Emil Bakkum Each country or nation has its own books for and about boys. The Americans have Tom Sawyer, the Dutch have Merijntje Gijsen, and the Flamish have De Witte. In previous reviews on IMDb I already described "Merijntje Gijsens jeugdjaren", in fact even two times, for the 1936 and 1975 film releases. They are nice portrayals of the daily lives of our (grand)parents, and a part of the cultural heritage. So you will not be surprised that I also watched Kees de jongen (Kees the boy). The film is based on a book by Theo Thijssen. He was fascinated by social relations, in the vein of Steinbeck and Upton Sinclair. The story describes the final years of Kees in primary school. He lives in Amsterdam, where his father runs a shoe-shop, at the beginning of the twentieth century. Kees is often absorbed in thought, and reflects on what is now called the American Dream. He believes that as an adult he will conquer the world (well, a part of it). Actually the film depicts many of his fantasies, for instance that he is rescuing other people. Not all his deeds are benevolent, for in other fantasies he punishes bad people, and punches them on the nose. However, in real life Kees is a well- adapted boy who shuns risks. But he is also bright, and his future looks promising. His teacher said: "If you mess up one more time, you are history" and so Kees has high expectations (joke). Kees excels in his homework, and the infrequent errors are due to his father (joke). His father struggles to save for the high school fee. Unfortunately, it is the times of the rise of the department stores, and the shoe-shop withers. Then his father is down with tuberculosis. When he stops gasping, Kees thinks that he is alright. After the burial of his father, his mother is unable to earn a living for her children. And Kees is obliged to leave school, and take a job as an office-boy. The book and the film ends with "And the people that passed did not realize that there was this boy, who could do anything, now that he had started. They thought that he was just a boy without a history ..." It is sarcasm, for without education there is hardly a future. Children are our future. Unless we stop them now (Homer Simpson). Once more, the American Dream turns out to be just an illusion. It is a sad ending, but nevertheless the story is not melodramatic. The scenes are nice, with even some smart film tricks. Kees de jongen deserves a recommendation. We Dutchmen think big, and therefore the film contains English subtitles. Don't hesitate to leave a comment. I love it.

Andres Salama This dutch movie is set in the early 20th century (the reconstruction of the era is fantastic) and is about a eleven year old boy, full of imagination, who lives in a crowded house with a family who can barely makes ends meet. If that was not enough, his grandparents are awful. In school, he fantasizes the rich, horse-riding girl is in love with him, but this turns out to be just an illusion, of course. At the end, he starts working as an apprentice in a sort of big trading house, and the film suggests life will now start improving for him. In a way, the movie is about how the boy matures, leaving the world of his imagination to enter the real world. My only objection: the movie ends seemingly unapologetically in favor of child labor. Yes, I know, these were other times, our values are not the same as theirs, but shouldn't the child final decision to leave school be treated with more ambiguity?.

Evelien23 I've seen this movie together with my eight year old niece and my grandmother, all three of us really enjoyed it in our own way. This film has a little something for everyone. I really liked the technical side of the movie, excellent camera work and acting. My grandmother knew the story from her childhood and loved the historic city of Amsterdam of which some parts were digitally rebuild in a marvelous way. Last but not least my little niece was truly grasped by the story and the magical world of Kees. Altogether, I strongly disagree with the previous comment, this movie is definitely worth your time. A classic dutch book translated into a beautiful film.

m-bloem5 Kees de Jongen is the story of an eleven year old boy, living in the center of the city of Amsterdam. The story is set in the early 20th century. Kees has a big imagination, so we see him fantasize about a lot of situations. His family is poor, he is shy, his grandparents suck. Over all the movie has a nice look, and the director has tried to make the surroundings look as good as possible with minimal means. One of the things this movies lacks is: normal dialogue. Everybody says three lines and looks really serious and meaningful while doing so. Is this theatre?? Furthermore I would never take my child to see a movie that deals with the death of a father, being poor and having to wear old clothes all the time. The Netherlands seem out of original ideas for children movies these days, producers rather pick a nostalgic tale and try to gain easy success during the holiday season. This movie is made with the support of some men in their fifties, having fond memories of their experience reading the book. Most of them seem to have some influence, as bridges and streets in the city center of Amsterdam are being named after the author of the book and its main characters. All in all, I find the film a mediocre effort. My guess is most children will find it a bit of a bore as did I.I'll rate it 2 on a scale of 5