The Sixth Of May DVD review by Maggie Woods

The Sixth Of May

“A thrilling political
conspiracy and gripping
drama from controversial
Director Theo Van Gogh
— murdered on the
streets of Amsterdam in
2004 for his portrayal of
abused Muslim women
— The Sixth Of May
centres around a bloody
assassination, the Dutch
government and corrupt
Americans...”

PHOTOGRAPHER JIM DE BOOEY (Thijs Römer, grandson of respected actor Piet Römer), a 32-year-old photographer for NRC, is not having a good day...

His KLM stewardess girlfriend Lisa (Femke Lakerveld) is nagging him;
his ex-wife Marijke (Ariane Schlüter) is giving him a hard time, threatening to commit suicide; his 16-year-old daughter Marije (Caro Lenssen) is out of control and — to cap it all — while he is finishing a photoshoot with blonde bimbo soap star Birgit Maas (Georgina Verbaan), six shots ring out and he has missed the photo of the year by one hundred metres. Not only that, but his motorbike is knocked over by a car registered to The Green Offensive. Things can only get worse!

The Sixth Of May: Jim De Booey and Ayse Him

It is 6 May, 2002 — the date that 54-year-old extreme right-wing Dutch politician ("Don't underestimate me, I'll be Prime Minister") Pim Fortuyn was assassinated. And Jim was so close to the scene but missed it! The Sixth Of May is a fictional account of a true assassin-ation — but don't underestimate the sneakiness of the baddies in this keeps-you-guessing film.

De Booey has unwittingly captured some incriminating evidence on his camera and there are those who will stop at nothing to get it — but who are the bad guys? He finds himself being followed and his houseboat is trashed.

Ayse Him (Tara Elders)

Conspiracy theories concerning the Dutch government abound and the photographer is drawn deeper into the plot — with his reputation and even his life at risk — as he begins his own investigation and meets a young Turkish woman, Ayse Him (the beautiful Tara Elders), who may or may not have taken part in the murder she was imprisoned for.

Who is the mysterious Van Dam (Jack Souterse) who seems to be associated with Ayse's probation officer Thera de Rijk (Marlies Heuer)? How did Ayse become involved with the sinister Wouter Heemskerk (Gijs Naber) and Volkert van der Graaf (Relnout Bussemaker). And is Ayse's boyfriend Erdogan Demir (Cahit Olmez) everything he seems to be?

De Booey believes Ayse holds the key to the assassination and his situation becomes even more dangerous when there is an attempt to kidnap his daughter — and his friend John van Gaal (Johnny de Mol), Lisa and Marije's Moroccan boyfriend Hamid (Fouad Mourigh) all
become caught up in the fallout.

Masterfully shot and beautifully edited, The Sixth Of May blurs the lines between the fact and fiction. The remarkable music is by Rainer Hensel and the addictive title song, Broad Daylight, was written, composed and performed by Gabriel Rios.

• Bluebell Films is delighted to announce the release of this compelling multi-award winning film, The Sixth Of May, which is available for the first time on DVD on 31 March (2008).

Certificate 15 | RRP £14.99 | Catalogue Number: BLB022.

"Slickly made… bizarre and shocking" — The Guardian

"The Sixth Of May… don't underestimate the sneakiness of the baddies in this keep-you-guessing film" — MotorBar

Theo Van Gogh was murdered on 2 November 2004, just two months after his controversial short film Submission — about the abuse of women in Islamic environments — was aired on Dutch national tele-vision. Prior to his death he was critically acclaimed and won several awards for his inspiring films which included Luger (1982) Blind Date (1996) and Cool (2004).

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