THREE DAYS OF FISH

“Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days” – so goes the saying alluded to in the title of this Dutch dramedy with dry, minimalist humour (à la Martin Rejtman). In the film, a father who has retired to the Algarve returns to Rotterdam for his annual medical check-up and is reunited with his son. Peter Hoogendoorn’s accurate script presents an ironic portrait of complicated father-son dynamics and their extravagant form of (in)communication – full of assumed silences, veiled reproaches and elevator talk. Much like in a family photo album – ordinary and true – the camera discreetly follows the clumsy attempts of these two men (Ton Kas and Guido Pollemans, joint winners of the Best Actor Award at Karlovy Vary IFF) to obtain the affection we take for granted. But who hasn’t been a prize tool to those closest to them?