augustodunensis 'Yes sister, no sister' as well as 'Minoes' are film adaptations of books and plays by Annie M.G. Schmidt. She is to the Dutch what Astrid Lindgren is to the Swedish. Both 'yes sister' and 'Minoes' have really touched the atmosphere in Schmidts books. You have read them when you were young and life was good and simple, and so are the movies. 'Yes sister' was also a very famous show in the 1960's. Most of the Dutch of that generation know the songs by heart, while other songs like 'mijn opa' (My grandfather! No one like him in all of Europe!) belong to our national song culture. It's not just the actors that start singing in the movie, is is the audience as well. Loes Luca, the leading actress in 'Yes sister' is the perfect choice to play the role of sister Klivia. She is from the city of Rotterdam and still has the Rotterdam accent. She's sharp, bossy, witty, weird and has a very personal charm about her. The other characters in 'yes sister' are also perfectly casted. Watching this movie is seeing some of the best actors we have in the Netherlands: Arjan Ederveen, Paul de Leeuw, Olga Zuiderhoek, Paul Kooij and others.

sabl My husband's Dutch, but darned if I can speak the language. Still... I came out of the movie a week ago, and I'm still singing "Niet op de stollen staan / Ja zuester, nee zuester; niet met de deur slam / Ja zuster, nee zuster" (sp?). And HE doesn't sing...yet I keep catching him singing the Opa song. I keep thinking of the twisp and giggling.The film is very, very, totally very dutch in wonderful ways. If you like some of the best comic Indian films of the 60's, this has some of the same charm, too. The cinematography and physical comedy is as gently goofy as the story and characters, and the actors are charming. A note to the guy who left after 40 minutes...Boordevol starts out one-note but goes through...changes. Too bad you missed them.

shu-fen Why? I cannot decipher the intrigue why this movie would have gained the label as a lesbian and gay movie, it has been dumped into such category in New York, San Francisco, Hamburg, Reel Affirmations, Hong Kong, Reykjavik film festivals. If it is because of the relationship between Boordevol and Wouter, the gay plot line is recessive at all. It's a movie of fun, joy, human warmth, acceptance, forgiveness and resilience. I got no clue if the original 1966-68 Dutch TV series bore any homosexual connotation or not because first I was not born yet, second the 60's was a conservative period that only one or two public media had such guts to manifest this human relationship.Roald Dahl came into my mind when I was watching it because of the humour, the caricatured characters i.e. the Scrooge landlord, the eccentric scientist, the mysterious hairdresser etc and also the multi-faceted neighbourhood setting, they also appear from time to time in RD's stories. His profound meaning stories in general take place in ordinary living, trivial episodes of everyday life which are real and close to every one. And this is happening in this musical tale. I do believe that if RD is still alive, he might include a gay teenager in one of his stories and portray him or her in a light and humane tone.Frolic and carefree it appears to be with the circus, the colorful outfit, joyful songs and merry dances, exotic Greek customs, (By the way, when it comes to "Greek", the West always quotes "Zorbas", here is one example, the successful "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is another. However, there are myriads representations of "Greek" like "Troy", Greek gods, mythology blah blah blah. "Zorbas" may equate to common Greek people but it's overused, ah, kind of stale now. Nikos Kazantzakis might feel fed up too. ^-^ ), it is also rich in serious ideas. The inventor is trying to make a pill which converts people from evil to good, it's a big life issue, we all want "good" but how good is good and what is good? I just wonder why the scientist does not give the pill to Gerrit the burglar to try. He might totally break himself away from the stealing habit. Nature and nurture is another, Gerrit was raised by his grandpa, Opa to be a dexterous burglar in Oliver Twist like context, perhaps by nature he is a good boy as he promises not to steal so Nurse Klivia allows his stay. The Dutch open-mindedness is dominant throughout the film as Klivia and the neighbourhood (but Boordevol) do accept all kinds of the "weird" people in her nurse house and also foreigners like the Greeks who live nearby.When Boordevol puts the sign board "Boordevol Rusthuis" (rest house) outside his house, it is so clear that his house is a sinister "No. 13" of that street, symbolically his house is a house of bad luck, evil. Funny handling. When the ending credit roller is running, a welcome reception to the then Princess Beatrix (in the 60's), the current Dutch Queen Regnant of the Oranje Nassau is in progress, she equals to the national recognition and acceptance to the work of the "Rest house", clever and heart-warming.The small musical film though doesn't draw blockbuster attention like those of Chicago, Evita or even the good oldie My Fair Lady, it's a dainty gumdrop on the first day of my summer break. A sheer sweet fun for family viewing, don't let the gays and lesbians grab the entire joy and pleasure, it's rightly for every one. (Why a homo film????)

breug A couple of my friends wanted to see this movie. I thought it would be terrible but I went along anyway. To my surprise it was a great movie. The acting is great, especially Boordevol was terrific. I know him as Anton Gleuf from a kids show and he was so incredibly funny in this movie. When they began to sing in the beginning I felt a little bit awkward but after the first few songs that feeling was over. The atmosphere is really great in this movie.