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
*****
