SYNOPSICS
TBS (2008) is a Dutch,French movie. Pieter Kuijpers has directed this movie. Theo Maassen,Lisa Smit,Bob Schwarze,Ria Marks are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2008. TBS (2008) is considered one of the best Crime,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Johan, convicted for the murder of his father and sister, has been locked up in a TBS clinic (a hospital for criminals with a psychical disorder) for years. When he hears he will be transfered to a Long Stay ward - where nobody has ever been released from - he hopes his mother, who he hasn't spoken for years, will come to his hearing so she can tell the judge he didn't murder his sister, that his father abused him and was about to abuse his sister and that Johan therefore killed his father. However, his mother doesn't turn up. Realizing he's out of options, he escapes, determined to find his mother, so she can write a statement saying what really happened. Pretty soon however, he gets pursued by the police and in a rather desperate attempt to stay out of their hands, he kidnaps a 13-year old girl, Tessa. Together they drive through the Netherlands and Belgium to find his mother.
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TBS (2008) Reviews
Great acting and good plot, fantastic movie
I love this movie! The acting is great and the plot is very good. Theo Maassen plays a strong main character which draws you in. You begin to like him, but he plays is very subtle and you feel his edges from the beginning. It's a guy you're not sure if you can trust him or not. Was he wrongfully convicted or is he the beast that others perceive him to be. It gives the movie a strong foundation and he maintains a great performance throughout. A couple of others in the theater weren't able to totally separate his movie character from his career as a comic, resulting in some laughs in the audience in some strange places in the movie. Nothing to blame on Maassen though, he did great. The girl in this movie is brilliant. It's the first role of Lisa Smit (only 13 or 14 herself) and she plays her character very well. She is a typical teenager, with all the problems and issues that girls have at that time in their lives. The plot of the movie had a nice pace and the tension is built up nicely. There is never a dull moment and almost all plot twists are believable. Only problem I had was a strange scene involving a group of journalists. The way they behaved seemed a bit contrived and purely there to help the story forward. They didn't fall in the current Hollywood trap of making a movie too long, it's perfect as it is, an hour and a half of pure entertainment.
Shocking and upsetting film, but brilliantly filmed and acted!!
I was completely shocked after watching this film. The end was horrifying, upsetting and confusing. But even with a not-so-good-feeling after leaving the theater, I have to say I really loved this film. First of all the directing is great; Pieter Kuijpers made several really good based-on-facts films (DENNIS P., VAN GOD LOS, OFF SCREEN) and with this oeuvre he made a very worthwhile contribution to the Dutch (popular) cinema. He really understands both making grandiose action-scenes and scenes about subtle emotional human-interaction. So although I was shocked after wards, now a day later I come to really appreciate this film. Also because of the Oscar-worthy acting of Theo Maassen; his acting made him equally likable and charming as terrifying and fearsome. Brilliantly filmed and acted film! Applause! (but I think, I don't want to see it again..)
TBS, surprisingly good...
I watched TBS as a Sneak Preview in Cinema... I use to go there every week... Sometimes I get very disappointed... But sometimes you're so lucky... ;) TBS is one of the movies of the latter category... Until recently I wasn't very fond of Dutch movies... They used to have a lot of sex in them, bad acting, bad directing, low quality... But only since two or three months ago I'm starting to change my opinion... TBS is another movie that makes me believe the Dutch can produce quality... Although the plot isn't all too original (an escaped prisoner wants to prove his innocence), the subject of escaping prisoners is quite a resent subject in Holland... The end was kind of unexpected (call me naive) and makes me think this movie might just get a place in my very own gallery of honor... :P The acting is very good... Both Johan and Tessa are very convincing characters... Directing too is done well... Although the movie is not visually stunning, the atmosphere is well set... Liked it very much... I can really recommend it... Niels...
good but flawed
Strong points first. The acting is good, although I would never have casted Theo Maassen for this part. He does a proper acting job, but just thinking about his real-life carnaval hit while in the movie he is on the road with a 13-year old hostage who clearly gets Stockholm syndrome just makes me laugh. The plot is great throughout. The Stockholm syndrome is kind of predictable, but the rest of the plot really isn't. Lots of times I was thinking 'what the hell is going to happen next' which really doesn't happen to me lots of times when watching movies. The greatest thing about the story is that we get compassionate about the main character, as does his young female hostage. But in the end we're all fooled, we haven't seen past the insanity and brutality of this man. A good message that we should never underestimate the sickness of the minds of these people. But although this was all great, there are just some very simple things bugging me. Most notable is the complete unrealistic behaviour of police. It's just crazy that up to 2 times Johan stands next to the car, his hostage at the other side of the car, him pointing his gun at her, police all have a clear shot at him and nobody takes him down. The second time is the most crazy, policemen just drop to their knees and give him the keys to their police van. Just stupid, in real life Johan would've been taken out many times. Also the scene just after the tunnel when Johan loses the helicopter with ease is just unrealistic. And that's just painful. It just kills a potentially good movie and makes me chuckle. So it's good, but flawed. Still good, certainly when taken into the perspective of regular Dutch production value.
Great
Accidentally stumbled upon during a sneak preview in Leiden, in my opinion the best Dutch movie since 'Simon'! Apparently Pieter Kuijpers has a strong connection to some of the darker figures of the Dutch entertainment industry (Tygo Gernandt, Theo Maassen), and with that sense creates a very tense atmosphere, where everything seems possible at any given moment. The only relief comes when the girl Tessa, who is beautifully played by Lisa Smit, is seduced into a smile by Johan (Theo Maassen). The biggest impact of this movie is the constant urge to be compassionate for Johan, while either consciously or subconsciously you know he doesn't deserve it, whether you already guessed the ending (which is very predictable, but nonetheless the most powerful scene), or not. On top of the continuous suspense of Johans' capriciousness the movie is very claustrophobic (nearly all small spaces, even the wood scenes are mostly shot under cover of thick trees), has nervous music, fast cuts and long shots of Johan looking angry, which took me as a prisoner as well. I almost never felt such a sense of relief when the ending came along, and that's not meant as a criticism. It feels so real that it's almost like waking from a bad dream. I'd recommend this to everyone, very good!