucieerRudolf LucieerRudolf Lucieer is a Dutch actor. He has appeared in 36 films and television shows since 1966. He starred in the 1967 film Paranoia, which was entered into the 17th Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:...
as General practitioner
Note: Dutch actor Hans van Tongeren
Hans van Tongeren
Johannes Adrianus Maria van Tongeren was a Dutch movie actor, who made his debut in the 1980 Paul Verhoeven movie Spetters....
was initially cast as Johan, the character who commits suicide—but he committed suicide just before the filming started.