User reviews

We just saw this film at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Yes, we are Americans and tend to be less evolved than others when it comes to certain things. But the audience - young, old, straight, gay - stood and cheered at the end of the film, and for good reason. This was one of the finest movies I have ever seen. I enjoyed the characters, especially Camiel and obviously Simon (how could you not like him?), and the conversational aspect of the movie was fantastic. It tackled some issues that we don't always feel comfortable with, but it certainly wasn't "in your face" material. I'm hoping to be able to see it again someday, maybe even find it somewhere on DVD.

Extraordinary film with great humor and witty conversations. I was swept of my feet before the first 5 minutes were over. Yes, the movie is very funny - I had tears in my eyes from laughing - but sometimes the tears that had started from laughter, remained to be there because of the sadness of Simon's illness...

It's pace is quite fast, it's very difficult to get bored in viewing it. The play of lead actor Cees Geel is excellent, as viewer you fall in love with this guy from the start and won't be disappointed about him as the movie proceeds. He plays a very humorous and positive guy, who's a bit macho, but also very sweet. People around him are regularly been given a big smile on their faces.

But also Marcel Hensema is playing very convincingly as the gay Camiel who's studying to become a dentist. He's a bit more introvert than Simon, but he and Simon fit well together in both fun and conversations on life's issues and become very close friends.

I guess the movie is filled with typically Dutch issues. The nudeness and joints are all over the screen, but also the way conversations are held on being gay (Camiel) and how to deal with Cancer (Simon) could be seen as open-minded (or controversial?) Dutch.

All and all I found this movie highly entertaining while it touched some heavy emotions at the same time.

SIMON is a little jewel of a film. In a manner more typically Dutch than most it is an exploration of the interaction of two men, opposites in almost every way except in their potential power of friendship.

Camiel is a gay, tender, polite, dental student while Simon is straight, seemingly critical of gay aspects (though always with tongue in cheek), noisy, outspoken, crafty, boisterous and a bit crude café owner. The two collide in an accident, an act that bonds them inextricably, and the film shows the two polar opposites reconnecting fourteen years later when Simon is dying of cancer and calls upon all his resources and involves Camiel in the difficult process of life's ending. Simon's strength of character (despite his previous outwardly bombastic and crude manner) gives Camiel much to learn - and gives the audience some touching and tender thoughts on which to dwell. The film is a fun, at times naughty, smart, and ultimately life-affirming tale about the importance of friendship and family...and a strong sense of humor...that are the stuff that allow us to survive even the most difficult of moments in life.

The entire cast is excellent but the performances by Cees Geel as Simon and Marcel Hensema as Camiel Vrolijk are worthy of awards. This is an extravagantly fun film, completely open and honest about its sexuality, that results in a memorable emotional experience for the viewer. In Dutch with English subtitles. Grady Harp

This is not only the best dutch movie that I have ever seen, but one of the most moving movies that I have ever seen. Great picture of dutch society, on extraordinarily interesting people, full of great humor and sadness, and most importantly on life and death (parallel to the last two). This film is FULL in every way that a film should and can be. It is the heart-filling and heart-wrenching story of one of the most extraordinarily human lives (beautifully acted) ever put on film. It is about Simon, his fast life, his loved ones, and his chosen death. It is also about the truly free society, where all can choose their life and their death for themselves. It is a portrait of a culture of personal responsibility, love, and life that is so needed everywhere. It will make you think, laugh and cry. When and if you can, see this picture, you won't be disappointed. It's one of the greats.

As the Tagline says: Simon will change your life.

I saw Simon in the cinema and it was a fantastic experience. Simon is a summary of Dutch culture and especially the Amsterdam subculture. The actors are all standouts in this movie and have the performances of their careers. I agree with previous comments that Cees Geel's performance was Oscarworthy. I watch movies everyday and I must say Simon was the best I have seen in YEARS! First of all, Simon is about Holland. Holland was once famous for windmills, cheese, tulips and wooden shoes. These days we (the Dutch) are famous for gay marriage, euthanasia, legalized prostitution, legalized marihuana use and islamofascist murders. In other countries themes like these give people the feeling of a modern Sodom & Gomorra.

This movie sets the right mood from the start. It is a commercial for modern, Western liberal countries where everyone can be their full self. Simon is a drug dealing, swearing, unemployed guy, who sheets on his girlfriend. Yet, you cannot dislike him! He is charismatic, funny, good at heart and completely original. His friendship with Camiel is somehow weird, as he is a gay, shy dentist student. Their friendship suffers a setback and they meet back after 14 years. Camiel and Simon team up with their entire group of friends and offspring to give Simon the best last days of his life.

