Hemel

Released by: Artsploitation Films
Released on: March 12, 2013.
Director: Sacha Polak
Cast: Hannah Hoekstra, Hans Dagelet
Year: 2012
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The Movie:

Directed by Dutch filmmaker Sacha Polak, 2012's Hemel stars Hannah Hoekstra as the title character, a young woman somewhere in her mid-twenties. What we come to the impression that Hemel is that she's searching for something; be it love or be it lust there's emptiness inside her, a part of her devoid of the emotional fulfillment she wants. To fill this, she tries sleeping around and having a few one night stands. This is all very casual to her, she thinks nothing of sleeping with someone she just met and has no problem chit chatting with him afterwards or even letting him shave off all of her pubic hair.

As one encounter leads into the next, we have to start to wonder how and why she's so nonchalant about all of this. She very obviously enjoys sex and the pleasure that it brings her but seems resistant to actually making any sort of connection to her partners beyond the physical. Much of this would seem to stem back to her relationship with her father, Gijs (Hans Dagelet). An avowed bachelor, he sleeps around with just as much proclivity as his daughter though the two do seem to share an unusual intimacy. Not only do they shower in front of one another but they're quite physical with each other as well. Be it the stroke of a hand at a concert or a hug that goes on maybe a little bit longer than most of us might want it to. When Gijs finally sets aside his philandering ways and gets serious with a woman for the first time Hemel can recall, she becomes jealous and must come to terms with the fact that she's going to lose a part of her father that she had hoped would remain only hers.

Hemel is an interesting and thought provoking movie that digs deep enough under the surface of what appears to be a film made up of random sexual encounters to instead present a character study of a woman in transition. We get the impression that Hemel uses her freewheeling sexual escapades to push back against the maturity that society assumes she should embrace, avoiding consequence in favor of living in the moment if you will. This also manifests in her relationship with her father. While this side of the movie does have implied incestuous and sexual overtones, there seems to be more to it than that and much of her behavior towards her father is almost childlike.

As her father's relationship changes, she's forced to rethink her situation and her lifestyle and it's here, more so than in the more explicit moments in the picture, that Hannah Hoekstra's performance really shines. Yes, she's quite nice to look at and this probably helped in Polak's decision to cast her in the lead but the woman has some obvious and legitimate talent as an actress. There's obvious pain and emotion to her work here, realistically portrayed in such a way as to give her character believable depth and personality. All of this is set to an effective score and shot with plenty of attention to mood and atmosphere. This film is quite well made, occasionally surprising, and very worthwhile.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Hemel looks good on DVD presented by Artsploitaiton Films in 2.20.1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors are a little hazy in spots but there's no doubt that this was done on purpose when it occurs and it actually works quite well in the context of the story being told. Detail is generally strong and black levels are good. There are no issues with compression artifacts and the image is clean and crisp throughout the duration of the movie.

The only audio option on the disc is a Dutch language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track with optional subtitles provided in English only. Audio quality is fine. The score sounds good, the dialogue seems to be mixed properly and the levels nicely balanced. There are no issues with hiss or distortion to report and clarity is strong.

An interview with director Sacha Polak, star Hannah Hoekstra and screenwriter
Helena van der Meulen is the main extra on the disc. Here they talk about their experiences working on the movie together, character development, where some of the ideas came from and more. Rounding out the extras on the disc are a trailer for the feature and trailers for other Artsploitation Films releases, menus and chapter selection. Inside the keepcase is a nice twelve page collector's booklet of liner notes featuring an interview with Hoekstra and Sacha Polak as well as an essay on the film by Travis Crawford.

The Final Word:

Hemel is another interesting and challenging release from Artsploitation Films, a company that really does seem more concerned with exposing oddball pictures like this to a wider audience than it does with racking in big bucks with more accessible releases - commendable, really. The film itself is a well made drama that tackles some rather taboo issues head on but which simultaneously maintains its own artistic integrity through. Hannah Hoekstra's performance is excellent and the DVD debut is also impressive.