Spetters (1980)

Spetters is a Dutch film released in 1980, directed by Paul Verhoeven.

Spetters led to protests about the manner in which Verhoeven portrayed gays, Christians, the police, and the press. Although Verhoeven made one more film in the Netherlands, the response to Spetters led him to leave for Hollywood. Despite the large amount of controversy surrounding it, the film proved to be popular, with 1,124,162 admissions in the Netherlands alone. From a financial perspective, the film proved to be a disappointment, given that the production ran seriously behind schedule and over budget.

The careers of Maarten Spanjer and Renee Soutendijk were launched by the film, but it did not do much for the other young lead actors. Hans van Tongeren committed suicide in 1982.

The film was a small success in the United States but it did help the launching of the careers of Verhoeven and the actors Jeroen Krabbé, Rutger Hauer and Soutendijk in Hollywood.

Synopsis

The film, which is violent and sexually graphic, is a high-speed coming of age story which centers on three young men dreaming of an escape from their provincial surroundings by means of a motocross career: young motocross racing champion Rien (Hans van Tongeren), another racer who thinks he has the goods, Hans (Maarten Spanjer), and the son of a Bible thumping Calvinist, the mechanic Eef (Toon Agterberg). Their only escapes are alcohol, drugs, and weekend visits to a local disco nightclub.

Actors