Jackie (Antoinette Beumer, 2012): Netherlands

Reviewed by Emma Karlsson. Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival 2013.

Sophie (Carice van Houten) and Daan (Jelka van Houten), two twin sisters, have been brought up in the Netherlands by their two fathers who adopted the sisters at an early age. The sisters are only ten minutes apart in age, however they couldn’t be more unlike each other. Sophie is career-oriented, serious with mostly everything, somewhat bitter and has no desire to learn more about her biological mother while Daan is more relationship-oriented, almost always joyful and has dreams about knowing who her mother is.

Narrated by Sophie using voice-over, Jackie starts off with an introduction of the two sisters and how they first got a sign of life from their biological mother. Their mother Jackie (Holly Hunter) is American, and has been hospitalized and now needs to transfer to a rehabilitation home but are unable to make the transition by herself. The hospital calls Sophie and Daan to ask them to transfer their mother, who put down Sophie and Daan as her only family contacts. Daan with her curiosity regarding her mother immediately wants to go, Sophie however is suspicious about the mission, but nevertheless decides to go with Daan to America.

What follows is a refreshing international take on the American road-movie as the two sisters get to know their mother, but most importantly get to know themselves. Many secrets are being revealed, as they should in road-movies. The unintentional quest of contentment gets explored in an energizing way, and America’s old-school charm is being examined by two dutch girls this time instead of Americans themselves. Seemingly, Sophie and Daan comes from a somewhat more modern society and lifestyle in Holland, but still learns to appreciate the landscape and the people of New Mexico, USA. America remains the land of dreams, where you have the possibility to reinvent yourself. Which is what the three women ends up doing.

With a great tragicomic twist, Jackie has a perfect balance of seriousness and comedy, delivering a realistic portrait of a finding-yourself tale. The cinematography is as beautiful as America’s roads; using wide shots to emphasize how the van with the three “strangers” in it are a part of everything else, trying to take away the narcissism that all of the characters in the beginning possesses.

Jackie is a perfect film to see with your friends and family. Like mentioned earlier, the film is refreshing and in my opinion the tempo is very easy-going without making itself stupid. Actually the dialogue is quite witty and intelligent. Jackie charmed almost everyone in the theatre, no matter age or gender. Also I’m personally attracted to Jackie being an empowerment film for women, without establishing itself as such; it comes natural.