Rendez-Vous (Antoinette Beumer, 2015): Netherlands

Reviewed by Dakota Miller-Thompson. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Brought to you by the sister duo Antoinette and Marjolein Beumer, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival was graced this year with another one of their esthetically enchanting films. Premiering their movie ‘Soof’ at last years SBIFF, the Norwegian sisters have followed suit with another beautifully shot, well performed film entitled ‘Rendez-vous’.

The Beumer sisters’ film ‘Rendez-vous’ follows the story of a woman named Simone (Loes Haverkort) who gets word that the mother who abandoned her when she was a child has passed away. In the wake of her absent mothers death, Simone discovers that she had left her with a large sum of money along with a farm house in the French countryside. With the marriage to her husband Eric (Mark van Euwen) on the rocks, the two of them decide that a change of scenery may be best for them and so with their two kids they pick up and move from the Netherlands to France for a fresh start.

Upon arrival, they see the house is in far worse condition that they had previously thought. Realizing that the work that needed to be done was much more than they could handle alone, they seek out professional aid. Unfortunately, because they were outsiders in a small close-nit town, the locals didn’t seem very keen on coming to their aid. All of this changes however, when they befriend a fellow Danish man Peter (Peter Paul Muller). With the help of their new friend, everything starts to fall into place- or so they think…

With a startling turn of events, Simone soon finds herself in the midst of an affair with a young french construction worker and what follows will have you gripping your seat. As the whirlwind romance spirals out of control, chaos ensues. This beautifully shot, well coordinated thriller ends with a twist that will catch you completely off guard.