The title refers to Michiel de Ruyter, who is one of the most famous naval commanders in Dutch history.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Original
Dutch title: Michiel de Ruyter
** Director:
Roel Reiné
** Writers: Lars
Boom, Alex van Galen and Michael Loumeau
** Languages
spoken: Dutch, English, French
** Run time: 151 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Frank Lammers as Michiel de Ruyter (1607-1676) – a Dutch naval commander
** Sanne Langelaar as Anna de Ruyter (1614-1685) - Michiel’s wife
** Barry Atsma as Johan de Witt (1625-1672) – a Dutch politician
** Lieke van Lexmond as Wendela de Witt (1635-1668) – Johan’s wife (married 1655-1668)
** Roeland Fernhout as Cornelis de Witt (1623-1672) – Johan’s brother
** Rutger Hauer as Maarten Tromp (1598-1653) – a Dutch admiral
** Hajo Bruins as Cornelis Tromp (1629-1691) – Maarten’s son
** Derek de Lint as Johan Kievit (1627-1692) – a Dutch politician
** Egbert Jan Weeber as Willem III (1650-1702) – the Prince of Orange
** Charles Dance as Charles II (1630-1685) – King of England 1660-1685
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore I feel free to mention some of them in this review.
While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here, but the basic story is true.
This movie is about the life and times of Michiel de Ruyter, but it does not cover his whole life from the beginning in 1607 to the end in 1676. The first 46 years of his life are not covered. Only the last 23 years of his life are covered.
The story runs from 1653 to 1677. It begins with the death of Admiral Maarten Tromp during a naval battle in 1653 and ends with the death of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter in 1676 and his state funeral in the following year (1677).
Most scenes are set in one of three locations:
# 1. On the high seas where the Dutch fleet is involved in a naval battle (against England or France).
# 2. In the Dutch parliament where Dutch politicians are discussing the current situation.
# 3. In the home of Michiel de Ruyter where we meet the naval commander and his family.
What do reviewers say about this historical and biographical drama? Here are the results of two review aggregators:
70 per cent =
IMDb
67 per cent =
Rotten Tomatoes (the professional critics)
82 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the general audience)
As you can see,
the ratings are good, but not great. When you look at Rotten Tomatoes, you can
see that there is a significant difference between the professional critics and
the general audience.
The critics have some reservations; they offer 67 per cent. The audience is quite pleased; they offer 82 per cent.
We can see the movie-makers have high ambitions. We can see they worked hard to re-create the history of the Netherlands in the second half of the 17th century. The result is quite good, but not great.
The movie includes several dramatic naval battles. I think these scenes make a great impression on the general audience. I think this is why the audience offers a better rating than the critics.
But in this case, I have to side with the critics. While the naval battles may be impressive and filled with action, this is not enough to make a great drama. This movie has a number of flaws. Let me explain:
# 1. When we are witnessing a naval battle, it is not very clear what is going on. What we see is often confusing. Cannons are fired and ships are damaged when the cannon balls hit their targets. But the grand strategy of the naval battle is not clear.
Towards the end of the drama there is an attempt to show us some naval strategy with the help of small-scale models, but when we get to the real battle at sea, it is still confusing.
# 2. The movie-makers are using modern replicas of four old ships when they re-create the naval battles:
** De Batavia - the original is from 1628; the modern replica was completed in 1995. This is a Dutch ship.
** Shtandart - the original is from 1703; the modern replica was completed in 1999. This is a Russian ship.
** The Grand Turk - later renamed Etoile de roy, the modern version was completed in 1997; it was inspired by the English ship HMS Blandfort from 1741.
** Het Utrechts Statenjacht – the original is from 1746; the modern replica was completed in 2003.
As you can see, only the first of these four ships are from the 17th century (in which the drama takes place). The other three ships are from the 18th century.
# 3. When we are witnessing a session in the Dutch parliament, it is not always clear what is going on. The movie-makers never help us understand what is going on; they never explain the basic facts of Dutch history during the 17th century.
The country was a republic, but while it was a republic, there was a strong faction among leading politicians which wanted to abolish the republic and replace it with a monarchy.
Johan de Witt represents the republicans, while Johan Kievit represents the royalists. Willem III, the Prince of Orange, is the man the royalists want to have as the monarch of the Netherlands.
When we have watched several sessions in the Dutch parliament, the political lines begin to appear, but I think it is unfortunate that the basic facts are only expressed in an indirect way.
The movie-makers seem to assume that the audience is familiar with the intricate details of Dutch history during the 17th century. Most foreigners will not be familiar with this history. What about the Dutch? Is every Dutch citizen familiar with the intricate details of Dutch history during the 17th century? I do not think so.
