''The Shadow Walkers'' or '' De Schaduwlopers '' is a 1995 Dutch film directed by Peter Dop. It is Dop's debut as a feature film director. Leen and Albert are two brothers who follow people around randomly at night in a small town. Both are married to a sister that is related to each other and while they go on with their normal daily lives, the brothers follow people and note slight changes in people's behavior. Their name for the activity is walking shadow. The brothers end up following a Japanese tour group heading to Paris.

Cast

* Pierre Bokma ... Leen * Aat Ceelen ... Albert *

Jeroen Willems Jeroen Willems (; 15 November 1962 – 3 December 2012) was a Dutch Golden Calf and Louis d'Or winning film, TV, and stage actor and singer. Early life Willems was born on 15 November 1962 in Maastricht, the third child of a drama teacher and ...

... Stijn * Marlies Heuer ... Judith * Lineke Rijxman ... Paula *

Ariane Schluter Ariane Schluter (born 1 February 1966) is a Dutch actress. She is best known for playing in films by such Dutch filmmakers as Alex van Warmerdam and Theo van Gogh. Career Ariane Schluter studied at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. Af ...

... Serveerster *

Betty Schuurman Betty Schuurman (born 1962) is Dutch actress. She appeared in more than forty films since 1992 including ''Character'' which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Academy Awards The 70th Academy Awards ceremony, orga ...

... Margreet *

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 o ...

... Man met Koffer *

Han Kerkhoffs Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese ...

... Marco *

Dirk Zeelenberg A dirk is a long bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), ''Dagger'', The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729 Historically, it gained its name from the Highland Dirk (Scot ...

... Frans *

Dennis Rudge Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

... Amerikaanse Militair * Jan Kruse ... Schoonhoven * Marie Kooyman ... Vrouw in Bontjas * Ferry Kaljee ... Echtpaar in Snackbar * Anke Van't Hof ... Echtpaar in Snackba

Production

Filmed in the director's hometown of Deventer, the film is based on stories written by

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

and

Gianni Celati Gianni Celati (10 January 1937 – 3 January 2022) was an Italian writer, translator, and literary critic. Biography Gianni Celati was born in Sondrio, Italy, but spent his infancy and adolescence in the province of Ferrara. He graduated in En ...

. Despite being filmed in Dop's hometown, not much of the town is shown. Musician Fons Merkies plays the film's jazz score while Fred van Straaten plays the trumpet. The cameramen were Jan Wich, Lex Wertwijn and Peter Brugman Rotterdam, whose work on the film was praised by ''Variety''. Van der Hoop Film Productions in collaboration with Studio Nieuwe Gronden and ARTE produced the film. The Dutch Film Fund and the Deventer City Marketing Foundation helped finance the production. ''The Shadow Walkers'' premiered at the

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 ...

Reception

The film was a moderate success in the Netherlands. David Rooney of '' Variety'' called the film "lazily compelling" and said that the comedy is drawn out. The Dutch film magazine Film Krant reviewed the film. Mark Duursma of ''

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 ...

'' said that nothing in the film is important and that the director has a lack of expression. According to Film 1, there is no "driving storyline".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shadow Walkers Dutch comedy films 1995 films 1990s Dutch-language films Films based on works by Dylan Thomas