Great Film overall

A Disappointing Continuation

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Before writing this review read some other reviews written here. Some of them clarified some of the movie's symbolism, which was useful for me as I felt rather confused when the movie unfolded. I do like surrealistic movies now and then but the second part of the movie and the ending left an unsatisfactory feeling. Besides being unable to really grasp the symbolism the movie started to feel predictable after a while. Never did it felt like Borgman's intentions could be stopped. After the first cracks appeared it was obvious that the castle would crumble. By not being able to connect to the victims I couldn't really care too much about it. I did love the acting and the whole atmosphere of the movie. What made it even more memorable was that I am Dutch myself. The language that was used sounded very archaic at times. As a viewing experience a mixed bag overall but possibly worth watching a second time after reading some more interpretation.

There was a time when every single distributed film didn't need to be a perfect lesson in character psychology, motive and naturalistic behaviour. I'm as bored of it in indie films as blockbusters.Thankfully someone in the Netherlands still has a sense of absurd humour. I don't need reasons for everything, thanks. I don't need to align a symbolic meaning with everything I see (I bet this drives some people nuts trying to interpret every image) I can make my own mind up, and appreciate this Director for giving me the space to do so. Stuff happens. It's funny. It's dark. Borgman himself is a great existential force of remorselessness - the character will stay in your head for a long time, despite not understanding who he is or why he does what he does. I have my version of events, you'll have yours, just enjoy it.I saw this the same night I watched Dogtooth. What a night! Great double bill. Would go well with Holy Motors too.

One of the most meaningless movies I have ever seen in my life! Lots of people who are not talented at all in any 'art field', lets say, would admire, and say 'wow, what a great movie' just because they don't understand it, where the truth is this movie is simply waste of time.. Good movie is the one which makes you think or feel something; giving you a perspective of how would one feel in another man's shoes; giving an option of being a judge or a victim, and all that as a plane thought experiment. This movie fail to do any of these things. Conversations are completely disconnected, shallow and there is no point in it at all. Strange doesn't mean remarkable, it means something that has been said or done differently apart from socially acceptable rules, but still with some sense and hidden meaning which makes you think and ask questions you didn't ask before. This movie is not strange whatsoever but it feels like somebody had a great idea but didn't really know how to communicate it and end it.

Who equates horror with the Netherlands? Windmills, tulips, cocoa, and Hans Brinker all come to mind but none of these things are cause for alarm. Director Alex van Warmerdam evidently wants to change your mind about Dutch stereotypes with "Borgman".This is one strange film. Who, or more importantly, what is Borgman? In the opening scenes, we follow a group of locals including a gun- toting priest, roust Borgman from his underground home in a forest. No explanation is given about why a mob is after this person, yet the inclusion of the priest hints that Mr. B. might be something other than human. Mr. B. alerts a few other underground dwellers that the jig is up and runs away. Mr. B. wanders onto the property of an evidently well-to-do couple in a boxlike house, asks to take a bath and when turned away by the man of the house, Mr. B. insinuates he "knows" the wife. A beating commences and Mr. B finally gets the attention of the wife who is feeling guilty over her husband's violence. So far, so good. Borgman worms his way into the lives of the family he's "adopted", aided and abetted by the wife who appears to be drawn to this dirty homeless man. The wife keeps her new friend out of the sight of her husband and bad things happen. About halfway through this unsettling story, all the tension and suspense is allowed to spiral out into surreal episodes that eventually become numbing. Borgman has friends. We don't know who or what they are. Two women might be able to become dogs. The family's gardener and his wife are destroyed in the film's most unpleasant scene, allowing Borgman to take the gardener's place. Shorn of his beard, he goes unrecognized. Scant reason for everything that happens during the second half of the film is where the story fails. It becomes boring. Since we cannot penetrate the motivations of the lead character or his allies, it's difficult to care what happens to whom. The director tightens the noose for an hour and then it all goes slack.The are some memorable visuals here, especially the bodies in the water. Many questions are asked of the viewer, but no resolution or answers are given to reward your attention. The ending is both abrupt and frustrating. One suspects that the director and screenplay refused to give any easy answers, leaving the viewer to either think this is one amazing metaphysical satire. Or maybe you just got your head messed with for two hours and ended up with a headache trying to figure out what wasn't there to begin with. Five stars for the performance of Jan Bijvoet as the title character and the aforementioned visuals. Now, about those dogs...