Wan Pipel

Director - Pim de la Parra (Lost in Amsterdam, Rubia's Jungle)

Starring - Borger Breeveld (The Obsessed One, Wiren), Diana Gangaram Panday, and Willeke van Ammelrooy (The Killer is on the Phone, Paradise Lost)

Release Date - 1976

Genre - Drama

Tagline - "At last a movie with heart"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I never know what will show up for review but each and every film I receive makes me excited.  Is this going to be a new favorite, something historical that will stand out in the history of cinema, or will it be something that I don't care for?  I never know until I pull the trigger on the play button.  Most of the time the films are horror or, at the very least, have some sort of horror theme within.  However, that's not always the case.  A few weeks ago I received the blu release for the 1976 drama Wan Pipel, or One People, from my friends over at Cult Epics.  This was a new one to me and even though it wasn't a horror flick, I was still excited to check it out.  Like always, I want to thank Cult Epics for sending this one over.

     The film follows a young man who is studying in Amsterdam when he receives a call that his mother was dying in his home country of Suriname.  His girlfriend gives him the money  to return home and he does.  However, once he returns home he begins to become enthralled with his heritage and country.  He even goes as far as to fall in love with a local woman and refuses to go back to the Netherlands to finish his studies.  

     I knew absolutely nothing about Wan Pipel prior to watching it but I actually enjoyed it.  It's not a movie I can se myself revisiting anytime soon but it was solid for a first time watch especially for something that wasn't horror-centered.  The acting in this one is solid but there was a few scenes where the acting was very forced and the cast didn't show a lot of experience.  The cast is fully submersed in their roles but the scenes are not consistent.  The story for this one is a fantastic character driven story about patriotism and embracing where you are from.  However, this story does somewhat run thin once you see the direction the film is actually going.  A little more character arcs or an interesting dilemma would have made the film much more enjoyable.   Finally, those of you looking for blood or memorable deaths will be very disappointed.  The film is a strict drama with focus on character development and growth.  Overall, Wan Pipel is a solid foreign drama that is a fun first time watch.  This is a great release from Cult Epics that I highly recommend checking out especially if you are a collector.