To Play or To Die

Rating:
Summary: Spelen of Stevern
Review: A beautiful movie which examines the emotions of Kees, an intellectual lonely teen who clearly falls in love with a more
street wise class mate. His friend Charel does not have the intellectual acumen to see above the society he currently lives in, which is to obey the laws of the norm. As a consequence
there is a clash of two different worlds and unrequited love.
It is a sad end which many gay teens fear will happen to them and of course it does. It happened then as it does now.
Maybe time changes everything: maybe not; I listen to each tick of the clock as the tears fall as snow upon frosted ground.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe too expensive to buy
Review: After watching the ending, I understood why this very short film was controversial. Almost unnecessarily depressing and maybe offensive.

Rating:
Summary: Depressing and sad
Review: Although I empathized with the boy in regards to his being bullied due to his perceived sexual orientation, I was disappointed by the ending. It was unnecessarily sad and depressing.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Don't be put off by the short running time of this film. It conveys more in 50 min than most films do in 2 hrs.

Rating:
Summary: Low-key drama rewards patience
Review: Frank Krom's impressively doom-laden Dutch drama "To Play or To Die" (Spelen of Sterven, 1990), based on a short story by Anna Blaman, has made a welcome appearance on DVD courtesy of Water Bearer Films. But it's somewhat alarming to discover that this short feature (it runs a mere 46m 50s!) has arrived on disc in a no-frills edition, priced the same as any mainstream DVD. The film originally premiered on VHS along with two other gay shorts under the umbrella title "Boys on Film" (vol. 2), and many potential customers may be unwilling to pay full price for this somewhat abbreviated presentation. But interested viewers are urged to suspend judgment and check the film out for themselves - "To Play or To Die" is a grim, unyielding examination of teenage emotions, played out against the stark backdrop of a Dutch boys' school.

The film focuses on the plight of Kees (Geert Hunaerts), a bright, handsome kid, crippled by shyness, whose life is devastated by a group of school bullies. Nevertheless, Kees is attracted to the ringleader Charel (Tjebbo Gerritsma), a beautiful thug whose macho posturing is little more than a show for his like-minded circle of friends. Kees invites him back to his (Kees') home when his parents are away, ostensibly to take revenge and seduce the older boy, but Charel's inability to drop the pretence and succumb to Kees' infatuation leads to a painful conclusion for them both. Or does it?

Beautifully photographed in muted colors by Nils Post (an accomplished cinematographer who also shot the highly controversial "For a Lost Soldier" in 1992), the film takes place in an emotionally desolate world where the characters are unable to connect with one another in any kind of meaningful context. Gerritsma and Hunaerts are superb as tormentor and tormented, respectively, with Hunaerts in particular giving a truly committed performance, especially towards the end of the film during a moment of (non-explicit, non-salacious) sexual candor. "To Play or to Die" is NOT homophobic, as some have suggested; it's simply unwilling to play the Hollywood game of providing its viewers with easy answers and a neat resolution. Gay filmmakers have a responsibility to depict the broad range of experiences which affect their community, and that means confronting the harsh realities of their daily lives as well as their triumphs over adversity. Some gay men are driven to tragic extremes by circumstances beyond their control, and failure to address these issues on film would make for a very one-sided view of an extremely complex subject. As such, the film may not be a pleasant experience for some, but it dares to be bleak and uncompromising when others might have hidden behind wish-fulfilment fantasies. That's honesty, not homophobia.

In any event, Krom's rich visual style distinguishes the film from many of its American counterparts, and the expert editing (by Krom and Sander Vos) maintains a keen sense of rhythm amidst the slow-burning tensions inherent in the drama. Incredibly, Krom (whom the packaging informs us was once an assistant to Paul Verhoeven) doesn't appear to have directed anything since, and his subsequent involvement in filmmaking has been relegated to technical support only. That's a real shame, because "To Play or To Die" seemed to herald a bright new talent on the European movie scene, especially in light of the New Queer Cinema movement which emerged from the US shortly after this film was made, boosting the production of gay-themed movies on an international scale.

Water Bearer's non-anamorphic presentation is framed at approximately 1.66:1 and is derived from a print that's beginning to show signs of age (the faded color scheme isn't entirely an artistic choice). The overly-large subtitles are permanent and the sound format is two-channel stereo, though the soundstage rarely expands beyond an appropriately melancholic score by Kim Hayworth and Ferdinand Bakker. The disc isn't regionally coded, and I suspect Water Bearer'sprint was derived from a PAL master at 25fps, in which case the original running time would be 48m 47s.

