06/05 (2004)

The ambiguity with 06/05 does not only lie within the subject matter, but also in the circumstances in which it was finished. It deals with the assassination of a Dutch politician in 2002, Pim Fortuyn: a practise few of us Dutchies held possible until recently. Besides that, it was also the last project of a Dutch film maker who was loaded with controversy. Both Fortuyn and Van Gogh were killed because of their pronounced opinions about Dutch society. The best way to watch 06/05 is by setting aside what you have on background info and just focus on the story and acting.

The title, 06/05, is a reference to the date on which Fortuyn was killed by an environmental activist, Volkert van der Graaf, after leaving a Dutch radio studio. Main character is Jim (Thijs Römer), a photographer who happened to be near the location where and when Fortuyn was shot. By coincidence, Jim is led to the trail of the people behind the killing. He discovers a lead to a Turkish girl called Ayse (Tara Elders) who was closely linked to Van der Graaf’s environmental organization. As he starts to investigate the case, Jim gets more and more involved into the whereabouts of Ayse and her links to the Dutch intelligence service.

Although the plot may seem highly unlikely, the best way to deal with a film like this one, is to simply go along with it. I had a hard time doing so. The acting is quite decent, but is at times rather unconvincing. It seems as though the actors themselves had a hard time connecting to the people they were portraying. The editing is rather messy and the story gets predictable at about halfway, when it is clear all loose ends have to be tied and resolved. Some characters have a very unnatural appearance (especially Jack Wouterse’s character of a Dutch intelligence agent, but also Römers rather annoying ‘I don’t care’ way of acting). Most characters were created to be cool, resulting in rather forced presentations.

06/05’s Main goal seems to be to mislead the audience, desiringly wanting to leave its viewer’s with their jaws wide open after they found out the true nature and function of the characters. It is admirable Van Gogh tried to walk the path of a crime and mystery movie, a genre that is disappointly under-represented in Dutch cinema, but that is undergoing a growth with titles such as Lek, De Dominee and, recently, Off-Screen. This is not a bad film, but could have had just a little more potential. The mixture of fiction, conspiracy theories and documentary (using news items and real footage surrounding the Fortuyn-killing) is effective, however is undermined by the messy plot and dialogues.

Directed by: Theo van Gogh
Starring: Thijs Römer, Tara Elders, Jack Wouterse
Runtime: 117’
Release dates: 10 February (theatrical release)
Official Website

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