Jazz is My Religion

'I've had a happy childhood. Do I have a problem, doctor?' Poet and speed freak Jules Deelder stands in front of his parental home, where he was taken in a stylish convertible. Between his legs, a drum kit has been set up. Even when Deelder's hands have nothing to do, jazzy drum sounds are heard. 'Actually, I think I'm still having a happy childhood', the master narrator, smartly dressed as ever, adds in a mumble. Director Gerard Wessel alternates these stylised images in grainy black-and-white of Deelder 'on the road' with more intimate conversations in colour. By taking Deelder's passion for jazz as a vantage point and introducing his sister and colleague friends like Simon Vinkenoog and Bart Chabot, Wessel succeeds in bringing this elusive man a bit closer. Obviously, the films brims with jazz music and has a dynamic, almost musical editing.