Rating:
Summary: Low-key drama rewards patience
Review: Frank Krom's impressively doom-laden Dutch drama "To Play or To Die" (Spelen of Sterven, 1990), based on a short story by Anna Blaman, has made a welcome appearance on DVD courtesy of Water Bearer Films. But it's somewhat alarming to discover that this short feature (it runs a mere 46m 50s!) has arrived on disc in a no-frills edition, priced the same as any mainstream DVD. The film originally premiered on VHS along with two other gay shorts under the umbrella title "Boys on Film" (vol. 2), and many potential customers may be unwilling to pay full price for this somewhat abbreviated presentation. But interested viewers are urged to suspend judgment and check the film out for themselves - "To Play or To Die" is a grim, unyielding examination of teenage emotions, played out against the stark backdrop of a Dutch boys' school.

The film focuses on the plight of Kees (Geert Hunaerts), a bright, handsome kid, crippled by shyness, whose life is devastated by a group of school bullies. Nevertheless, Kees is attracted to the ringleader Charel (Tjebbo Gerritsma), a beautiful thug whose macho posturing is little more than a show for his like-minded circle of friends. Kees invites him back to his (Kees') home when his parents are away, ostensibly to take revenge and seduce the older boy, but Charel's inability to drop the pretence and succumb to Kees' infatuation leads to a painful conclusion for them both. Or does it?

Beautifully photographed in muted colors by Nils Post (an accomplished cinematographer who also shot the highly controversial "For a Lost Soldier" in 1992), the film takes place in an emotionally desolate world where the characters are unable to connect with one another in any kind of meaningful context. Gerritsma and Hunaerts are superb as tormentor and tormented, respectively, with Hunaerts in particular giving a truly committed performance, especially towards the end of the film during a moment of (non-explicit, non-salacious) sexual candor. "To Play or to Die" is NOT homophobic, as some have suggested; it's simply unwilling to play the Hollywood game of providing its viewers with easy answers and a neat resolution. Gay filmmakers have a responsibility to depict the broad range of experiences which affect their community, and that means confronting the harsh realities of their daily lives as well as their triumphs over adversity. Some gay men are driven to tragic extremes by circumstances beyond their control, and failure to address these issues on film would make for a very one-sided view of an extremely complex subject. As such, the film may not be a pleasant experience for some, but it dares to be bleak and uncompromising when others might have hidden behind wish-fulfilment fantasies. That's honesty, not homophobia.

In any event, Krom's rich visual style distinguishes the film from many of its American counterparts, and the expert editing (by Krom and Sander Vos) maintains a keen sense of rhythm amidst the slow-burning tensions inherent in the drama. Incredibly, Krom (whom the packaging informs us was once an assistant to Paul Verhoeven) doesn't appear to have directed anything since, and his subsequent involvement in filmmaking has been relegated to technical support only. That's a real shame, because "To Play or To Die" seemed to herald a bright new talent on the European movie scene, especially in light of the New Queer Cinema movement which emerged from the US shortly after this film was made, boosting the production of gay-themed movies on an international scale.

Water Bearer's non-anamorphic presentation is framed at approximately 1.66:1 and is derived from a print that's beginning to show signs of age (the faded color scheme isn't entirely an artistic choice). The overly-large subtitles are permanent and the sound format is two-channel stereo, though the soundstage rarely expands beyond an appropriately melancholic score by Kim Hayworth and Ferdinand Bakker. The disc isn't regionally coded, and I suspect Water Bearer'sprint was derived from a PAL master at 25fps, in which case the original running time would be 48m 47s.

Rating:
Summary: Not for the faint of heart!
Review: Good video, good drama but very VERY disturbing!

You want the "nitty gritty" of gay adolescents? This is the video to add.

Rating:
Summary: The Best/Hottest Film Ever!
Review: Hot stuff! Hot Dutch boys left and right!

Rating:
Summary: Very powerfull drama
Review: I thought To play or to die was an exelent movie, wich caught my attention fully. Great performances of the young actors and beautifuly filmed. I didn't consider it to be homophobic, but more as a tragedy of a young guy who is caught in complete loneliness, fighting his way out. Having no friends at all, the beautiful and at the same time brutal guy from his class is his only challenge. I can recommend this film strongly.

Rating:
Summary: Homophobic rubbish! - The worst possible rating
Review: I usually make an effort to catch any gay themed movies that come my way, but in the case of this film I'm very sorry I wasted the 50 minutes or so watching it. Don't waste your time with this homophobic piece of rubbish. Watch Beautiful Thing for a much more positive depiction of how a young man comes to terms with being gay.