This movie is important, because it reflects exactly what people in the '90s wanted Holland to be. I can cry at what my country has become of these days, but I can also smile at the warm intentions of what it once inspired to be. People all over the world, watch this movie! It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, but it will also make you think.

Eddy Terstall thank you for this fantastic achievement. This movie will be remembered someday and be seen as an international classic.

This movie is about an unlikely friendship. Right at the start of it you learn that one of them is gay and polite, and the other is an outspoken, humorous heterosexual that has cancer, and might die sometime soon. The movie then goes back and forth along some fourteen years, starting with the day these guys met.

Sounds simple? You are in for some surprises. This is not just a film about a guy that is quite obnoxious and irresistibly lovely at the same time. It is also about being yourself, shy or not, and living in a country that has more tolerance to cultural diversity. But mostly about this man that always tries to do the right thing, and enjoy his life, and have a laugh with his friends, even as it looks like death might come sooner than expected. I love this guy. And the Netherlands never looked that much beautiful on film.

This movie is about a wide variety of emotions, topics and people. The dialogs are brilliant. Simon has a hilarious sense of humor, but his character, like the others in the movie, is still very well portrayed. All typical dutch subjects like gay-marriage, soft-drugs, euthanasia, etc., are handled in a way that it is still convincing. The last part, where euthanasia becomes the main topic, is where the movie rises above a good comedy and becomes a great comedy/drama instead. The acting in the last part is so brilliant that it almost feels like it is shot for real.

Certainly a movie to recommend, and I think that even when it is translated (with a possible loss of dialog)it is still a movie worth seeing! But see a subtitled version and not a synchronized voice-over version, for the latter will be terrible

Eddy Terstall is one of the most talented directors in Holland. He always makes low budget films which are mostly about dialogues and not about action, explosions or special effects. His skills for writing dialogues in a funny a witty way are unique and it get's better every movie… Simon is his latest and therefore best movie, about a remarkable character called Simon and his Gay friend Camiel. The story is touching, funny and interesting. The amount of nudity, foul language and drugs (Simon has his own coffeeshops) is very high, even for Dutch standards.

The best thing about Terstall is that he constantly uses the same actors and actresses, it's very funny to see them all in different roles in each movie of this director. Especially Rifka Lodeizen (always looking good, a lot of topless scenes :D) she just has this thing that makes my spine chill and this nice voice. And Daan Ekkel (who had the best part in Terstall's movie 'hufters and hofdames') as a friend of Simon who tried to staple his tattoo's because in a mushroom trip he thought they were coming off. Cees Geel as Simon is a new member of the actors' group but he fits in perfectly and I expect him to come back for the next movies Terstall will make. This is definitely going to be a Dutch classic, and it was made for only a million (in comparison to Terstall's other movies, this is a fortune) in an interview Terstall was complaining that he never get's a lot of money for his movies and is about to go bankrupt. I can hardly believe that because of the success of Simon, but I hope Terstall is not going to do stupid things in order to earn more money.. Simon is the Dutch submission for the Oscars, but they won't get it. This movie is to honest and too straightforward for any American jury to get it. This movie is about euthanasia, drugs, homosexuals (and Simon truly hates them and makes a lot of nasty remarks) and all kinds of things Americans don't want to talk about. It deserves the Oscar, but Simon is not going to get it. I give a 9/10

When compared to well made, e.g. English spoken movies, probably all Dutch movies are very hard to grade for mainly two simple reasons.

1. Way too many Dutch actors simply cannot act. (this is not supposed to be funny nor an exaggeration). Almost every line of script that is muttered by this group of actors, just sounds too unnatural and overacted. Compare it if u will to acting in cheap US horror movies or soap commercials. Being a Dutch person, I have contemplated often on why this is. Some believe we simply lack the proper language to deliver natural acting, but I believe it to be a curse.

2. (almost) All Dutch movies contain way too many unnecessary scenes carrying pointless nudity, sex or otherwise. E.g. where in any other language based movie 'the female corpse on the coroner's table' is shot from an angle which would perhaps only show the chest, the Dutch, without exception, would not pass on the opportunity to take a nice shot of the dead person's privates as well. It's almost like a gimmick. Just see any Dutch movie and u can wait for it to happen leaving u dumbfounded as to why on Earth they do it. The same goes for the totally out of place sex-scenes from which the typical dutch movie made in the 70s and 80s suffers.

