''Jesus is a Palestinian'' (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: '' Jezus is een Palestijn'') is a

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

written and directed by

Lodewijk Crijns Lodewijk () is the Dutch language, Dutch name for Louis (given name), Louis. In specific it may refer to: Given name Literature * Lo Hartog van Banda, Lodewijk Hartog van Banda (1916–2006), Dutch comic strip writer * Lodewijk Paul Aalbrecht Bo ...

(1970). The parody on

religious fanaticism Religious fanaticism, or religious extremism, is a pejorative designation used to indicate uncritical zeal or obsessive enthusiasm which is related to one's own, or one's group's, devotion to a religion – a form of human fanaticism which cou ...

and

millennialism Millennialism (from millennium, Latin for "a thousand years") or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief advanced by some religious denominations that a Golden Age or Paradise will occur on Earth prior to the final judgment and future ...

, which involves the topics of self mutilation,

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

, and

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

, is the director's first full-length movie. It premiered at the 1999

International Film Festival Rotterdam The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

Plot

Natasha (

Kim van Kooten Kim van Kooten (born 26 January 1974 in Purmerend, North Holland) is a Dutch actress and screenwriter. In international cinema, she is best known for the 2003 Dutch/US co-production ''Phileine Says Sorry'', filmed partly in New York City, in wh ...

) goes to

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

to collect her brother Ramses (

Hans Teeuwen Hans Eduard Marie Teeuwen (born 3 March 1967) is a Dutch people, Dutch comedian, musician, actor and occasional Film director, filmmaker. His work has been described as Surreal humour, absurdist, apolitical and Off-color humor, confrontational. ...

), who has joined a sect, prying him from the cult so he can consent to cutting their father's life support. The cult's leader

Pieter Bouwman Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 to ...

frowns upon sexual activity and, to prevent sex from happening, they have put a kind of lock, self-applied by way of

piercing Body piercing, which is a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn, or where an implant could be inserted. The word ''piercing'' can refer to ...

on the male member's penises. Ramses slowly develops a mind of his own and falls in love with Natasha's roommate, Lonneke ( Dijn Blom). Ramses finds out that his sister and the nursing home staff are essentially trying to kill his father (

Peer Mascini Petrus Johannes Maria "Peer" Mascini (23 March 1941 – 16 May 2019) was a Dutch actor and writer. He is well known for his work in Blind Date (1996) and De eenzame oorlog van Koos Tak (1996). He was a recipient of Golden Calf award. Career ...

), and ends up delivering his father to a crackpot zealous Palestinian who prophesies the return of Christ. In the meantime, the cult is also out to get Ramses back, but Ramses now is unwilling to return to mandatory celibacy.

Reception

According to ''

NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands. History ''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on 1 ...

'', the film was a flop. The ''

Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized c ...

'' critic, in a sometimes positive review, summarized the movie as "occasionally funny, but mostly superficial." David Rooney reviewed the movie for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' and commented positively on "Crijns' spirited direction and the appealing cast."

Cast

as Ramses *

as Natasja *Dijn Blom as Lonneke *

as Father *

Najib Amhali Najib Amhali ( Riffian-Berber: ⵏⴰⵊⵉⴱ ⴰⵎⵀⴰⵍⵉ; born April 4, 1971) is a Moroccan-born Dutch stand-up comedian and actor. Life Najib Amhali (born Najim Amhali) was born in Nador Nador ( Riffian-Berber: ⵏⴰⴷⵓⵔ) i ...

as Rashid *Pieter Bouwman as Sect leader *Anis de Jong as Guru *

Tygo Gernandt Tygo Gernandt (born 7 April 1974 in Amsterdam, North Holland) is a Dutch actor. He has played in several Dutch movies, among them ''Van God Los'', '' Eilandgasten'', '' Schnitzelparadijs'' and ''De Dominee''. He also played in the BBC TV serie ...

as Steven *Micha Hulshof *Orlando MacBean as Abraham *Sandra Mattie as Girl making out in room *Ferri Somogyi as Bob *

Waldemar Torenstra Waldemar Govinda Torenstra (born 29 March 1974 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch actor. For several years he worked as an actor in the Noord Nederlands Toneel (NNT, English language, En: "North Netherlands Stage"), a touring theater company. Career After ...

as Roy *

Ruben van der Meer Ruben van der Meer (born 2 June 1970) is a Dutch actor and comedian. Career Music Van der Meer became known as one of the members of the band Hakkûhbar. Film In 2019, he played a role in ''Amsterdam Vice'' (''Baantjer: Het Begin'') ...

as Osiris

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id =0143323, title = Jezus is een Palestijn Dutch comedy films 1999 films 1990s Dutch-language films Films about self-harm