Sweet dreams – a film by Ena Sendijarević (2023)
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The film comes on a historical backdrop that remains as relevant as ever. Where Indonesia is concerned, the transfer of Dutch New Guinea to Indonesia in 1963 is regarded as the end of the Netherlands’ 250-year colonial empire. In the past weeks, however, colonialism has returned to the headlines, as the UK returned sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after they had been colonised first by the French and then by the British in 1814.
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Film title: Sweet dreams (2023)
Director: Ena Sendijarević
Cast: Renée Soutendijk, Hayati Azis, Lisa Zweerman, Florian Myjer, Muhammad Khan, Hans Dagelet
Genre: Drama, satire
Duration: 102 minutes
Language: Dutch with English subtitles
Rating: 16 PSV
This film about the colonial past of the Netherlands has understandably been popular in countries the Netherlands once governed. But it’s the story and visuals of this tale that have carried it far beyond. Sweet dreams is among films from 14 countries that are part of the European Film Festival (South Africa), which takes place from 10 to 20 October.
The prevailing theme this year relates to freedom, with Ena Sendijarević bringing us a tale set on a remote sugar plantation in the last days of Indonesia’s colonial era. The Dutch owners, Jan and his wife Agathe, seem unconcerned with a workers’ strike, as they go about pursuits like tiger hunting. That is, until Jan suddenly dies. Agathe summons her son, Cornelis, and his heavily pregnant wife, Josefien, from Europe to take over the business.
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The perspective swings chiefly between the family and their loyal head servant, but also to that of her insurrectionist lover. The unrelenting and unhurried pace marches without missing a beat, ensuring tension as taut as a violin string.
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The couple is immediately repelled by the tropical climate. The mosquitoes! The flies! The heat! They quickly make plans to return home as soon as they can, but first the business must be returned to a profitable footing. To get the workers back in the fields and factory, Cornelis makes grand claims for progressive change – all in vain, however, as his ignorance and inexperience turn against them. The tide has turned, and the invaders have misread the signs that ultimately lead to demise.
The perspective swings chiefly between the family and their loyal head servant, but also to that of her insurrectionist lover. The unrelenting and unhurried pace marches without missing a beat, ensuring tension as taut as a violin string.
The film comes on a historical backdrop that remains as relevant as ever. Where Indonesia is concerned, the transfer of Dutch New Guinea to Indonesia in 1963 is regarded as the end of the Netherlands’ 250-year colonial empire. In the past weeks, however, colonialism has returned to the headlines, as the UK returned sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after they had been colonised first by the French and then by the British in 1814.
Many other territories remain tied to countries most associated with a colonial past, now generally for their strategic geopolitical and military importance rather than for contributions to their GDP. The effects of this long and painful history still play out in various ways. Among them are the debates around accountability, the rights to artefacts collected during colonial exploits, and the lingering and devastating disruptions in the social realm. Just one of these is slavery. While it was abolished, for example, 190 years ago in the British Cape Colony in South Africa, the practice is still with the world, albeit in a modern form.
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Scenes and sounds, coupled with that sense of impending dread, will surely also bring comparisons with Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Apocalypse now. For lovers of the genre, Sweet dreams is certainly on point. A delicious tale, well told.
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It is all these threads that Sweet dreams picks up on, using a Coenesque, neo-noir style. The film is presented in the narrower, pillarbox aspect ratio in a way that not only contributes claustrophobia to the story’s underlying unease, but also collaborates with scene setups in a way that conjures up a cameo-like feel.
Colours are rich and saturated, echoing the intensity of a place an out-of-towner might feel about the tropics. Scenes and sounds, coupled with that sense of impending dread, will surely also bring comparisons with Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Apocalypse now. For lovers of the genre, Sweet dreams is certainly on point. A delicious tale, well told.
Sweet dreams opened the Netherlands Film Festival, where it won six awards, including Best Film, Best Directing and Best Performance. It then went on to be the official submission by the Netherlands for Best International Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards. It is Ena Sendijarević’s second feature film, after Take me somewhere nice (2019).
Cinema screenings for the European Film Festival take place in Johannesburg at Ster-Kinekor’s The Zone in Rosebank and in Cape Town at the Labia. Eleven of the films will be available in the free programme of online streaming accessible across South Africa during the festival period. For the full programme and information, visit www.eurofilmfest.co.za.
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