Borgman (2018) A Sinister Masterpiece That Deserves Wider Recognition
'Borgman': A Sinister Masterpiece That Deserves Wider Recognition
"Dutch auteur Alex van Warmerdam crafts a haunting surrealist thriller that's been criminally overlooked" — 5/5 Stars
"And they descended upon the Earth to strengthen their ranks."
Borgman (2013) review: As it opens we are met with those eerie biblical words (in Dutch), and van Warmerdam pulls us into a world of equally eerie images. We see a hunting party, looking like they've stepped out of another century, moving through the woods. They're armed with spears, accompanied by a barking dog, and one of them—a priest, no less—carries a shotgun. It's immediately clear they're hunting something wicked, and that this thing lives underground. It's a fever dream beginning that immediately signals we're not in familiar territory—and it's only the tip of the iceberg in what stands as one of the most criminally underseen films of the 2010s.
And that's where we find Camiel Borgman (a wonderfully unsettling Jan Bijvoet), in his home, one dug beneath the earth. Or maybe, perhaps he was born to that dark place, some kind of demon. He manages to slip away from the hunters and warns his two companions in this subterranean life—Richard (Jeroen Perceval) and Ludwig (the director himself)—that it's time for them to flee, too.
This is where the mystery begins to coil around us. Is Borgman just a homeless man, or something else entirely? Why was a priest leading a mob to kill him? Why live underground? And what does he plan to do next? Borgman is the kind of film that doesn't answer these questions, but instead, lovingly piles one enigma on top of another, but the mystery never feels forced or trite; it is never a stand-in for a lack of great writing.
Dutch auteur Alex van Warmerdam, whose previous work includes the dark comedy "The Dress," has created something genuinely unsettling here—a surrealist thriller that operates on multiple levels while maintaining an atmosphere of creeping dread that never lets up. At its core, Borgman is a class allegory wrapped in supernatural thriller packaging, but it's so much more than the sum of its parts.
The Art of Subtle Infiltration
The film follows its mysterious titular character as he insinuates himself into the lives of the affluent Van der Berg family. What begins as a seemingly simple story of a vagrant finding work as a gardener slowly transforms into something far more sinister. Van Warmerdam doesn't spoon-feed his audience; instead, he trusts us to navigate the film's deliberately ambiguous narrative, where the rules of reality seem to bend and shift according to their own internal logic.
The performances across the board are exceptional. Bijvoet brings an otherworldly presence to Borgman—simultaneously vulnerable and threatening, human yet somehow inhuman. The Van der Berg family members, particularly Sabine Lohner as the matriarch and Jakob de Boer as the patriarch, capture that particular brand of upper-class complacency that makes them perfect prey for whatever Borgman represents.
A Visionary's Uncompromising Approach
What sets Borgman apart from other art-house thrillers is van Warmerdam's commitment to his vision. This isn't a film that explains itself or panders to audience expectations. The director trusts his viewers to engage with the material on its own terms, and the result is a viewing experience that lingers long after the credits roll. The cinematography by Alexander van Warmerdam himself is gorgeous yet unsettling, with carefully composed frames that feel both beautiful and wrong.
"Van Warmerdam has crafted a film that works as both entertainment and art, accessible enough to draw viewers in while sophisticated enough to reward multiple viewings."
Critics have been divided on the film—some find its ambiguity frustrating, others praise its refusal to provide easy answers. I fall firmly in the latter camp. Borgman succeeds precisely because it doesn't over-explain. The mystery isn't a substitute for good writing; it's the point. Van Warmerdam has crafted a film that works as both entertainment and art, accessible enough to draw viewers in while sophisticated enough to reward multiple viewings.
Relevant Themes in Contemporary Context
The film's themes of class warfare, social manipulation, and the thin veneer of civilization are particularly relevant in our current moment. Borgman represents something that wealthy, insulated families like the Van der Bergs never see coming—a force that understands their weaknesses and exploits them with surgical precision. It's horror of the most sophisticated kind.
Drafthouse Films' 2014 release brought this Dutch masterpiece to American audiences, though it deserved far wider recognition than it received. Van Warmerdam has created a work that stands alongside the best of European art cinema while maintaining the accessibility that makes it compelling for genre fans as well.
In an era where most thrillers feel obligated to explain every plot point and tie up every loose end, Borgman feels like a breath of fresh air. It's a film that trusts its audience, respects its subject matter, and delivers a viewing experience that's both entertaining and intellectually stimulating. This is essential viewing for anyone who appreciates cinema that challenges as much as it entertains.
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