Word: jeroen
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...beginning of the new Dutch film "For a Lost Soldier," Jeroen Boman (Jeroen Krabbe'), a famous choreographer, is having trouble with the creation of his new ballet based on the American liberation of the Netherlands. Jeroen has run out of inspiration. However, the death of his wartime foster father forces Jeroen to confront what happened to him as a child during the liberation. Jeroen's sentimental journey serves as the core of a lyrical and affecting film...
During the Winter Hunger of 1944, children from the ravaged west of the country were taken in by farmers and fishermen in the northern province of Friesland, where food was plentiful and the German presence slight. 12-year old Jeroen (Maarten Smit) goes to live with Hair (Feark Smink) and Mem (Elsje de Wijn). Smit and director Roeland Kerbosch do a good job of depicting Jeroen's multifold alienation. Though his mother has sent him to Friesland for his own good, Jeroen feels abandoned by her. He finds himself a city kid in the country, where everything, even the language...
...audience can feel Jeroen's desperation at being trapped in a picture-perfect family where everyone has red-cheeked country soul brims with strapping good health. Little by little, however, Jeroen adjusts. Though this first part of the film covers familiar territory, Kerbosch's understated direction renders a potentially hackneyed situation fresh. Kerbosch adds lovely grace notes, such as Jeroen's discovery of a downed Allied plane in the sea, and takes full advantage of the luminous and austerely beautiful Friesian countryside...
However, the film really finds its stride in the second half. As puberty begins, Jeroen realizes that he is attracted to men, but he finds no one with whom to share his feelings. Meanwhile, Canadian soldiers arrive to liberate the village...
...soldiers dazzle everyone. Their uniforms, their weapons, their language, their music and their CocaCola and cigarettes impress the villagers. One particular soldier, the handsome Walt Cook (Andrew Kelley), catches Jeroen's attention. Walt becomes Jeroen's friend, and in a striking scene, teaches Jeroen how to dance to jitterbug and the jive...