Love Life DVD, 2009

aka Stricken

£13.49

RRP: £15.99
You save £2.50 (15%)

Availability
This product should be despatched within 2 working days. Despatched from the UK. Delivery timesUsually 2-3 days to reach UK addresses. Europe takes around 2 days longer and International destinations take 1-2 weeks

Delivery
Free to UK customers!
Costs to other countriesWestern Europe: £2.00
Rest of the world: £3.00

Returns Policy
If you are unhappy with your purchase, you can return it to us within 14 days. More details

MovieMail's Review

It was Bette Davis, in 1939’s Dark Victory, who most famously grappled with the revelation that being rich, young and beautiful is no help when terminal illness rears its head. 'I think I'll have a large order of prognosis negative!' she announced bitterly, at the beginning of her rocky road to serenity.

Hedonism and mortality stage another standoff in this Dutch drama (a minor hit in the Netherlands) adapted from a semi-autobiographical novel, which pulls no punches in its portrayal of a couple of Bright Young Things, Stijn and Carmen, devastated by a diagnosis of breast cancer. But this time it’s the husband who goes off the rails, while his wife suffers and declines.

Stijn is something of a philandering narcissist who clearly deserved a good slapping long before the first doctor’s visit, and his self-indulgent thrashings do little to elicit our sympathy. The compensation comes in the form of Carice van Houten’s dignified performance as Carmen, and in the striking cinematography.

Nick Riddle on 24th May 2011
View all 48 of Nick Riddle's reviews

Film Information

Director - Reinout Oerlemans

Produced - 2009

Main Language - Dutch with English subtitles

Countries & Regions - European Film

Cast - Carice Van Houten, Pierre Bokma, Barry Atsma, Anna Drijver, Jeroen Willems, Eline Van der Velden

DVD Details

Certificate:	15	Publisher:	YELLK	Region:	2
Length:	105 mins	Cat No:	YK001
Format:	DVD Colour

Film Description

Dutch director Reinout Oerlemans's debut feature is a study of a marriage torn apart by cancer. Stijn and Carmen are a successful couple in their thirties. Both work in advertising in Amsterdam, and they have a young daughter together. But this seemingly perfect life collapses when Carmen is diagnosed with breast cancer. Though supportive at first, Stijn soon escapes his new reality through an affair with the free spirited Rose. While Carmen is bravely undergoing treatment, Stijn's double life spirals out of control until he finally faces up to the true meaning of 'for better and for worse'.