DIRECTED BY MIJKE DE JONG

STAGES COULD EASILY HAVE BEEN TITLED “SCENES FROM A DIVORCE.” Roos and Martin are an attractive, previously-married 40ish couple whom we get to know from their edgy meetings at elegant Dutch restaurants. Their counterparts could be found any evening in Tribeca, the Marais or Highgate. But it’s their troubled 17-year-old son, Isaac, who sets them apart. Why does Isaac have an obsession with samurai swords and why is he so silent? STAGES looks at the unforeseen consequences of the narcissistic behavior we equate with an affluent, post-modern lifestyle.

THE NETHERLANDS • 2007 • 88 MINS
IN DUTCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Filmsource Information
"Oblique… Intriguing… Incisive… The camera floats behind heads and in front of faces, as de Jong rejects the usual grammar of shot and countershot, making you feel as if you’re eavesdropping on intimate, meandering conversations."
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"VIVIDLY SKETCHED... De Jong is patently a director whose main drive is,
in a valuable sense, understated novelty."
– Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic

“Brilliantly restrained.” - Benjamin Sutton, The L Magazine

“MESMERIZING. An EXTRAORDINARY achievement by a director to watch.
Two brave and shattering performances."
- Andrew O'Hehir, Salon