Vreemd bloed

Slightly surrealist drama around a traditional butcher's family in the 1960s and 1970s, against the background of advancing property development, modern regulations and changing times. A butcher, obsessed by his trade, sternly forces his children to follow in his footsteps. First-time feature director Timmers shows the events from the perspective of the youngest son, a sensitive kid that, with his grandmother's support, resists this patriarchal predestination. This leads to a tragic clash with his father - who is also thrown out of the local brass band because he plays the percussion too wildly. The screenplay by Maria Goos (Pleidooi, Oud geld) puts the family disputes within the framework of a generation change in the Netherlands, where some people set their face against a future that others embrace. Symbolic for this new era is a 'model butcher's shop' in the village, white and shiny, which is opened by the eldest son Cor, together with his voluptuous Italian wife. (Nederlands Film Festival)