Tabee Toean

Documentary about the emotional aftermath of the military struggle in the Dutch East Indies after World War Two leading up to the independence of Indonesia. The stories of five veterans shows how Dutch soldiers, unprepared for a guerilla war, found themselves in a vicious circle of exceptional violence. Most had transformed their own role in outbursts of violence into feelings of guilt and traumas. Director Tom Verheul returned to Central Java with four veterans. The visit revealed that the cliché 'to forgive and forget' reflects their wishes more than Indonesian reality. The most traumatised veteran stayed at home. From the chair in which he has chewed over his wartime memories for dozens of years, he sketches his development from scared young man to seasoned soldier.