''Redbad'' is a 2018 Dutch

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Roel Reiné. It is based on the life of

Redbad Radbod, Radbot, Ratbod, Ratpot, Redbod, Redbad, Radboud, Rapoto, or sometimes just Boddo, is a Germanic masculine given name that may refer to: *Redbad, King of the Frisians (died 719) *Radbod (prefect) (833–54), Frankish prefect *Ratbod (archbis ...

, the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

Frisia Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West G ...

. The film was intended as the middle part of a trilogy about iconic Dutch/Frisian heroes, starting with the film

Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch admiral. Widely celebrated and regarded as one of the most skilled admirals in history, De Ruyter is arguably most famous for his achievements with the Dutch N ...

about 17th century admiral

and ending with a unmade film about William of Orange.

Cast

Gijs Naber Gijs Naber (; born 9 August 1980) is a Dutch actor. He appeared in more than thirty films since 1998. Filmography Awards * Golden Calf for Best Actor (2014) for '' Aanmodderfakker'' References External links * 1980 births Living p ...

as Redbad, King of the Frisians *

Jonathan Banks Jonathan Ray Banks (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Chillum Heights, Maryland, while attending Indiana University Bloomington Banks did theatre. In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles where he be ...

Pepin of Herstal Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the ...

* Huub Stapel as

Aldgisl Aldegisel, Aldegisl, Aldgillis, Aldgisl, Aldgils or Eadgils (fl. c. 678) was the ruler of Frisia (as king or duke) in the late seventh century contemporarily with Dagobert II and a very obscure figure. All that is known of him is in relation to t ...

Søren Malling Søren Dyrberg Malling (; born 3 February 1964) is a Danish actor. Career Raised in Kjellerup, Malling trained at Skuespillerskolen at Odense Teater in 1992. He is best known for his role as Inspector Jan Meyer in the Danish TV crime thrille ...

as Wihtlæg *

Renée Soutendijk Renette Pauline Soutendijk (, born 21 May 1957), known professionally as Renée Soutendijk, is a Dutch actress. A gymnast in her youth, Soutendijk began her acting career in the late 1970s. She was a favorite star of director Paul Verhoeven's fil ...

as Idwina *

Lisa Smit Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), ...

as Fenne *

Loes Haverkort Loes Haverkort (born 1981) is a Dutch actress. She has performed in movies, television shows and theaters. Career Haverkort did her acting course at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. She has performed in the musical Soldier of Orange a ...

as Frea * Egber-Jan Weeber as

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations o ...

* Tibo Vandenborre as

Charles Martel Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesm ...

* Britte Lagcher as

Thiadsvind Thiadsvind also known as Theudesinda or Theodelinda (677 - ?) was a Frisian princess, the daughter of Redbad, King of the Frisians. In 711 she was married to Grimoald the Younger the eldest son of Pepin of Herstal. The marriage was officiated by ar ...

Jack Wouterse thumbnail Jack Wouterse (born 17 June 1957 in Soest) is a Dutch actor. His career as a movie actor took off with his role in the 1992 film ''The Northerners'', directed by Alex van Warmerdam. Wouterse made his international debut in an episode ...

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary and saint, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands. He became the first bishop of Utrecht and died at Echternach, Luxembourg. Early life His fathe ...

* Daphne Wellens as

Plectrude Plectrude ( la, Plectrudis; german: Plektrud, Plechtrudis) (died 718) was the consort of Pepin of Herstal, the mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, from about 670. She was the daughter of Hugobert, seneschal of Clovis IV, and Irmina o ...

* Teun Kuilboer as Jurre *

Derek de Lint Dick Hein "Derek" de Lint (; born 17 July 1950) is a Dutch film and television actor, known for playing the role of Derek Rayne in '' Poltergeist: The Legacy''. Life and career Dick Hein de Lint was born on 17 July 1950 in The Hague in the N ...

as Eibert * Mark van Eeuwen as Wulf *

Birgit Schuurman Birgit Schuurman (born 1 July 1977, in Utrecht) is a Dutch singer and actress. Biography Schuurman was born in Utrecht and raised in Bunnik as the daughter of a Dutch father and a Surinamese mother; she's the younger sister of Katja Schuurman. ...

as Healer *

Gene Bervoets Eugène Joanna Alfons "Gene" Bervoets (born 26 March 1956 in Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a ...

as Thierry *

Martijn Fischer Martijn Fischer (born 28 January 1968) is a Dutch actor. Career In 2015, he won the Golden Calf for Best Actor award for playing the Dutch singer André Hazes in the film ''Bloed, zweet & tranen''. Hadewych Minis won the Golden Calf Award for ...

as Gebbe

Production

Casting

In August 2017, Gijs Naber, was announced as the lead actor for this film and Huub Stapel would play Redbad's father Frysian king

Soon afterwards it was confirmed that

, Egbert-Jan Weber,

, Tuin Keulboer, Aus Greidanus sr.,

and

where all cast and in October 2017 actor

is cast for the film.

Filming

The film was shot in the prehistoric village-museum in

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,De Alde Feanen National Park,

Ameland Ameland (; West Frisian: It Amelân) is a municipality and one of the West Frisian Islands off the north coast of the Netherlands. It consists mostly of sand dunes. It is the third major island of the West Frisians. It neighbours islands Ter ...

