Rietland
Sven Bresser’s debut film, a murder mystery about a reed cutter who discovers the body of a girl, was selected for Critics’ Week in Cannes – the first Dutch film in the programme since 1998.
The story centres on 60-something reed cutter Johan, who lives and works in a small, rural town in the Dutch province of Overijssel. When he discovers the half-naked body of a young woman on his land, the crime not only disrupts the balance within the small, closed village, but also the foundations of Johan’s simple existence. Struck by an undefined sense of guilt, he decides to find out who within the seemingly peaceful community is capable of such violence.
Johan’s suspicions quickly fall on the motorbike-riding son of a rival farmer, but his somewhat clumsy attempts to investigate – sneaking into their barn to look for the motorbike – escalate pre-existing tensions to a dangerous degree. And his search for the perpetrator leads Johan down an increasingly dark path, slipping further and further into a psychological maze.
Rietland was selected for the Critics’ Week, the Cannes section dedicated to new talent, where the film received praise from the international press and was described as a beautifully shot mystery thriller with a strong sense of place and some satisfyingly Lynchian undertones.