Antonia's Line

Antonia's Line (Original title: Antonia) is a 1995 Dutch feminist film written and directed by Marleen Gorris. The film, described as a "feminist fairy tale",[3][4][5] tells the story of the independent Antonia (Willeke van Ammelrooy) who, after returning to the anonymous Dutch village of her birth, establishes and nurtures a close-knit matriarchal community. The film covers a breadth of topics, with themes ranging from death and religion to sex, intimacy, lesbianism,[6] friendship and love.

Antonia's Line
German poster
Directed byMarleen Gorris
Produced byGerard Cornelisse
Hans de Weers
Hans de Wolf
George Brugmans
Written byMarleen Gorris
Starring
CinematographyWilly Stassen
Edited byWiebe van der Vliet
Distributed byAsmik Ace Entertainment
Release date
  • 12 September 1995 (1995-09-12) (TIFF)
  • 21 September 1995 (1995-09-21)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryNetherlands
LanguageDutch
Budget£1.5 million[1]
Box office$4.2 million[2]

Antonia's Line was made after challenges in finding locations and funding in the 1980s and 1990s. It enjoyed critical success and several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 68th Academy Awards.

Plot

Following World War II, the widow Antonia and her daughter Danielle arrive at Antonia's home town where her mother is dying. She reunites with her old friend Crooked Finger, a depressed intellectual who refuses to leave his house. She also begins attracting a following, including Deedee, a mentally handicapped girl, after she is raped by her brother Pitte, and Loony Lips, a simple-minded man who falls in love with Deedee. A pariah, Pitte flees the village. Antonia turns down an offer of marriage from Farmer Bas, but develops a lasting romance with him.

Danielle, who has a vivid imagination, becomes an artist and expresses interest in raising a child, while rejecting the idea of having a husband. Antonia and Danielle visit the city to find a man to impregnate Danielle, resulting in the birth of Therèse, a child prodigy. Danielle falls in love with Therèse's tutor, Lara, and they remain together in a lesbian relationship. Therèse develops an understanding and kinship with Crooked Finger beyond what Danielle could be capable of.

Years later, Pitte returns to town to collect his inheritance and rapes Therèse. Antonia places a curse on him, after which he is beaten by men of the village and drowned by his brother. Therèse is unable to find her intellectual match but eventually has a relationship with a childhood friend, resulting in her pregnancy. She decides to keep the baby and gives birth to Sarah, the film's narrator, who has a fascination with death. Sarah observes many of her elders die off, including Crooked Finger who commits suicide, and Loony Lips who suffers a tractor accident on the farm. Antonia later dies of old age, surrounded by family and friends.

Cast
  • Willeke van Ammelrooy as Antonia
  • Els Dottermans as Danielle
  • Jan Decleir as Farmer Bas
  • Victor Löw as Harry
  • Johan Heldenbergh as Tom
  • Dora van der Groen as Allegonde
  • Veerle van Overloop as Thérèse
  • Esther Vriesendorp as Thérèse (aged 13)
  • Carolien Spoor as Thérèse (aged 6)
  • Thyrza Ravesteijn as Sarah
  • Mil Seghers as Kromme Vinger (also called Crooked Finger)
  • Elsie de Brauw as Lara
  • Reinout Bussemaker as Simon
  • Marina de Graaf as Deedee
  • Jan Steen as Lippen Willem (also called Loony Lips)
  • Catherine ten Bruggencate as Malle Madonna (also called Mad Madonna)
  • Paul Kooij as Protestant

Production
Director Marleen Gorris wrote the screenplay and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Director and screenwriter Marleen Gorris envisioned the story as distinct from her previous work, such as A Question of Silence (1982), which she referred to as "indictments against society". She referred to Antonia as "a celebration of life", incorporating fairy tale elements and cruel details.[7] Gorris finished the screenplay in 1988. However, making the film took three attempts, with challenges stemming from putting together a large cast and finding a village that could be portrayed as realistic for a 50-year period. It was eventually filmed in Belgium.[8]

Another major challenge was finding investors.[9] Funding ultimately came from the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK.[8] With the help of producer Hans de Weers, Gorris found investors and also worked with British producer Judy Counihan of Red Hot Organization.[9] The budget was £1.5 million.[1] Filming finished in November 1994.[10]

Reception

Box office

In the United States, Antonia's Line opened in 99 theatres, and made $1.8 million in its first 10 days. After 164 days, it crossed the $4 million mark.[1] According to Box Office Mojo, the film completed its run grossing $4,228,275 in North America and $21,046 in South Korea, for a worldwide total of $4,249,321.[11] In the European Union, it had 1,660,901 ticket sales.[1]

Critical reception
Actress Willeke van Ammelrooy received positive reviews and the Golden Calf for Best Actress for her performance.

