Het bezoek
The Netherlands 1970
director Frans van de Staak
production Karel G. Schmeink
scenario Frans van de Staak
cast Annemarie Geluk
Leila Faverey
Friso Haverkamp
camera Robbie Mueller
editor Frans van de Staak
sound Harre van der Maat
length 20'

The visit (IFFR 2004)

In an alarmingly undynamic film, a girl visits a boy and a girl. Afterwards, they all leave. The film was shot in a period of two weeks, with one week of rest in between. Each scheduled day the complete script was played several times again. Such a 'take of the whole script' was only partially shot. [Actually no one of the actors was rehearsed: one learns the text by reading it in action.] This repetition stands in sharp contrast with the fact that the actors and members of the crew create an ad hoc context that never became final. For example: "this is a visit". There is an essential correspondence between the situation on the set and the spectator's observation of what happens on the screen later, which is nevertheless also its most distinctive characteristic.