What is love? In a new series, various Dutch filmmakers answer this simple andat the same time complicated question in their own way. The six separateepisodes provide a varied picture in which there is a lot of room for lesstraditional forms of love and pain points within a relationship. One is abouta couple in an open relationship, another about whether or not they want tohave children. Modern Love Amsterdam is a spin-off of an American seriesthat itself is based on the famous essay column of The New York Times inwhich true stories about love and relationships are written down.
The Dutch version is led by Robert Alberdingk Thijm, who previously gave thecity of Amsterdam a leading role in the series Adam – EVA. The series, whichcan be seen on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service, also makes room forthings that can change or put pressure on a relationship. For example, theepisode ‘Keep Me Vast’ is about a couple whose husband has become disabled.Can he and his wife handle this?
The characters Simon and Katja are played by Romijn Conen and Rifka Lodeizenrespectively. Their episode feels authentic, partly because the same thinghappened to Conen as his character: he became half-handicapped after acerebral stroke in 2015. “I didn’t think it possible for a long time that Iwould really take on a role again,” says Conen in an Amsterdam hotel. Togetherwith Lodeizen he talks to NRC about the creation.
Working with limitations
The doubts whether he could handle it quickly disappeared after animprovisation session with Lodeizen and director Boudewijn Koole. However, theproduction had to take sufficient account of its limitation. “He can stillplay fantastically,” says Lodeizen. “But we had to make room for it. He had toget some rest now and then, for example.” Conen: “Gradually, the boundarieshave actually been shifted, because I increasingly got the feeling that it isactually a piece of cake for me as an actor.”
The story in the series is not his own, but it does contain personal elements.The same goes for accepting or not accepting the new situation. His characteris faster than himself in this, Conen admits. “He thinks faster than I do inmy daily life.” Lodeizen: “And you find it more difficult in real life?” Cone:”Yes. Every day you experience things that you used to be able to solve veryeasily. And now you can’t fix that. You are in need of help.”
In the episode, the couple talks about intimacy. For example, Simon tells hiswife that he understands if she wants to find someone who could better meether sexual needs. “When it comes to love, you shouldn’t shy away from thepain,” says Lodeizen. “Many stories revolve around the places where it rubswhen it comes to intimacy. In the end, it is not about that disability at all,it is about how you struggle through love together.”
Rifka Lodeizen Elmer van der Marel
Romijn Conen and Rifka Lodeizen Mark de Blok, Elmer van der Marel
Both actors hope that the episode will raise awareness: people withdisabilities are seen far too little in film and TV, they say. Lodeizen: “Theysimply do not see themselves represented. That’s a bad thing. We leavesomething behind if we don’t do anything with it.” Conen himself only learnedabout this after his own situation. “It is still the case that the castingagencies almost do not want to work with me because they have not seen whetherI can handle it at all. I think it will change after the launch of thisseries. I hope people think: damn, he’s just doing it for a while.”
Mother feelings
The episode with actresses Hanna van Vliet and Ilke Paddenburg also overlapswith real life. The two play a couple in the episode, something they have beenin real life for eight years. “At the audition we were also asked to come as aduo,” says Van Vliet during a conversation in an Amsterdam café-restaurant.“It felt a bit strange, but also very nice. You don’t feel the kind ofdiscomfort you might otherwise have at an audition like this.”
The episode touches on whether or not you have maternal feelings, somethingthat has a different dimension for a lesbian couple than for a straightcouple. However, the series doesn’t make a big deal of the queer relationship.“It is not about the fact that they are lesbians,” says Paddenburg, who joinedVan Vliet to talk about the episode. “That aspect of their relationship is notproblematized. It’s just like that.” Van Vliet adds: “That is also trueinclusion. You can be very specific about certain things, but not everythingrevolves around their identity.”
The by Maud Wiemeijer ( Anne+ ) written episode also has a magical realismelement: Paddenburg plays a writer who goes to live and work for a while inthe former home of a famous writer. She seems to have traveled to the fiftiesat one point. From that moment on, the line between fantasy and reality blurs.Paddenburg: “It was exciting to find a balance here. We don’t often dosomething like this in the Netherlands, also because there is often littlebudget. We do it in a fairly clear way. It’s best not to question that fantasylayer. It is a kind of feverish dream in which she finds herself, an outwardappearance of an inner conflict.”
New possibilities
The two actresses are part of a bigger thing: a spin-off of an American seriesfrom the Amazon tech company. On December 16 Modern Love Amsterdam launchedworldwide (Amazon speaks of more than 240 countries and territories). VanVliet is the leading actress and co-creator of Anne+ ever experiencedsomething like this. Anne+ started as a web series at the NPO, __managed tobind a large group of viewers and appeared worldwide via Netflix. “With such alarge American streaming service, you notice that there are many more layers,more than we are used to here in the Netherlands,” she says. “It brings newopportunities but also challenges. How big should something be? The bigger youget, the harder you sometimes have to defend your own choices.”
In addition to Amazon and Netflix, streaming services such as Disney + and HBOMax are also working on Dutch productions. Foreign companies that compete withDutch parties such as NPO and RTL (Videoland). “On the one hand, there seem tobe more opportunities than ever,” continues Van Vliet. “But there is also adiscussion about what foreign streamers are doing in the Dutch market. Arethey just hiring crew and actors or are they really investing in theindustry?”
At least the protagonists are happy with this project for Amazon. Paddenburgsometimes felt like an Alice in Wonderland while shooting in the old house ofwriters. “Isn’t that a childhood dream come true? Just end up in a completelydifferent world.”
Modern Love Amsterdam can be seen on Prime Video from Friday 16 December.