Boba_Fett1138 This movie features all kinds of controversial subjects, such as homosexual themed elements, euthanasia, soft drugs and basically everything in between. The movie feels like a random slice of life however and it doesn't try to preach with its controversial themes or be a clear tearjerker. It's a very humane and realistic made movie and that is what makes "Simon" such an effective and great one.All sequences within the movie are actually quite short and you often have the feeling that some, if not all of the sequences could had been twice as long since there is so much to tell, also since the movie features so many characters, perspectives and and small subplots. Any other movie would had been twice as long, since it also would had been more consistent with the usual style of film-making and storytelling but "Simon" picks an approach of its own. I really liked this movie its approach from director/writer Eddy Terstall. It doesn't stick to a time-line that moves from A to Z but instead it often more skips a few letters and also jumps back a few from time to time. It isn't a movie that explains everything and things just happen as they do within this movie, just like in real life.For a movie about such heavy and serious subjects, "Simon" is for sure a movie that picks a surprisingly light approach of it all. It's a movie that is not without its comedy and humor and this is foremost the reason why "Simon" is such a great movie to watch and helps to make it an effective one as well.The movie of course is also being made great and realistic by its natural acting performances. Cees Geel plays a great, strong and unique character with slowly declining health. He's getting more and more sick as the movie progresses and it is done in a very realistic looking way. Most of the actors also seem to be improvising a lot during filming I don't no whether or not this was the case but it all feels very natural. I especially like the way Rifka Lodeizen handles this. Also Marcel Hensema in a big and important role (perhaps he can be seen just as much as the movie its main character as Cees Geel can) is really good in the movie.Even though the movie handles delicate and tough subjects you don't ever have the feeling you're watching a tough and heavy movie. The movie features homosexuals, a sick person and many anti-social characters but yet you don't feel as if it are purely homosexuals, a sick person and anti-social characters you are watching. They foremost feel like real persons, with real emotions and other strong characteristics of their own. Because of this this, no matter how you think and feel about homosexuals and/or euthanasia, you will be grabbed and touched by this movie.8/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

ekeby I've read the reviews here, most of them from people living in the Netherlands. This movie seems to polarize these folk in ways that must be unique to the Dutch. I'd like to comment on it from a different cultural perspective.Reviewers here make the point repeatedly that this is a quintessentially Dutch movie, and more or less insist that you have to be Dutch to comprehend it in toto. That may be true. I know a little German, enough to have heard the cadences and staccato rhythms in the dialog. And I could tell that the English translation, although working hard, was probably not able to do justice to the actual words. This is an instance where a dubbed version might be an improvement for non-Dutch speakers.As an American, and a gay man, I found this movie totally accessible. The subject of euthanasia was not especially controversial to me, having known many gay men who chose that route in the 80s. Nor did the interaction between the two friends seem that unusual. I've had close friends who were straight and we could talk to each other in the same blunt, joking way Simon and Camiel do. I think this story could have been set in many other urban communities around the world, not just Amsterdam.So I guess I'm saying I don't think this story is uniquely Dutch by any means. That it has an extra dimension for the Dutch because of the language, however, seems likely. I liked the structure of the film, I liked the close and choppy editing, and I liked the progression of the story. In many ways the film's style is as unsentimental as the story, and that seemed appropriate.

gradyharp SIMON is a little jewel of a film. In a manner more typically Dutch than most it is an exploration of the interaction of two men, opposites in almost every way except in their potential power of friendship.Camiel is a gay, tender, polite, dental student while Simon is straight, seemingly critical of gay aspects (though always with tongue in cheek), noisy, outspoken, crafty, boisterous and a bit crude café owner. The two collide in an accident, an act that bonds them inextricably, and the film shows the two polar opposites reconnecting fourteen years later when Simon is dying of cancer and calls upon all his resources and involves Camiel in the difficult process of life's ending. Simon's strength of character (despite his previous outwardly bombastic and crude manner) gives Camiel much to learn - and gives the audience some touching and tender thoughts on which to dwell. The film is a fun, at times naughty, smart, and ultimately life-affirming tale about the importance of friendship and family...and a strong sense of humor...that are the stuff that allow us to survive even the most difficult of moments in life.The entire cast is excellent but the performances by Cees Geel as Simon and Marcel Hensema as Camiel Vrolijk are worthy of awards. This is an extravagantly fun film, completely open and honest about its sexuality, that results in a memorable emotional experience for the viewer. In Dutch with English subtitles. Grady Harp

Tom Schreuder This is one of those movies that combines the best of two genres: comedy and drama. It starts as a hilarious story when an Amsterdam coffeeshop owner (Simon) runs over a homosexual student (Camiel). It turns out to be the start of a long, unusual and moving friendship.The comedy element is mostly coming from Simon. Not only because of his jokes about Camiel's homosexuality, but also because he has such a typical personality.Both Cees Geel and Marcel Hensema give great performances in their leading roles. But besides the actors performances, the story and especially the dialog are great.It's also a movie that couldn't have come from any other country but The Netherlands, and because it is such a typical Dutch and therefor recognizable film, it's maybe the best one ever made here! Go watch it!