Both these elements are highly annoying and distracting when trying to watch Dutch movies, especially when it contains serious and sensitive content like in the movie Simon.

Why does this movie have such a high voting?

Simple; this is because Simon, on the balance, contains a minimum of bad acting and the 'unnecessary scenes' actually serve a purpose in this movie. Above all, acting aside, Simon deals with a very compelling and touching story and finds a perfect way to give it closure.

But to me, seeing any movie in any language with just even one horrible actor in it, can and most probably will ruin the film for me. Simon in that respect is alas no exception.

Is that being harsh? No, I don't think so. Why would I be lenient towards just Dutch movies in this respect? This movie simply came highly recommended which was the reason I saw it. But normally I would skip them knowing fully well that I'm just going to be highly annoyed followed shortly by embarrassment.

Overall, Simon absolutely delivers and on the balance it is by far one of the best Dutch movies ever made. But, like someone wrote, it also suffers from the inheritance of poor (unnatural) acting albeit less in the face as it tends to be. But if u can see past that, which to my regret I simply can't, then you certainly have a small gem.

I've read the reviews here, most of them from people living in the Netherlands. This movie seems to polarize these folk in ways that must be unique to the Dutch. I'd like to comment on it from a different cultural perspective.

Reviewers here make the point repeatedly that this is a quintessentially Dutch movie, and more or less insist that you have to be Dutch to comprehend it in toto. That may be true. I know a little German, enough to have heard the cadences and staccato rhythms in the dialog. And I could tell that the English translation, although working hard, was probably not able to do justice to the actual words. This is an instance where a dubbed version might be an improvement for non-Dutch speakers.

As an American, and a gay man, I found this movie totally accessible. The subject of euthanasia was not especially controversial to me, having known many gay men who chose that route in the 80s. Nor did the interaction between the two friends seem that unusual. I've had close friends who were straight and we could talk to each other in the same blunt, joking way Simon and Camiel do. I think this story could have been set in many other urban communities around the world, not just Amsterdam.

So I guess I'm saying I don't think this story is uniquely Dutch by any means. That it has an extra dimension for the Dutch because of the language, however, seems likely.

I liked the structure of the film, I liked the close and choppy editing, and I liked the progression of the story. In many ways the film's style is as unsentimental as the story, and that seemed appropriate.

This film is extremely well elaborated. Without spoiling the movie for you, basically, Simon is a sad story between a drug-dealing, "living la vida loca" young man, and a gay man he unexpectedly met.

14 years later, they meet again, but this time, the situation is totally different.

The filmmakers do an excellent job at the beginning of the movie, that is, making people dive deep into the story, the characters and the general atmosphere. This has as consequence, later after the middle of the movie, that the filmmakers start playing with the audience's emotions, leveraging on all the details presented during the beginning to force the audience into the main topic of the movie.

The second half of the movie is the sad part of it. There, the lives of all the people involved are bound together by an unexpected tragedy. The film has an obvious ending, but during that time, the audience's feelings and emotions are constantly touched and moved. This emotional play is perfect for the deep meanings of the movie: a reflexion and the presenting of different perspectives of homosexuality, drugs, sex and eutanasia.

If added to the top 250 at this moment the film would be side by side with films like North by Northwest and The silence of the Lambs. Well, Mr. Terstall, you made a good film, but those films are a different class. It seems those stubborn Dutch tried to promote their 'homeproduct'. Simon is a good film though. The humor is typical for Amsterdam. A kind of humor that is influenced much by the big Jewish community Amsterdam used to have. The film touches many aspects of Ducth society. But it is in no way a reflection of that society. Most Dutch are 'regularly' married, don't work in drugs business and don't have children with a foreign wife. Holland is a fairly conservative country. I would consider the film a good impression of the way a small elite in Amsterdam lives.

Simon (Cees Geel) and Camiel (Marcel Hensema) are two opposing characters becoming friends. Marcel is gay, well-educated and polite; Simon hates gays, seems to have little education and is rude. In the beginning they meet at the height of Simon's life, as Simon has several thriving coffeehouses (where weed is on the menu) and beach cafés, Marcel is still a poor student wanting to become a dentist. 14 years onward they meet again and the roles of luck have somewhat reversed: Marcel is a working dentist now living with a male friend; Simon has gotten ill with cancer, has lost his girlfriend and by now only manages his businesses via others.

