Feature film
The Mark of the Beast
Het teken van het beest
Pieter Verhoeff · 1980
Synopsis
In the north of the country, in the late twenties, IJje Wijkstra lays joints and carves clogs. An anarchist and an atheist, he lives with his old mother, reads Nietzsche, yoga and telepathy, plays the accordion with a friend, hunts and poaches, and keeps away from women as from the Church. Aaltje, the wife of a comrade then in prison, leaves her children to move in with him; the police are eventually sent to take her back.
Context
The film reconstructs the case of IJje Wijkstra, a self-employed worker from Grootegast, in Groningen, who shot four rural constables dead in 1929. The screenplay is by Cherry Duyns and Anton Haakman. The producers wanted Rutger Hauer for the lead role; the director insisted on Gerard Thoolen, of the Werkteater, and got him. During shooting, the producers made further funding conditional on the addition of a sex scene: it was shot under protest, in a form acceptable to all.
Who it is for
About an hour and a half, in Dutch and Frisian. It helps to know that the title refers to the character's zodiac sign, Scorpio, and not to a religious belief.
Prizes and reception
Two Golden Calves in 1981, best feature film and best performance for Marja Kok; the film only did well in the three northern provinces.