Review of The Sixth of May

Introduction

`The Sixth of May` is based on the book by Tomas Ross and is a fictionalised version of the events surrounding the death of a prominent Dutch politician.

Even if the title means nothing to you, you may have heard of Pim Fortuyn, the Dutch politician who was assassinated on that date in 2002, or Theo Van Gogh, the filmmaker who was also murdered by an Islamic extremist in 2004. Van Gogh was a controversial figure with his films about Islam attracting attention, especially `Submission`, which featured an interview with a woman wearing a veil and chador through which could be seen passages from the Koran written on her naked body. The film was co-directed by Ayaan Hirsi who is still living under police protection.

In `The Sixth of May`, photojournalist Jim de Booy (Thijs Römer) is standing by his motorcycle outside a radio station, taking pictures of sexy TV star Birgit Maas (Georgina Verbaan). She wanders off and a riot van and police car appears, a man in a red cap strolls into the car park of the building and several shots ring out. Pim Fortuyn had been fatally wounded.

Jim didn`t realise that in the background of his photos were people involved in the conspiracy to murder Fortuyn and his life and that of his daughter are now at risk from powers that will stop at nothing to keep the plot a secret.

Unfortunately I was sent a DVD-R that should in no way resemble the retail version.

Video

This should be a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, but the picture on this disc is squashed into a 4:3 frame, distorting it.

Audio

An excellent Dolby Digital 2.0 Dutch soundtrack with burnt-in English subtitles. I hope they sort this for the retail version so that the subtitles are optional - Dutch audiences won`t want burnt-in English subs.

Features

None on the review disc.

Conclusion

`The Sixth of May` feels like a mix of `Blow-Up` and `JFK` as it involves a photographer who inadvertently captures incriminating evidence and a wide conspiracy to assassinate a popular politician. It also felt a little weird watching a film about an assassination by a man who was himself assassinated.

Like Oliver Stone did with `JFK`, Theo van Gogh here weaves a complicated story with myriad characters, alleging the involvement of the security services in the conspiracy. Jim de Booy is the man investigating the murder but, unlike District Attorney Jim Garrison in `JFK`, he`s just a private citizen and doesn`t know who to trust. I`m a big fan of Stone`s conspiracy thriller and `The Sixth of May` is cut from the same cloth - the more you look, the more you see and you end up with more questions than answers. Van Gogh`s film is a bit more definitive in its conclusions, but the journey there is a an exciting and interesting ride, even to a Brit - no doubt a Dutchman would get more out of the film so its release on region 2 DVD is welcome. The region 1 appears to be a superior version with on-set video diaries by Van Gogh and a 55 minute documentary about his murder.

Due to the review disc in no way resembling the retail version, it`s impossible to give this any score other than for the content.