It touches several themes where The Netherlands has become renowned for: A liberal attitude towards sex in general and gays in particular, with gay marriage possible (but still limited adoption possibilities and an increasing hostility towards gays by a portion of second-generation immigrant youth). A liberal policy on soft drugs, where selling and buying (small) quantities of soft drugs is formally forbidden but allowed, but where production is out of the question. And also a front runner in euthanasia, the main theme of this movie. All these themes define Dutch national identity to an extent, and therefore they are fiercely stood up for by most political parties except the more orthodox ones.

Simon uses some slang used by original inhabitants of Amsterdam (By the way, who is an original inhabitant in a city that has welcomed people from all over the world for centuries?). It will however be impossible to translate, as much of the black humor and crudeness together with the dialect will not survive the translation. By the way, the director claims to portray real Amsterdam here. This is bit of a travesty, as the city is luckily more diverse with the many immigrants, artists, current stream of English and Americans and the well-off living there.

There are several problems this movie has. The first one is the writing, as most of the dialog is rather stupid and infantile. For me, Simon was not just a funny rude guy, but an irritating character letting every dumb joke follow by his own laughter. And the liking of the movie stands or falls with the liking or disliking of the basically good-hearted Simon. And another side note: With the rise of AIDS in the eighties, why is that not a subject here, as several characters end up in bed with each other, among them the risk group of gays.

The second one is the acting, which is traditionally bad in Dutch movies and is unfortunately up to previous standards. Nadja Hüpscher as Simon's daughter Joy for example follows the highest possible secondary education for her age group, but behaves almost like a retard and is certainly too old for the role.

The lack of a movie culture in The Netherlands means there is no passing on of talent to newcomers. The Golden Ages in art are long gone. So the last problem is the director Eddy Terstall. Lacking any visual talent he comes up with a movie with almost no interesting visuals to be fond of. Take the clumsy ending for example: Simon jumps from a rock in Thailand, a poor man's visualization for death. And he is unable to structure the story in an interesting way, with the not-too-interesting flashback structure as the best on offer. The whole movie feels like a sixties flower power director's fantasy. He is however able to tell a compelling story and the final drama part of the story is the best part of the movie.

The euthanasia theme is far better explored in other movies, for example in the mundane Million Dollar Baby, but even better in Mar Adentro. And the movie is a bit of a copy of Les invasions barbares.

Through an awkward accident, Camiel (Marcel Hensema) meets Simon (Cees Geel). Camiel is an intelligent, shy, insecure, gay student studying to become a dentist. Simon is close to his opposite: a true Amsterdam mythical hero - down-to-earth, liberal, dry humoured seducer ("Couldn't you just instantly turn into a naked chick?") who owns two cafés and lives in the Dutch paradox - he's in the semi-legal business of running a hash home delivery service. Both are true products of Dutch society, as it is dreamed to be, with their multilingual, easy, matter-of-fact approach to life. But the film is mostly about Simon. Well, about Camiel looking Simon, fascinated.

So what is it about Simon that so fascinates Camiel? To a certain extent, Camiel is an outsider, he is just someone who walks the streets. He is not extraordinary in any sense. Neither his love life, nor his profession can help him up, nor does he play an instrument or have any hidden talent. When he meets Simon, it seems as if Simon has his whole life organised around himself, to be able to live his life fully. He is surrounded by his oddball friends and has a loving family (in Thailand!). And that with a forgiving smile which allows him to boyishly do as he pleases.

The second half of the movie is darker than the first, when the weight on the looming tragedy starts to be felt (Simon's approaching death). The second half of the film is more emotional, building on the characters and relationships of the first half. Notice the remarkable difference in the treatment of the subject with Les Invasions Barbares, of death, friendship, love, sex and society. Perhaps the last is the most remarkable, because somewhere Simon is the society. There is no clash with an outer world which is different to him - because the difference between the individuals is what makes up the society in which he lives. Similarly there is no generational gap either, Simon's children will make something out of their lives as he did with his, nothing fundamental has changed. It is Western society at its (brief?) peak. 

If there is any weakness in the film, then it would have to be Simon's interest in Camiel, the reasons of which could have been more explicit (perhaps his stability, or his intelligence?). None the less, the audience takes on the role of Camiel, and is taken along into Simon's world. A world which is a rare glimpse into the liberal post-modern society which is (was?) The Netherlands. Camiel will not be the only one leaving impressed.

oh my god! For the first time in human history, there is a really really good dutch film. Eddy Terstall is now in my list of favorite directors, among Fincher, Burton and Goundry. Wonderful dialogues, brilliant acting, a massive ending.

