''The Pointsman'' () is a 1986 Dutch film directed by

Jos Stelling Jos Stelling (born 16 July 1945) is a Dutch film director and screenwriter. Career He made his debut as a film director in 1974 with ''Mariken van Nieumegen'', which was selected for the official Cannes competition in 1975. In 1981 he founded t ...

, starring Jim van der Woude, Stéphane Excoffier and John Kraaijkamp, Sr. It tells the story of a French woman who moves in with a Dutch railwayman at a remote railway station. The two are unable to converse, but soon begin a strange game of seduction. The film is based on the novel ''De wisselwachter'' by Jean-Paul Franssens. Kraaijkamp was awarded the

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 - Ri ...

for his performance in the film.

Plot

A French woman gets off a train by mistake at a remote location. She tries to ask the pointsman for help, but the two do not understand each other's languages. She waits for another train to arrive, but it never happens. She eventually moves in with the man at the station. Without being able to speak, the two begin to develop a relationship over the next few months.

Production

The movie was filmed at Corrour Station, Rannoch Moor, in the Scottish Highlands with Scotrail providing use of the trains. The interior shots were taken in the Netherlands where a scale replica of the Corrour Station interior was constructed in a garage of the Jongeneel timber yard on the Zeedijk in Utrecht, Netherlands.

Cast

* Jim van der Woude as the pointsman * Stéphane Excoffier as the woman * John Kraaijkamp, Sr. as the machinist *

Josse De Pauw Josse De Pauw (born 15 March 1952) is a versatile Belgian actor, film director, dramatist, author and columnist. He was married to modern dance performer Fumio Ikeda for over thirty years. Theatre After graduating from the Royal Conservatory i ...

as the mailman * Ton van Dort as the machinist's assistant

Reception

Critical response

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the film as "a mixture of strange, inchoate passions and even stranger Dutch humor, and there is little about it to capture the imagination. The characters and their actions are inscrutable, made even more so by the near-total absence of dialogue. The film's empty, mutable vistas (the exteriors were shot in Scotland) look good but evoke very little." ''

Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

'' wrote: "Taking no account of plausibility, Stelling's exploration of the uses and abuses of power is art house fare, but neither obscure nor elitist. Enthralling performances generate a claustrophobic tension, but there's humour too."

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pointsman 1986 drama films 1986 films Dutch drama films 1980s Dutch-language films Films based on Dutch novels Films directed by Jos Stelling Films set in Scotland Films shot in Scotland 1980s French-language films 1986 multilingual films Dutch multilingual films