''Simon'' is a

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Dutch drama film written and directed by

Eddy Terstall Eddy may refer to: * Eddy (surname), surname used by descendants of a number of English, Irish and Scottish families * Eddy (given name), male given name * Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the flu ...

. The story is about two male friends, one heterosexual and one gay.

Same sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...

and

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

are prominent themes of the film. The film has won three Golden Calves, for Best Actor (Cees Geel), Best Director (Eddy Terstall) and Best Feature Film, as well as the Audience Award (Eddy Terstall) of the

Netherlands Film Festival The Netherlands Film Festival () is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht. During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Besides feature films, the prog ...

. It was also the Dutch entry for the

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

in 2005, but it was not nominated.

Plot

One of the characters is Camiel, a gay dentist who marries his lover and the other is Simon (

Cees Geel Cornelis Pieter "Cees" Geel (born 13 March 1965 in Schagen) is a Dutch television, radio and film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs ...

), a heterosexual drugs dealer and lady magnet. They become close friends in the late 1980s, but Camiel does something that interrupts their friendship. After fourteen years Camiel and Simon meet again, but Simon is now terminally ill with cancer. Simon has a daughter, Joy (

Nadja Hüpscher Nadja Hüpscher (born 23 March 1972) is a Dutch actress and writer, known for Based on the Novel (1999), Dennis P. (2007) and Levenslied (2011). Early life Nadja Hüpscher was born on 23 March 1972 in Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands. Hüpsc ...

) and a son, Nelson (

Stijn Koomen Stijn Mathias Koomen (born March 18, 1987) is a Dutch people, Dutch actor. Early years At age 10 he started his education in acting at the theaterschool for youth in Amsterdam (:nl:Amsterdamse jeugdteJAterschool, AJTS). His television-career st ...

). They develop a friendship with Camiel and his husband and after Simon's death Camiel adopts them.

Cast

as Simon Cohen *

Marcel Hensema Marcel Hensema (born 16 April 1970) is a Dutch film actor. He appeared in more than seventy films since 1993. In 2007 he won the Golden Calf for Best Actor The following is a list of winners of the Golden Calf for best actor/actress at the Nede ...

as Camiel Vrolijk *

Rifka Lodeizen Rifka Lodeizen (born 16 October 1972 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch actress. Career Lodeizen made her debut with a small role in the 1991 film ''The Province (film), The Province''. She was discovered by film director Eddy Terstall and she played a ...

as Sharon *

as Joy * Eva Duijvestein as Ellen * Daan Ekkel as Marco * Dirk Zeelenberg as Bram *

as Nelson *

Johnny de Mol John Carel de Mol (born 12 January 1979 in Laren) is a Dutch actor and presenter. He is the son of John de Mol Jr. and Willeke Alberti Willy Albertina Verbrugge (born 3 February 1945), known as Willeke Alberti, is a Dutch singer and actress ...

as Floris (billed as Johnny de Mol jr.) * Maria Kooistra as Gwen * Femke Lakerveld as Adrienne * Natasja Loturco as Astrid, Camiel's Assistant *

Araba Walton Araba Walton (born 4 November 1975 in Simbach am Inn, Germany) is an Afro-German actress and singer. She completed a three-year course at the School of Acting, The Arts Educational Schools in London after studying theater studies in Munich, Germ ...

as Gisela * Medi Broekman as Priscilla * Dennis Rudge as Sjimmie * Helena Remeijers as Djoeke * Esmarel Gasman as Merjolein * Wilhelmija Lamp as Alijt (billed as Willemijn Lamp) * Klavertje Patijn as Liselot * Ron Schuitemaker as Sjors (billed as Ron Schuitema) * Jenayden Adriaan as Bruce * Lisa Kuil as Samantha * Laura Dozzelne as Joy - Age 7 (billed as Laura Dozzolne) *

Jeroen Willems Jeroen Willems (; 15 November 1962 – 3 December 2012) was a Dutch Golden Calf and Louis d'Or winning film, TV, and stage actor and singer. Early life Willems was born on 15 November 1962 in Maastricht, the third child of a drama teacher and a ...

as Huisarts * Aaron Wan as Neurologist * Howard van Dodemont as Traffic Cop * Henk Kreekel as 2nd Opinion Arts * Nico Huisman as Student * Emmanuel K. Obinna as (Soldier #1) (billed as Emmanuel Obinna K) *

Troy Patterson Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

as (Soldier #2) *

Matt Kosokoff Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

as Director * Pee Chantrarangsan as Thaise Man in Bar

Reception

''Simon'' received positive reviews. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film has an approval rating of 67% based on reviews from 6 critics, and an average rating of 5.7/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

it has a score of 59 out of 100, based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Jay Weissberg of

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

wrote: "Slick packaging and easy ensemble-playing can't mask hoary 'gather round, I'm dying' formula."

References

External links

* 2004 films 2004 drama films Dutch LGBTQ-related films 2000s Dutch-language films Films about cancer Films set in the Netherlands Films directed by Eddy Terstall 2000s LGBTQ-related drama films Dutch drama films A-Film Distribution films Best Feature Film Golden Calf winners 2004 LGBTQ-related films {{LGBT-drama-film-stub