#georgesluizer

Photo taken from film1.nl

Leafing through the programme schedule of NFF, looking for something to do on Saturday, suddenly I saw it: In Memoriam George Sluizer: Dark Blood, free entrance. This last minute addition to the programme made me quite happy, my expectations were high and they were totally justified. It was a very special occassion.

  I picked up my free ticket at the Kassa where the person behind the counter was slightly confused, apparently not many people knew this screening would take place.

I made my way to Hertz, the same zaal I was in for the opening. This time I was sitting nicely in the middle of the auditorium, on my right side were Anouk Sluizer and Anne Lordon, daughter and wife of George Sluizer and on my left were Willemien van Aalst and Hans Heesen, amongst others.

  Willemien van Aalst welcomed everyone to this special screening, exactly one week after Sluizer passed away and exactly two years after Dark Blood premiered at NFF in 2012. She then introduced Hans Heesen who wrote “Wie zijn ogen niet gebruikt, is een verloren mens: In gesprek met George Sluizer”(2012). The book is about, not only Sluizer’s interesting character but also his passion for films, for beauty and for life. Heesen shared a little anecdote to illustrate the way Sluizer worked: there was the normal way of going about doing things and then there was the George Sluizer way.

The moral of the story was that when Sluizer wanted something, he could get it in very creative ways. From downing a steaming hot mug of coffee to fund his project to convincing Soviet officials to let him shoot his film, Sluizer was not only a magnificent storyteller, but also a determined and driven go-getter.

  The film itself, Dark Blood from 1993, was the last film of River Phoenix. He died of an overdose a few weeks before the shooting was completed. When Sluizer managed to get the rights back (after he got sued for 1 million dollars) to his film he filled the missing scenes with voiceovers.  It strangely works.

The story follows Buffy and Harry, a Hollywood couple who get stranded in the desert after their car breaks down. River Phoenix plays a disturbed character referred to as Boy, who lives in the desert with his Dog and he helps the couple out. However, Boy becomes more and more possessive of Buffy which shows that he still has not gotten over his young wife dying from radiation cancer. The film has many layers and themes - different levels of suffering against the beautiful backdrop of the New Mexico desert.  It’s also about relationships and clash between different strata of society.  Boy’s suffering is mainly related to US nuclear testing in the desert that affected many Native Americans living around these sites that still suffer from radiation related illnesses.

  With little dialogue, Sluizer managed to draw out these three characters perfectly, although sometimes I had a hard time understanding the motivations of Buffy and Harry. River Phoenix’ s portrayal of Boy was absolutely magnificent,he was such a young charismatic actor.

  All in all it was a very memorable screening and as the credits rolled I felt goosebumps, knowing that both Sluizer and Phoenix are gone. Two greats whose work and spark is still so much present.