Simon (2004 film)

Simon
Simon
	Film poster
Directed by	Eddy Terstall
Produced by	Imko Nieuwenhuijs
Starring	Cees Geel; Marcel Hensema
Edited by	Ben Isaacs
Release date	2004;
Country	Netherlands
Language	Dutch

Simon is a 2004 Dutch drama film directed by Eddy Terstall. The story is about two male friends, one heterosexual and one gay. Same sex marriage and euthanasia are prominent themes of the film. The film has won three Golden Calves, for Best Actor (Cees Geel), Best Director (Eddy Terstall) and Best Feature Film, as well as the Audience Award (Eddy Terstall) of the Netherlands Film Festival.^[1] It was also the Dutch entry for the Oscars in 2005.^[2]

Plot[]

One of the characters is Camiel, a gay dentist who marries his lover and the other is Simon (Cees Geel), a heterosexual drugs dealer and lady magnet. They become close friends in the late 1980s, but Camiel does something that interrupts their friendship.

After fourteen years Camiel and Simon meet again, but Simon is now terminally ill with cancer.

Simon has a daughter, Joy (Nadja Hüpscher) and a son, Nelson (Stijn Koomen). They develop a friendship with Camiel and his husband and after Simon's death Camiel adopts them.

Cast[]

Cees Geel as Simon Cohen
Marcel Hensema as Camiel Vrolijk
Rifka Lodeizen as Sharon
Nadja Hüpscher as Joy
as Ellen
as Marco
as Bram
Stijn Koomen as Nelson
Johnny de Mol as Floris (billed as Johnny de Mol jr.)
as Gwen
as Adrienne
as Astrid, Camiel's Assistant
Araba Walton as Gisela
as Priscilla
as Sjimmie
as Djoeke
as Merjolein
as Alijt (billed as Willemijn Lamp)
as Liselot
as Sjors (billed as Ron Schuitema)
as Bruce
as Samantha
Laura Dozzelne as Joy - Age 7 (billed as Laura Dozzolne)
Jeroen Willems as Huisarts
as Neurologist
as Traffic Cop
as 2nd Opinion Arts
as Student
as (Soldier #1) (billed as Emmanuel Obinna K)
as (Soldier #2)
as Director
as Thaise Man in Bar

Reception[]

Simon has received had positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 60% based on reviews from 5 critics.^[2] On Metacritic it has a score of 59 out of 100, based on reviews from 5 critics.^[3]

Jay Weissberg of Variety wrote: "Slick packaging and easy ensemble-playing can't mask hoary 'gather round, I'm dying' formula."^[4]