Op Stap: A strange, old-school mess

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a weird itch for 1930s Dutch cinema. If you like snappy, modern pacing, you will probably hate this. It feels like a stage play that someone accidentally turned into a movie without checking if the camera was actually on.

Janus Fortuin is the kind of guy who just lets life happen to him. He tunes pianos and sighs a lot. It’s a bit sad, really. Then his rich uncle shows up from Batavia, and suddenly everyone is acting like they’re in a farce. It’s classic stuff, maybe a bit too classic.

The weird vibe

There’s this moment where the uncle decides to pretend he’s a random lodger named 'Van Santen'. Why? To catch the wife being greedy. It feels like a setup for a much faster comedy, but the movie just sits there. It lingers on faces that don't really know what to do between lines. It reminds me of the pacing in The Slacker, where things just sort of exist in a room until the scene ends.

• The piano tuning scenes are oddly peaceful.
• The greedy wife character is played so loud it hurts your ears.
• The dialogue feels like it was written in a different century.

I found myself staring at the background furniture more than the actors. The way the light hits the curtains is more interesting than the actual plot twist. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just very, very stage-bound.

If you've ever seen Wild Poses, you know that feeling of watching people move around in a space that feels too small for them. That’s this whole movie. It’s trapped. It wants to be a big, sweeping family drama, but it's really just a few people yelling in a living room about money.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not a disaster. It’s just... there. Like a dusty old coat you find in the back of a closet. Maybe leave it there. 🤷‍♂️