Happy Family

2006 1h 23m NL

😐

5.6

MID

★5.6TMDB · 10

ComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Thijs is a ripe-age Dutch tomato grower. His adult daughters plan to have him move in a skyscraper-flat, leaving home and professional life, but he takes his adolescent (half-)Moroccon grandson Omar's advice to refuse and keep living. Thijs even lets the cheerful rascal coach his love-life, which lands him on a blind date with Jacky, an energetic Flemish woman, who won't take no for an answer but turns up at his door-step till he consents, and soon drags him into evening life, preparing for a dance contest. Soon after Omar turns up, listless and lazier then ever, runaway from school and home. The obvious reason for the horny hound's hanging head is a girl: Mergal is foxy, Turkish and as smitten as he, but her burly big brother Erhan will only allow a boy to go steady with her who has proven himself his better on the field in the traditional manly sport of oil-wrestling. Now Thijs...

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Ad van Kempen
Thijs
Geert de Jong
Jackie
Yes-R
Omar
Tjitske Reidinga
Aafke
Plien van Bennekom
Vonne
Sabri Saad El-Hamus
Tarik
Fatma Genç
Meral
Sadik Eksi
Erhan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Martin Koolhoven
Writers: Maarten Lebens
Languages: Dutch
Countries: Netherlands

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Job ter Burg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Ad van Kempen and Geert de Jong and Yes-R carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0800164 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 10 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Martin Koolhoven directs. Job ter Burg cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Netherlands. Dialogue in Dutch.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Released 20 years ago.
4Editor Job ter Burg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Ad van Kempen and Geert de Jong and Yes-R carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0800164 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 10 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.