According to Dutch director Mike van Diem, the film received more positive reviews in the United States than in its native Netherlands, saying "We thought it was a good film, but nobody thought it was that good".[12] Dutch writer Hans Kroon suggested the U.S. reception was out of a need for escapism.[13] Roger Ebert gave the film four stars, saying the film showed "the everyday realities of rural life, a cheerful feminism, a lot of easygoing sex and a gallery of unforgettable characters".[14] Emanuel Levy, writing for The Advocate, wrote "It's easy to see why" the film was winning awards in festivals, calling it "an enchanting fairy tale that maintains a consistently warm, lighthearted feel", and Willeke van Ammelrooy wonderful.[15] Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it "a work of magical feminism".[16] Alan A. Stone of the Boston Review called it an "astonishingly beautiful film" representing "a truce in the gender war".[9] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times said Antonia's Line is "Beautiful, tender, hearty and poetic", and Van Ammelrooy is warm.[17] Conversely, Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "an odd mix of schmaltz and anti-male orneriness" and the character of Antonia a "sour pickle".[18] Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader called it "humorless" "feminist rage".[19]

In his 2002 Movie & Video Guide, Leonard Maltin called it "a treat from start to finish".[20] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 67%, based on 48 reviews.[21]

Women's studies professor Linda López McAlister commented that "It seems to me that Gorris's accomplishment in this film is to have created a sense of place and characters full of life, full of quirks and idiosyncrasies and peccadillos, full of love, and rage, and desire".[22] Anneke Smelik analyzed the film, writing "It is Oedipal in the sense that it is about a family, but instead of featuring the triangle of father, mother and child, the film establishes a line of mothers and daughters." She goes on to write, "Female desire is represented in all of its diverse manifestations: Antonia's wish for independence, Danielle's quest for artistic creativity, Therèse's pursuit of knowledge, and Sarah's curiosity about life in general".[23]

Accolades

Antonia's Line won the 1996 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film,[20] the Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice award,[18] and two Nederlands Film Festival Golden Calf awards.[24] Gorris also won for Best Director at the Hamptons International Film Festival and Best Screenplay at the Chicago International Film Festival.[10]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Academy Awards 25 March 1996 Best Foreign Language Film Marleen Gorris Won [25]
BAFTA Awards 29 April 1997 Film Not in the English Language Hans de Weers and Marleen Gorris Nominated [26]
Chicago International Film Festival 12–29 October 1995 Best Screenplay Marleen Gorris Won [27]
Audience Choice Award Won
GLAAD Media Award March 1997 Outstanding Film– Limited Release Nominated [28]
Hamptons International Film Festival October 1995 Best Director Won [10]
Joseph Plateau Awards 1995 Best Actress Els Dottermans Won [29]
Netherlands Film Festival 20–29 September 1995 Best Director Marleen Gorris Won [24]
Best Actress Willeke van Ammelrooy Won
Toronto International Film Festival 7–16 September 1995 People's Choice Award Marleen Gorris Won [18]

See also

References
  1. Bainbridge, C. (2008). A Feminine Cinematics: Luce Irigaray, Women and Film. Roehampton University. p. 199.
  2. Balio, Tino (2010). The Foreign Film Renaissance on American Screens, 1946–1973. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 310.
  3. Kerr, Sarah. "Antonia's Line". The New Yorker. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  4. Hunter, Stephen (26 July 1996). "Fairy tale for feminists sparkles in 'Antonia's Line'". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  5. Strangeways, Sam (18 March 2011). "Feminist fairy tale is a lovely, meandering film". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  6. Redding, Judith M.; Brownworth, Victoria A. (1997). "Marleen Gorris: Uncompromisingly Feminist". Film Fatales: Independent Women Directors (1st ed.). Seattle, Washington: Seal Press. p. 177. ISBN 1-878067-97-4.
  7. Frutkin, Alan (5 March 1996). "In Profile". The Advocate. p. 64.
  8. Baumgarten, Marjorie. "Antonia's Line Is a Dutch Treat". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  9. Stone, Alan A. (Summer 1996). "A Second Nature". Boston Review. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  10. "Antonia's Line (1995): Miscellaneous Notes". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  11. "Antonia's Line". Box Office Mojo. 1995. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  12. Hans Krabbendam; Cornelis A. van Minnen; Giles Scott-Smith (2009). Four Centuries of Dutch-American Relations: 1609-2009. Roosevelt Study Center. p. 1066.
  13. Kooijman, Jaap (2004). Fabricating the Absolute Fake: America in Contemporary Pop Culture. Amsterdam University Press. p. 97.
  14. Ebert, Roger (14 February 1996). "Antonia's Line". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  15. Levy, Emanuel (5 March 1996). "A fairy tale". The Advocate. p. 64.
  16. Maslin, Janet (2 February 1996). "A Line of Strong Women With Faith in Destiny". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  17. Thomas, Kevin (2 February 1996). "'Antonia's Line' Draws on Strength of Family, Women". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  18. Guthmann, Edward (14 February 1996). "Antonia's' Tangled Line". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  19. Rosenbaum, Jonathan (8 October 1998). "The Reader's Guide to the 34th Annual Chicago International Film Festival". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  20. Maltin, Leonard (2001). Leonard Maltin's 2002 Movie & Video Guide. A Signet Book. p. 53.
  21. "Antonia (Antonia's Line)". Rotten Tomatoes. 1995. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  22. McAlister, Linda Lopez (20 April 1996). "Antonia's Line". The Women's Show, WMNF-FM 88.5, Tampa, Florida. Archived from the original on 7 December 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  23. Smelik, Anneke. "Feminist Film Theory". The Feminist eZine. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  24. Barra, Allen (14 February 1996). "'Antonia's Line' sets a new mark for feminism". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  25. "The 68th Academy Awards (1996) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  26. "Film Not in the English Language in 1997". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  27. Petrakis, John; Wilmington, Michael (27 October 1995). "`Maborosi' Captures Top Film Fest Prize". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  28. Blokker, Bas (4 February 1997). "Ellen' nominated for GLAAD Award". United Press International. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  29. Blokker, Bas (14 April 2004). "Els Dottermans". NRC Handelsblad. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.

Further reading
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