But is all sunshine? Euhm, nope. There is one big problem for this film. The brilliant dialogues, and joke's... I don't think they work in another language. It's limited to a Dutch audience, maybe Belgium and that will hold this film from world fame. Never the less, trust me, Simon has all the ingredients for one of the best films of the year.

Finally, i gained trust in dutch films, Tomorrow, I'll go see Snowfever! or maybe not...

This film based of relationships between friends, is as life can be. Being close to one another, something happens and there is a big gap growing. Due to coincidence the friend meet each other again. They become even more close, but no one is afraid of life anymore. They grew up in different ways. In between homosexuality, morals and in the end death(with some assistance)are very well woven into the plot, and explicit as well. Not guiding in opinion, but just showing the simple dilemma's of life. The film is tender, sometimes fast, well shot, and the main character is worth to be an Hollywood star.So Hollywood give this film a good chance in the closet environment of the States.

Simon is real in every way. Living in the part of Amsterdam called the Jordaan where the last "real" Amsterdam people live. This movie is drenched in dutch culture, including the coffee shops. Simon is a soft drugs dealer and owns a coffee shop in Amsterdam. Simon tells the story about two friends, Simon and Camiel. Camiel is fascinated by Simon, he enjoys how Simons personality gets them in strange situations and places. After a holiday in Thailand their friendship ends due to a mistake Camiel made. Years later Camiel meets Simon again. Now things are very different, Simon has cancer. This movie is one of the most moving pictures I have ever seen. Partly because it captures dutch culture spot on, and it feels so real. The other reason is that the story is just great. Eddy Terstall wrote and directed the movie. And he knows his thing. Knowing what is important and what is trivial. This is clearly the best movie he made. The movie Rent-a-friend was clearly a step in the right direction. But with this one he has surpassed himself. If I should describe this movie in just one word: impressive.

Simon is a movie that leans heavily on dialogue. The way that this dialogue is written is very funny. I'm afraid that most of the humour will be impossible to translate. The way Eddy Terstal has played with language will have to be redone in English, or whatever language, and that's a tough job. I've spoken a lot with English speaking people and asked them to come up with the same linguistic jokes that the Dutch constantly come up with, but never was there a descent match. This movie is (at least in linguistic sense) very very Dutch, and the humour that stems from that will only be for the Dutch speaking people.

This reminds me of an American visiting Amsterdam who told me: 'Dutch is a dieing language'. That's not only very small minded and self-centred but also very wrong and Simon proves it.

This Dutch movie is a movie about the typical Dutch customs. Sex, soft drugs, alcohol and Amsterdam, with a little homosexuality on the side. Only this time, it has a little more to it then that. With a lot of humor, this film tells the life story of Simon. Simon is a type of person that doesn't beat around the bush, he is straightforward and just. During the movie, I got attached to Simon and, though he was a bit rough, really started to like him and his humor. Because the plot is not very spectacular, you can guess how the movie is going to end, just by reading the back cover, it uses good acting, humor and the intensity of the disease to make the viewer interested until the very end of the movie.

Good movie from the Netherlands: Big 8 from me.

Some bad acting and bad casting of actors. Basically the movie is okay promoting and discussing some of the typical dutch controversial topics such as gay marriage, euthanasia, soft drugs.

But controversial topics are not enough to make a good movie.

The movie starts high paced introducing all characters of which some are very cool especially the character simon. But after 45 minutes it slows down and the movie becomes a bit boring then.

The girl that was cast as the daughter of simon is not very convincing, she is supposed to be 18 but looks like 30 and talks like a 12 year old. Some character such as the boyfriend of the daughter of simon do not add anything to the whole story.

This is one of those movies that combines the best of two genres: comedy and drama. It starts as a hilarious story when an Amsterdam coffeeshop owner (Simon) runs over a homosexual student (Camiel). It turns out to be the start of a long, unusual and moving friendship.

The comedy element is mostly coming from Simon. Not only because of his jokes about Camiel's homosexuality, but also because he has such a typical personality.

Both Cees Geel and Marcel Hensema give great performances in their leading roles. But besides the actors performances, the story and especially the dialog are great.

It's also a movie that couldn't have come from any other country but The Netherlands, and because it is such a typical Dutch and therefor recognizable film, it's maybe the best one ever made here! Go watch it!