RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

lambchopnixon The movie begins well, being from the protagonist's perspective with voice-over, which is a nice touch. His acting is a little limited though, with again and again the same wondering/worshiping reaction to the daring actions of his criminal acquaintance, despite the film having moved on and he necessarily having become more worldly. His idol has one tone to his acting, a wide-eyed energy that is sort of charismatic. It wears on you though the longer the movie goes on. The plot is simple, with little detail. The flashbacks to the protagonists' childhood are pretty amateurish and without subtlety. His closely-held motto that no-one should get too close as because that's when you get hurt, gets to be a bore, as it's repeated without embellishment. Though the first half hour keeps you looking despite the faults, the last hour or so has seen the film go downhill, turning into a plot of soap-style obviousness.

antal-wahlers Intense movie with a plot that seems inevitable. "Van God Los" (which literally means "detached from God/to secede from God" and not "Godforsaken") is loosely based on the infamous "Bende van Venlo" (Venlo Gang) whose mostly youthful members allegedly committed over 250 crimes in 1993 and 1994.The cold-bloodiness of the murders is acted out very well. It's hard to understand how a 15-year-old privileged dentist's son from the rural Netherlands can commit such crimes. The movie gives a very uncomfortable answer: That there is nothing to understand, that these things just happen because our society is the way it is.In my opinion, the original title speaks volumes about the tone the movie sets and the answers it tries to give. Whereas "Godforsaken" implies that God "left" us alone, perhaps in disappointment, "to secede from God" means deliberately leaving him behind. Unfortunately, I have no information on the writer's intention here. It befits the film to have to think for yourself about what it means to you. The film will definitely get you thinking for a long while after the credits are over.

bartverberne16 Finally, since a long time, a convincingly Dutch product is made. What startled me the most was the good acting of Weeber and Gernandt. They convinced me with their characters. Especially Gernandt, who has a difficult role, gives good accent to the emotions he has to express.What plays an essential role in this film is the dull ambience that governs the environment in which the story is set. I think we should give credit to the director who correctly emphasized how this ambience is essential to the main characters and the plot. With that, he gave this film the decisional key that makes it as a whole.Because it is made with a relatively small budget, and it finally breached through the half-tone level of dutch cinema, I gave it a 9 out of 10.

bas rutten It's well known that Dutch movies have a notoriously (and completely deserved) bad name, but over the last couple of years they're starting to get better, as "Van God Los" clearly exemplifies. First of all, there's finally some good acting in a Dutch movie, which is rather surprising since most of the main characters are soap actors that normally can't act their way out of cartboard box, but in this movie they all exceed themselves and deliver very convincing parts, complete with believable accents. The atmosphere has also been done very well..I originally come from the region where the movie takes place, and the director really hit the spot with the ambiance by including things like Carnival parades and lots of greenhouses. Overall, the region comes across as just as dull as it is in reality, which in this case is a definite plus.The story, although rather predictable (you know that the movie isn't going to end well), is again very plausible and well thought out. The characters show believable emotions and undergo believable developments, and somehow you care for them even though most of them would be aptly described as "scum". All in all, "Van God Los" is a very realistic, strong and emotional movie that tells a slightly predictable but nonetheless fascinating and tragic story about friendship and crime. Dutch movies are definitely going the right way...