Alex van Warmerdam (born August 14, 1952 in Harrlem) is a Dutch director. He is acclaimed for his caustic black comedies. Among the narrow circle, that is, for his work is mostly ignored abroad and he made it to Cannes only in 2013 with Borgman.
De Noorderlingen is considered his best film. His debut film, Abel, is respected too. He went on strong with both De Jurk and Kleine Teun. Grimm was his first film with mixed reviews but he rebounded with Ober and De Laatste Dagen van Emma Blank. Borgman became relatively acclaimed and might be a gateway movie through which many can learn of his existence.
Tropes:
- Black-and-Gray Morality: Often all of his characters are antimpathetic however some of them are mundane unpleasant people while the others are absoluete evil.
- In Borgman a Dysfunctional Family full of unsavory characters falls prey to the succubus and his crew.
- Black Comedy: of the blackest, most nihilistic kind.
- Creator Couple: His wife Annet Malherbe played in all of his films.
- Dysfunction Junction: His films frequently feature families where every member is dysfunctional in some way. Those include Abel, Kleine Teun, Grimm, De laatste dagen van Emma Blank, Borgman and Schneider vs. Bax.
- Hikikomori: The title character of Abel played by the director himself.
- Humans Are Bastards: Played straight in every film, as he has a very nihilistic worldview.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: definitely on the cynical side.
- Succubi and Incubi: The title character from Borgman is a classic succubus.
Filmography
- Abel (1986)
- De Noorderlingen (1992)
- De Jurk (1996)
- Kleine Teun (1998)
- Grimm (2003)
- Ober (2006)
- De laatste dagen van Emma Blank (2009)
- Borgman (2013)
- Schneider vs. Bax (2015)
