''God Only Knows'' is a 2019

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

arthouse film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

written and directed by

Mijke de Jong Mijke de Jong (born 23 September 1959) is a Dutch film director, screenwriter and producer. She is known for creating films such as ''Bluebird'' (2004), '' Frailer'' (2014), ''Layla M.'' (2016) and ''God Only Knows'' (2019). ''Layla M.'' was sel ...

. The film stars

Marcel Musters Marcel Musters (born 6 June 1959) is a Dutch actor. In 2019, he won the Golden Calf for Best Actor award for his role in the film ''God Only Knows'' directed by Mijke de Jong. In 2020, a print of his hand was added to the 'Walk of Fame' in the V ...

as a mentally ill man, with

Monic Hendrickx Monic Hendrickx (born 3 December 1966 in Sint Anthonis) is a Dutch actress. She has won several awards during her career including four Golden Calf awards for Best Actress at the Nederlands Film Festival, the Jury Award at the 2001 Newport Beach ...

and

Elsie de Brauw Elsie de Brauw (born 30 July 1960) is a Dutch actress. Career She won the Theo d'Or award twice: in 2006 and in 2011. In 2007, she won the Golden Calf for Best Actress award for her role in the film ''Tussenstand'' directed by Mijke de Jong ...

as his two sisters. Musters won a

Golden Calf for Best Actor The following is a list of winners of the Golden Calf for best actor/actress at the Nederlands Film Festival. From 2021 onwards the award became a gender-neutral award. Best Actor (1981–2020) * 1981 - Rutger Hauer - All his works * 1982 - Rijk ...

for his role.

Plot

Thomas is a mentally ill man in his fifties living on his own in Amsterdam. On

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...

, he becomes confused and jumps into a canal. His loving older sister Doris immediately comes to his aid, whereas the younger sister Hannah prefers to focus on her own commitments as a photographer. Over the Easter holiday, it becomes clear that Thomas is in need of care and the tensions between the three siblings are drawn out.

Cast

as Thomas *

as Hannah, younger sister of Thomas *

as Doris, older sister of Thomas

Production & release

The producer, Topkapi Films, announced in

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

in January 2018 that ''God Only Knows'' would shoot later that year. By July 2018, the film had been shot and the actors playing the three main roles had been announced, but the date of the cinematic release was still not set. It was then confirmed that ''God Only Knows'' would premiere at the

International Film Festival Rotterdam The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

(IFFR) on 29 January 2019 and would receive a Dutch cinematic release on 4 April 2019. In its opening weekend the film took $27,015 and over its run $185,683. Since it did not receive an international release, this latter figure was also its worldwide takings.

Critical reception

The film received praise from critics. The ''Cineuropa'' reviewer at IFFR praised de Jong for "approaching mental health issues and vulnerability with a certain amount of sensitivity, in a touching portrait of a condition that is rarely tackled on the big screen" and called her "a true auteur". In the Dutch press, ''

Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized c ...

'' gave the film four out of five stars and lauded the acting of the three main characters. ''

Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). ''Tr ...

'' awarded three out of five stars and enjoyed the complicated portrayal of tensions in a family. The reviewer remarked that the film raised an interesting question about the foundational role of the idea of suffering in Western European culture. ''God Only Knows'' was nominated for three

Golden Calf According to the Bible, the golden calf (עֵגֶל הַזָּהָב '' ‘ēgel hazzāhāv'') was an idol (a cult image) made by the Israelites when Moses went up to Mount Sinai. In Hebrew, the incident is known as ''ḥēṭə’ hā‘ēgel'' ...

awards, with

winning the

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 8690486, God Only Knows Dutch drama films Films directed by Mijke de Jong 2019 drama films 2019 films 2010s Dutch-language films