The Cherry Pick
(DE KERSENPLUK) ((DUTCH))
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A loss-of-innocence pic centered on a young teen during idyllic summer days, "The Cherry Pick" has enough personal touches to mark this semi-autobiographical movie an interesting feature debut by Arno Kranenborg. For sales, however, it's smallscreen fare.
Set in what looks like the late '60s, story revolves around 13-year-old Jan (Finbarr Wilbrink) who every year visits his grandparents in the northern Dutch province of Drenthe to gather cherries. This summer, his grandpa (Anton Starke) has recently been widowed and his cousin Marie (Ricky Koole), on whom Jan has a youthful crush, turns out to be pregnant by a disreputable fairground hawker, Tabak (Lukas Dijkema).
Small events mark the passage of days, as Jan exchanges brief conversations with the sorrowful old man, spends time with Marie, and immerses himself in his grandmother's diaries. Grandfather tries to arrange a spin in a plane for the kid, but leaves it too late. That winter, the old man dies.
Kranenborg spices up familiar material with a slightly stylized soundtrack that emphasizes effects, and with occasional sequences (like a room filled with falling blossoms as Jan dreams of his grandmother) that add a surreal touch. At heart, the movie is a remembrance stretched to feature length, but is quietly engaging on its own terms.
Performances are all fine, and tech credits modest but solid.
Camera (color), Goert Giltaij; editor, Stefan Kamp; music, Wouter van Bemmel; art direction, Paul Silder, costume design, Giene Steenman; sound (Dolby SR), Eddy Decloe. Reviewed at Dutch Film Festival (Holland Film Meeting) (competing) , Utrecht, Sept. 29, 1996, Running time: 96 MIN.
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