The thought of what’s in the movie Sea of Time happens alone, isindigestible. Your 5-year-old son who is suddenly no longer on your ship andhas to lie somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Fighting against death. And thatas parents you desperately search, but can’t find him.
Unfortunately, this story is true (see box). It is not the happiest – anunderstatement – subject to experience a nice evening at the cinema withthis almost two-hour drama, but Sea of Time can be seen in Dutch cinemasfrom tomorrow. Given the tragic and therefore interesting event, this title is_Subway_ ‘s Movie Review of the Week. And also because of the special factthat father and son Gijs and Reinout Scholten van Aschat play the samecharacter as old and young father Lucas. They recently saw their work premiereas the opening film of the Netherlands Film Festival.
Sallie Harmsen and Reinout Scholten vanAschat as the young Jo and Lucas.
The story of Sea of Time
The happy young couple Lucas and Johanna (‘Jo’, played by the great SallieHarmsen) sail around the world with their son Kai in the eighties: madly inlove, carefree and full of dreams and ideals. In the middle of the Atlantic,everything changes when the young parents’ worst nightmare comes true. Theabrupt end of the journey is the beginning of an inner struggle. In theirdesperate efforts to stay upright, the two drift further and further apart.Forty years later, the former lovers meet again and it turns out that time hascertainly not healed all wounds. The meeting is at the rehearsals of a danceperformance, in which theater maker Lucas wants to tell Kai’s story. For himthat is a necessity, for Jo something impossible.
Brace yourself at Sea of Time
If you find this too heavy for the cinema: when the film starts, you willimmediately see ‘film and TV drama’ appear on the screen. Sea of Time willtherefore also be seen on the tube one day. For those who are interested insuch a gruesome story: brace yourself, because it is not sick at all. Sea ofTime starts cheerfully, by the way, with images shot by father Lucas on theboat, mixed with ‘normally shot images’. Thus, at least little Kai exists anddoes not remain to the viewer “a child lying somewhere in the ocean and neverfound again.” When Kai stares at the setting sun with his parents huddledtogether, it radiates total family happiness. “Forever this,” says Lucas.Unfortunately, it will be ‘for ever’. What hits hard: the moment it is decidedto sail back to the Azores and Kai is not found. Can’t even comprehend it.
true event
Sea of Time is based on a true drama from 1980. Then Mikel (5), son of aFrench mother and Dutch father, disappeared while sailing in the AtlanticOcean. Mother Lucie Hubert wrote a book about it, in Dutch under the title Achild of the sea released. At the end of Sea of Time a picture of Mikelappears on the screen.
How strong is love still?
After all the happy images, you are presented with an hour and a half ofmisery. The misery on the ship, but also in the years that follow when Lucasand Jo’s relationship is put to the test. ‘How strong is love when everythingfalls away?’ is the apt subtitle of Sea of Time. In addition to father andson Scholten van Aschat (Gijs was recently on track in the much acclaimedseries disaster flight about the Bijlmer disaster) and the aforementionedstar Sallie Harmsen, Elsie de Brauw completes the great cast as old Johanna.
Elsie de Brauw and Gijs Scholten van Aschatas the old Jo and Lucas.
We won’t give too much away about this captivating tearjerker. We leave it atthe difference in processing. Lucas takes off with demolition work (beforestarting later in the theater). Jo isolates himself severely depressed, liesat home on the floor and doesn’t let anyone in. And that the leap from thattime to the present is a huge one. But that’s not disturbing.
From A to Z in your face
The most you can ask yourself about this otherwise successful film by directorTheu Boermans is why you Sea of Time thrown in your face from A to Z.Letting your own imagination speak is hardly an option. Well, let’s call it Ato X. Y is the fact that you can use your imagination once: how did Kai end upin the ocean? And for Z: at the end of the film there is still a surprisebuilt in.
Rating out of 5: 3.5 (not for everyone ‘a nice night out’…)
Subway You can read the film review of the week every Wednesday around 6p.m. New titles always appear in Dutch cinemas on Thursdays, such as Sea ofTime (sometimes also on Wednesdays). Reporter Erik Jonk chooses one everyweek. Next week: Matter of Patience, in which we see a lot of fuss aboutlove. Entirely according to the title: in Limburg of course.