Geluk is als glas

Around Spinoza's statue in The Hague, close to each other, are the city hall and church, theatre and parliament, the business district, red-light district and the Schilderswijk working-class area. `Desire is each man's nature', the 17th-century philosopher wrote, whose quotations are used as inserts in the film. The Lataster couple asks different local residents what they think about the connection between happiness, money and ethics. A garbage collector, for example, says rather glumly that he has cleared away all the possessions of a homeless man in five minutes; but a near-homeless ex-millionaire radiantly claims he has never been happier in his life. The filmmakers pose existential questions, but preserve a light tone, partly by adjusting sound and camera movements to the daily activities of the people portrayed: drums and close-ups for a boxing contest, a brisk jazz rhythm for a workaholic manager.