Antonia's Line - Movie Review

Antonia’s Line was written and directed by feminist Marleen Gorris. Gorris infuses Antonia’s Line with her feminism using humor rather than anger. Her choice makes Antonia’s Line engaging when it could otherwise have been preachy or boring. There are many subtle sub-plots in the film that seem to capture a great deal of Gorris’ personal views about life, but they are woven into the film with tenderness or humor rather than aggression. Although the ideals stood out at times, they did not overly detract from the otherwise quirky and interesting story. This review is written from a male perspective, so that may affect my overall reaction to some extent.

Antonia’s Line quickly introduces a wide variety of eccentric characters with interesting politically incorrect nicknames like Loony Lips and Mad Madonna. The eclectic characters suffer from a variety of problems from mental illness to religious prohibitions that inhibit their natural tendencies. The story follows five generations of a family with each generation represented by a female. There are several religious undertones that are sometimes cliché and seem to run as an undercurrent of dislike or distrust of religious institutions in general. The characters are richly developed with a single defining characteristic, but not flat.

Antonia (Willeke van Ammelrooy) arrives in a small Dutch town she fled during World War II. She arrives back with her daughter Danielle (Els Dottermans) for the funeral of her mother…who is still in the process of dying when they arrive. Her mother seems loony and makes for a confusing, odd, but slightly humorous scene early in the film. It seems this family has the uncanny ability to schedule their own death date (which the narrator describes as Antonia’s last day). The story is a recollection of Antonia’s life from the time of her arrival for her mother’s funeral to her own final day. Antonia has feminist tendencies as evidenced by an odd exchange with her neighbor, Farmer Bas (Jan Decleir) when he asks for her hand in marriage.

It seems that Antonia’s daughter Danielle is not simply feminist…she is a lesbian. I am not sure what Gorris’ sexual orientation is, but I noticed that Danielle viewed the world in imagery…something about this character made me wonder if Gorris did not identify particularly with this character. Danille wants a child, but not a husband, so she arranges a tryst in order to get pregnant. This results in the birth of her daughter Therese (Carolien Spoor, Esther Vrieendorp and Veerle van Overloop) who is a child prodigy. Therese ends up “settling” for a marriage to Simon (Reinout Bussemaker) who she grew up with. They have a daughter, Sarah (Thyrza Ravesteijn) who is fascinated by death.

I enjoyed Antonia’s Line, in spite of the cliché that crept in at times. The characters were rewarding. It was enjoyable to watch the characters interact, while a few of the characters drifted in and out of the story. There was also a great deal of symbolism injected into the film with some strong visual appeal as well. Gorris has a good eye and was able to construct a rich environment with engaging characters that simply allow a story to unfold with offbeat humor to lighten some of the tense dramatic moments.

Antonia’s Line deserved the R rating applied by the Motion Picture Association of America. There were a couple of homicides and other death scenes depicted in the film. There was also a fairly graphic rape scene of a mentally handicapped person. Sex and nudity are contextually inserted throughout the film, but is particularly graphic in one Clockwork Orange type scene that flashes between four different sets of characters doing the deed at the same time. I would suggest an older audience for this film, at a minimum in the mid-teen range. Run time is one hour, 42 minutes.

Antonia’s Line approaches comedy from a different vantage point than what I am used to. It isn’t slapstick, it isn’t purely visual, it isn’t rife with one-liners. It is dark and off beat, which actually appeals to me. I like dark, quirky humor, but this film isn’t easily pigeon-holed…because it is a different brand of dark humor than what I am accustomed to. I liked it. Antonia’s Line provides an interesting glimpse into an odd family in a strange village, providing plenty of opportunities for comedy and drama. Although there is a strong female lead in this film, I would almost suggest that there are three strong female leads…as Antonia, Danielle and Therese all have significant important roles in the film. The movie breaks from the typical boilerplate, which was another bonus. I would highly recommend this Academy Award winning film. 7.5/10.

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