Genre: Comedy/Romance
Director: Robert Jan Westdijk
Starring: Kim van Kooten (Phileine), Michiel Huisman (Max), Tara Elders (Lala), Liesbeth Kamerling (Fleur)
RunTime: -
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Rating: R21

Opening Day: 1 September 2005 (Exclusively at Cathay Cineplex Orchard)

Synopsis :

On impulse 'powerbabe' Phileine travels to New York where her boyfriend and actor Max participates in an international Shakespeare project. Her suspicion that he is more interested in his co-star Joanne then in her, drives her into the arms of Joanne’s boyfriend. In a fit of envy Phileine disturbs Max and Joanne's intimate interpretation of Romeo & Juliet and finds herself appearing on several TV screens all over New York after giving an interview to a local news station. Her newly obtained national fame doesn't bring her the happiness she hoped for. In the luxurious loneliness of her Waldorf Astoria hotel suite Phileine finally realizes that Max means more to her than she had ever imagined. When Max finds out about her infidelity he doesn't want to see her again. At the last moment Phileine saves him from the grasping hands of her best friends by saying sorry at the stage of a gala night.

Movie Review:

The opening sequence of Phileine Says Sorry is enough to tell you that this Dutch movie is no conventional romantic comedy. What starts off as a spoof of James Bond movies gets really weird when the female lead, Phileine (Kim van Kooten), starts seeing old naked couples making out around her. Plus, it isn’t just a few nude grannies and granddaddies; there must have been at least twenty of them.

With such an attention-grabbing start, the movie proceeds to tell the story of Phileine, who seems to be living a happy life with her boyfriend Max (Michiel Huisman), until he tells her he is going to New York to pursue his acting career. When she secretly follows Max to The Big Apple, it marks the point when all hell breaks loose. There, she finds out that her boyfriend is the lead in a highly controversial adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, where he is required to have sex with the female lead on stage. Of course, this drives Phileine completely nuts, and her unreasonable and feisty character surfaces.

This movie is adapted from a novel by Ronald Giphardt, who makes a cameo appearance in the movie by gushing how the movie adaptation is much better than what he has written.

How ironic, as the plot of the movie is rather paper-thin. There is not much material to develop in the movie, other than the fact that Phileine is one hot-tempered woman who goes all out to irritate people around her and others look like fools. As the title of the movie indicates, Phileine eventually finds the little girl inside her and apologizes in the final climatic scene.

However, the director (Robert Jan Westdijk) is smart enough to conceal this flaw.
The cleverest move is to cast van Kooten as Phileine. She exudes so much confidence and cockiness in her role that you would believe that she is actually that annoying woman you seem to know from somewhere. For some, her over-the-top performance may be rather frustrating but it was convincing enough to score her a Best Actress award at the 2003 Nederlands Film Festival. It is a pity though, as there are not many touching scenes for her to express her full range as an actress. The limited emotional scenes came through as rather superficial.

Another distraction from the lack of plot is the highly entertaining content of the movie. While there are some scenes and conversations that will make you blush in embarrassment, there are also many which will have you laughing in stitches. It also helps that Phileine often talks to the camera, and this method of addressing the viewers directly never fails to keep us involved. As a result, there isn’t a dull moment in the movie.
There are also many interesting supporting characters to keep the audience occupied –all of them conveniently cast as Max’s roommates in New York. There is the aspiring weatherman, the ex beauty queen and the man who has a mysterious cold. Besides these colourful characters, there are a few meaningful imageries of toothbrushes and space comets which add nice touches to the movie. Technically, the movie also keeps the viewers engaged with the help of tight editing and the beautiful cinematography which makes New York look luscious.

What it lacks in depth and substance, Phileine Says Sorry makes it up with non-stop laughs and high entertainment value. Not many Dutch movies reach our shores. For an interesting and enjoyable look at one, you can check this one out. You definitely won’t be sorry.

Movie Rating:

(An interesting and entertaining alternative to conventional Hollywood romantic comedies)

Review by John Li