Eline Vere

In this re-creation of Brussels and The Hague at the turn of the century, Kümel returns to the formula of his debut, Monsieur Hawarden, the period adaptation of an established literary work. Eline Vere (1899) was a first novel by Louis Couperus, regarded by many as the Netherlands' greatest novelist. A young woman is rejected in love and then has a series of encounters that fail to meet her expectations. The source material offers no opportunity for the director to indulge his taste for the bizarre or surreal, as in Daughters of Darkness or Malpertuis, but most of his output has, in fact, been costume drama of one sort or another. Even those who don't particularly relish this kind of thing will find much to entertain the eye in this sumptuously designed and beautifully lit film. The camera of Eduard van der Enden, who has worked with Kümel on and off since 1968, swoops and glides like a dancer across the sound-stage, to the near constant accompaniment of van Rooyen's syrupy score. Kümel's choreography of the different disciplines is assured. A director's cut version added 29 minutes to the running time.