Writer-director Frank Ketelaar (62) is the brains behind the successful series. Adultery, clamp And foreign affairs. What sets him apart from most Dutch series creators is that he doesn’t endlessly milk his concepts. When is the third season clamp turned out to be the latter, VPRO praised Ketelaar in his work for his ability to stop in time. Apart from series like Penosa, “who after two phenomenal seasons has released three somewhat hesitant series and a movie,” Ketelaar always feels “impeccable” when he has to finish a story, writes VPRO. But with film clamp the story of the unlikely friendship between tax officer Hugo (Barry Atsma) and criminal Marius (Jacob Derwig) gets a tail.
you said it two years ago NRK: “After three episodes, I used to tell and make things up.” Why a movie then?
“Because I don’t have a spine, haha.”
So you’ve been asked to make a film.
“Yes. I was also asked to do a new season after the third season. Doing an episode is like mowing a field with a lawn mower. You ask yourself: is there another patch of grass that I have not been on? Then I thought not. That’s why I decided not to make a fourth season.But since Marius and his wife Kitty emigrated to Italy at the end of the third season, I finally got to see the blades of grass.Not enough for a whole new season, but enough for the film – for dessert.Also: I was also interested in finishing the film “.
Do you doubt?
“Yes. But the other location was especially crucial. I did away with Amsterdam, I did away with the houses they lived in throughout the series and the school that their daughters attend. But Italy – I immediately imagined it.”
You want the actors to play the script exactly as you wrote it. Every semicolon must be spoken, you said grant of parole. How do you do it with Italian actors?
“I don’t speak the language at all. So I depended on the translation and really can’t judge how accurate this translation is. So let go. Good actors are important here. It starts with casting. I very romantically thought that I would be allowed to go to Rome for a day to audition. But it was in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, so the casting took place entirely online. I talked to the Italian actors from the very beginning about what I had in mind. But abroad, actors are more used to saying exactly what is written in the script.
Where do you think this difference comes from?
“It has something to do with professionalism and discipline. It often happens in the Netherlands that some less good actors come to the set and ask: “Can I say this one sentence differently?”
Actors love to influence their characters.
– I don’t want that. It might work for some directors, but it’s not my way of working. I have been thinking about these phrases for a long time. This does not mean that I never collaborate with my actors. For example, I regularly texted Barry and Jacob about their phrases. But as soon as we leave, everything will be decided. So it was with the Italians. They asked, for example: do you want a Tuscan accent? I liked it, but I couldn’t judge how different this accent was from standard Italian. I gave them a bit of freedom in that.”
How to distinguish a dot from a semicolon?
“You can hear it in the Breezer. This is important for the flow of my texts. The fact that I find this stream so important may be due to my background as a musician.”
Two daughters are now teenagers. They go out and get a guy. Their fathers have problems with this. Do you recognize this as a father?
“It’s really completely autobiographical. I have two daughters and I had a moment with both when I realized that I didn’t know they were already in the middle of the separation process. I remember my daughter sitting on the couch at home with the boy. And suddenly I saw that they were holding hands. Oops.
Are you shocked?
“Yes. But I also understand that this is the case. It’s still a shame that suddenly everywhere is more fun than at home. My experience of growing up with my daughters was also the reason for making the film. The series clamp started with an idea: what if my daughter befriends the daughter of a criminal? This friendship between the daughters makes Hugo’s life intertwined with that of Marius. In the film, daughters are separated from their parents. I thought it was a good ending.”
clamp can be seen at Arena, City, Cinema de Vlugt, Het Ketelhuis, De Munt, Pathé Noord and Tuschinski.
Source: Parool.NL