# 4. When the drama begins, a naval battle is taking place off the Dutch coast. Michiel’s wife and his children are watching from the beach.
In this drama we see them several times. The wife and the four children. His wife Anna is not the mother of these four children! But this detail is never revealed. Anna is his third wife. But this detail is never revealed, either. Let me explain:
Michiel married his first wife Maake Velders in 1631. Sadly, she died at the end of that year while giving birth to a baby who also died.
Michiel married his second wife Neeltje Engels in 1636. Together they had four children. Three daughters and a son:
** Adrien 1637-1655
** Neeltje 1639-1720
** Aelken 1642-1679
** Engel 1649-1683
The second wife died in 1650
Michiel married his third wife Anna van Gelder in 1652. She had been married before and she had two children with her first husband. When her husband died, she became a widow with two children. But these two children are never seen in the drama!
Michiel and Anna had two children together:
** Grietgen 1652-1688
** Anna 1655-1666
These two children are never seen in the drama!
In the drama, we see Anna (his third wife) and the four children from his second marriage. We are never told that she is not the mother of these children. The son Engel seems to be the oldest, but in fact he is the youngest of the four children!
The drama spans a period of more than twenty years, because it runs from 1653 to 1677, but the four children never age! At the end of the movie, which is in 1677, they look the same as they did at the beginning, which is in 1653!
Apparently, the movie-makers decided it would too complicated to let the four children grow older as the story moves forward. They also decided to exclude the two children from Anna’s first marriage and the two children she had with Michiel during her second marriage.
# 5. When a naval battle begins, an on-screen message tells us the name of this battle. This is helpful.
When we move to a new location, an on-screen message tells us the name of this location. This is helpful.
But we are never told where we are in time. The year is never mentioned. And no character talks about the year in which a scene takes place. I think this is done on purpose.
The drama wants to be timeless. Why? I think I know the answer. If the on-screen messages had included the year, the audience might notice that the story is moving forward from 1653 to 1677. The viewers might notice that the story covers more than twenty years. But the four children never change! They are the same! The children are still children more than twenty years after the opening scene!
This is odd. In fact, this is ridiculous! The movie-makers asked themselves: “How can we solve this problem?” And they found a solution:
“We will never mention the year. We will pretend the whole story takes place over a few months. Then it is ok for the children to look the same from the beginning to the end.”
This is the only way I can explain why the children never age and why we are never told where we are in time.
CONCLUSION
I like historical dramas. I wanted to like this drama. Unfortunately, it was not possible. As you can see, there are a number of flaws. While some may be dismissed as minor, they cannot all be regarded as minor.
The story about the Dutch admiral is interesting and important. It deserves to be told, but in this movie it is not told very well. I have to remove two stars because of these flaws. Therefore I think this movie deserves a rating of three stars (60 per cent).
PS # 1. Even before this movie was released to the public, it was criticized. Some people were concerned that it was going to glorify the history of Dutch colonialism. But when you watch the movie, you will see that this is not the case: there is virtually no reference to Dutch colonialism.
In the 17th century, the Netherlands had established a Dutch colony in East India, today known as Indonesia. But Indonesia is never mentioned in the drama. However, there is a brief and indirect reference to Dutch colonialism in Asia:
In one scene, some sacks with provisions are delivered to Michiel’s home. The sacks are marked with three letters: VOC. Why? Because they come from the Dutch East India Company: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, which was founded in 1602.
This is all. There is virtually nothing about Dutch colonialism in this movie. This accusation turned out to be completely groundless.
PS # 2. The Dutch raid on the Medway in 1667 is regarded as one of the worst defeats in the history of the Royal Navy. The fleet which accomplished this daring feat was commanded by Michiel de Ruyter. This raid is covered in the drama.
For details, see the following book: The Dutch in the Medway by Philip George Rogers (1970, reprinted in 2017).
PS # 3. In this movie, the Netherlands is a republic. When did the republic begin? When did it end? These questions are never answered in the movie. Did the republic begin with Johan de Witt? Did it end when Johan and his brother Cornelis were killed? In both cases the answer is no, but you will not learn this from the movie.
The Dutch republic of seven united provinces was established in 1581 (which is long before Johan de Witt). This republic lasted until 1795 when it was replaced by the Batavian republic. The current Dutch monarchy was established in 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic wars (which is long after Johan de Witt).
*****
Michiel de Ruyter (1607-1676)
Painted by Ferdinand Bol in 1667
*****
