[Film] Tulipani: Love, Honour and a Bicycle (Tulipani: Liefde, Eer en een Fiets)

12 May 2018

“Tulipani: Love, Honour and a Bicycle (Tulipani: Liefde, Eer en een Fiets)”---European Union Film Festival

Release Year: 2017

Country: The Netherlands

Director: Mike van Diem

Cast: Ksenia Solo, Gijs Naber

Location I watched: National Gallery Singapore

Story from the programme booklet:

It tells the story of a romantic Dutch farmer named Gauke (Gijs Naber) who after losing his farm during the floods of 1953 is determined to never ever have wet socks again. He cycles to the sizzling hot south of Italy to start a new life. Due to his miraculous tulip trade, his passionate love life and his turbulent scuffles with the dubious local business practices, he becomes a living legend – to then suddenly disappear. Thirty years later, an Italian police inspector (Giancarlo Giannini) attempts to unravel the story, but struggles to distinguish fact from fiction. With the help of a young Canadian woman Anna (Ksenia Solo) he discovers what truly happened.

European Union Film Festival came back this year. Last year, when I watched a Dutch film, “Beyond Sleep”, I saw many quite tall people in the audience. This year at the screening of “Tulipani”, I saw many quite tall people in the audience again; I suspect maybe Dutch people. The film features tulips, a bicycle and a legendary Dutchman in Italy---three things praising the Netherlands. The bicycle is actually not related to the story very much. The first scene is set in Canada and the main scenes are set in Italy. For that reason, attending this screening were not only the ambassador of the Netherlands, but also the ambassador of Italy and the High Commissioner of Canada.

The programme booklet says, “he (the police inspector) discovers what truly happened”. However, it is slightly doubtful whether the past events from thirty years ago are true or not. I think that is also the reason why “Tulipani: Love, Honour and a Bicycle” is a charming film

When the film starts, the protagonist, Anna is cycling to see her mother in the hospital in Canada. Before Mother passes away, she asks Anna to bring her ash to her hometown, a village in South Italy. Anna turns her down because doing that is not allowed by law. But Mother replies that if you put it to a container and secretly bring it overseas, nobody will notice that. After her death, Anna finds that Mother has already prepared a cheap plastic container. Although the film begins with the death of Mother, it is already funny.

Anna travels to Italy with the container. In the next scene, she is carried on the back seat of a motorcycle. She is lying her face down and exposing her injured buttock with panties. The motorcycle is running through the deserted brown lands and a small village with stone pavements. In spite of her injury, Anna is happily laughing for some reasons. After Anna is admitted to a hospital for treatment, a police inspector visits her. He says that he came to arrest Anna on suspicion of murder. From here, Anna, the motorcycle driver and his mother (a widow who is her late mother’s friend) start telling the inspector the story of what happened after Anna came to their village nine days ago. They also tell the story of what happened after a Dutchman called Gauke suddenly came to their village thirty years ago, just like the current Anna.

Anna was laughing as she was carried with her injured buttocks exposed in public. That shocking scene grips the audience’s heart from the film’s start. Why is she so happy? Eventually that funny mystery is revealed at the end of their story, but as mentioned before, the story, especially the parts told by the widow, seems to be doubtful or exaggerated. For example, according to the widow, Gauke came to their village after riding a bicycle from the Netherlands to Italy in just five days. If it is true, to come straight to Italy, he must have crossed the mountains in Switzerland or Austria by bicycle... Understandably, the inspector interrupts them when he comes to a point where it is difficult to believe the story. Gradually, however, he becomes attracted by that suspicious story.

There is a story having Gauke as the protagonist thirty years ago. And there is another story about Anna who heard Gauke’s story. However, these two stories are told later as one connected story in front of somebody completely unrelated. This structure is quite effective for this film, I think. It is like an oral tradition. The entire story sounds to be true, but some parts are too unrealistic and fantastic to believe. However, when the story mixed with fantasy is told, that storytelling makes Gauke the legend of the village. After all, in the end, the inspector has chosen to believe the story as Anna had believed before him. For me, this probable and improbable story is funny, touching and enjoyable. In this film, the only disappointing point is Computer Graphics for an explosion scene in a cave. The fire did not look like real fire very much.

After the screening, when the audience left the venue, beautiful live tulips were handed out one by one. The Netherlands Embassy was working very hard to promote their country. (September 18, 2018)

The tulip I brought back home