Het woeden der gehele wereld

Based on a Maarten 't Hart novel from 1993, this partly black-and-white film has music, religion and cross-dressing as its themes. Schoolboy Alex Goudveyl grows up without knowing where his musical talent comes from, just as more things from the (war) past remain obscure to him. For example, he does not know he is Jewish. The film starts during World War Two. A group of Jews tries to flee to England on a fishing boat, but the Germans thwart their plan. The group, including the skipper, survive the adventure. We meet the refugees again in 1958 in the small-minded Christian town of Maassluis. Most of them have built new lives and want to forget the complications during the war. In vain, also due to the former skipper, now a blackmailing policeman (Cees Geel) with a predilection for young boys. When the officer is shot in Alex's presence, all mysteries are gradually unravelled. Thus, apart from being the coming-of-age of a mild-mannered boy, the film is also a whodunit with an unexpected dénouement.