Borgman

Taking its cue from Pasolini’s Theorem, Alex Van Warmerdam’s absurdly comic psycho drama Borgman sees the eponymous antagonist (Jan Bijvoet) literally emerge from the ground and into the home of a middle class family that has offended him. Winning over the family’s matriarch and gaining employment as a gardener, Borgman and his cronies (including the film’s director) proceed to encroach on their hallowed territory and inch by inch take it over and dismantle their carefully constructed home brick by brick. Borgman never lets the audience know exactly what kind of film it is, nor where it will be taking them, but its deliberate pace, steely emotionless performances, yet increasingly surreal events, intrigue and seduce. By the end, Borgman – both the film and the character – have taken us over completely, and there is no alternative but to concede defeat, as Borgman has already won.