Beppie

Beppie and form… This film’s exceptional beauty lies in its modern vision (people filmed by Johan van der Keuken are forms) in a patchwork of points of view of this little girl – the secular saint of Amsterdam’s proletariat, magnificently insolent with her “Joan of Arc” fringe. The film is an ode to her face, lavishly illuminated by cinematic images and a snatch of sacred music, reminiscent of Dreyer’s Falconetti. The gloomy winter street along the canal and a close-up of the puddles reflecting the dark, pointed houses like a frieze followed by a panoramic shot guide our vision to a small fist showing off her childish ring. Back in the wintry street, a close-up of Beppie’s moccasins, her tights up to her knees… Her life is a triumph, lighting everything up with her joy. Van der Keuken was the modern filmmaker par excellence – his musicality carries us away, running on ahead of us and then, gradually, the story (that we already knew) emerges as the film progresses.

Arnaud Hée
Programmer, teacher and critic