, Moddergat, the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...

, Denmark, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

city of Wallsbüll and the

Bouillon Castle Bouillon Castle (french: Château de Bouillon) is a medieval castle located in Wallonia in the town of Bouillon in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. Although it was mentioned first in 988, The film was shot in 42 days and used more than 10,000 extras, which is a record amount for a Dutch production. The final shooting day was on 19 November 2017. The sound for film movie was produced by

Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...

. Before the film's release it was already sold to multiple countries and territories, among them Germany, France, China, Spain, Turkey, South Korea, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the Middle East and the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010 ...

. In February

Epic Pictures Group Epic Pictures Group is an independent film and television studio engaged in the development, financing, production and distribution of film and television. Epic Pictures produces, finances, and distributes approximately twenty-thirty independent ...

bought the North American distribution rights. Early testfootage of the film was shown on 31 March and 1 April at Dutch Comic Con in the

Jaarbeurs The Jaarbeurs (; Dutch for 'Yearly Fair') is an exhibition and convention centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Noted events include the former Space '86, the Hobby Computer Club Days (''HCC Dagen''), and the Mega Record & CD Fair. The venue is a ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

Trailer controversy

In May 2018, the producers of the film announced that

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

and

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

had sent an email to them that they would not show the trailer of the film on their platforms because it was considered offensive to large groups of people. Producer Klaas de Jong also mentioned he got hundreds of angry mails from Christians who did not agree with their depiction of historical events.

Release

Box office

The film premiered on 23 June 2018, in an open air screening on the Wilhelminasquare in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

, as part of the celebrations around the European Capital of Culture, a week later, on 28 June, it was released in cinemas nationwide. After its first month it only earned €332,785 back from its 8 million euro budget, making it the biggest

box office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

in the country's history. The producers of the film claimed this was because the warm weather and

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

kept the public outside of cinemas. The film was released in 4DX in two

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

-cinemas in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, making it the first Dutch film released in 4DX. Seven weeks after its release it was already moved to

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

-platform Pathé Thuis. This was at the time the shortest window between a theatre release and home release for a big Dutch production, which normally takes a period of three months. The film was also later edited into a four-part television miniseries, where they showed unused footage of the film.

Critical response

The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews from the major Dutch newspapers. The ''

Algemeen Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' () or ''AD'' () (English: "General Daily Paper") is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is ...

'' said that everything in this movie takes too long, “the fight scenes, the introductions of the characters and the explanatory dialogue slow down the movie”. ''

De 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 ...

'' gave it two stars, praising the fight scenes but finding the screenplay clearly lacking in logic and tension. ''

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 ...

'' said the movie was weighed down by a very top-heavy screenplay and an over reliance on drama. ''

Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). ''Tr ...

'' praised actor

but complained about the awful dialogue which was clearly written from a 21st-century perspective. ''

De Telegraaf ''De Telegraaf'' (; en, The Telegraph) is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, '' de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief s ...

'' while praising the ambition of the movies said that it takes too long and is overly reliant on close-ups and slow motion-scenes. They also praised

in his role and remarked that it looked as if actor

was in a completely different movie. ''

Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

'' praised the fact that director

Roel Reine Roel son of almighty Zeus and beautiful mortal Alcmene, was the strongest man who ever lived. Now when Roel was eight months old, he woke one night to find a monstrous snake had coiled itself around him. Instead of crying out, baby Roel wrapped his ...

put his own signature on the film and that the troubled production was barely noticeable. However they do mention that it is sometimes noticeable that they did not have enough extras in some of the fight scenes.

Historical inaccuracies

In an article by Asing Walthaus of the '' Leeuwarder Courant'', historian Han Nijdam noted several historical inaccuracies. He pointed out that the castle in the film and the knights with chainmail armour are from the

late middle ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

and not from the

early middle ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

that the film depicts. He also complained that the film portrays the Frysians as barbarians in animal hides living in leaking huts even though it is proven that they lived in wooden houses with woven

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

on their walls. It was his conclusion that the film puts spectacle over any form of historical accuracy.

Awards and nominations

The film was selected for the international Look-competition of the

Ostend Film Festival The Ostend Film Festival ( nl, 'Filmfestival Oostende') is an annual film festival held in Ostend, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country i ...

. In July 2018, it was one of nine films shortlisted by the

EYE film institute Eye Filmmuseum is a film archive, museum, and cinema in Amsterdam that preserves and presents both Dutch and foreign films screened in the Netherlands. Location and history Eye Filmmuseum is located in the Overhoeks neighborhood of Amsterdam in t ...

to be the Dutch entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, A ...

, but it was not selected. The film played at the

Netherlands Film Festival The Netherlands Film Festival ( nl, Nederlands Film Festival) is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht. During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Be ...

but was, to the surprise of some major newspapers, not nominated for any Golden Calves.

YouTube lawsuit

In November 2018, the producers of the film announced that they would be suing

for 200,000 euros because illegal copies of the film were viewed half a million times on the website.

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Redbad 2018 films 2018 drama films 2018 biographical drama films 2010s historical drama films Dutch biographical drama films Dutch historical drama films 2010s Dutch-language films Films directed by Roel Reiné 4DX films