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THE RETURN OF NURSE KLIVIA
Pieter Kramer interviewed by David Robinson Q: The film is based on a well-loved television series of the 1960s. Can you tell us something about that, and what it still means for an audience of the 21st century?  PK:
The original series was immensely
popular. Hetty Blok, who created the role of Nurse Klivia, was more
popular in the Netherlands than the Dutch Queen. On the nights when Yes
Nurse! No Nurse! was being broadcast on television, in the sixties, the
streets were literally empty.But sadly the tapes of the entire series were destroyed, so the original Yes Nurse! exists only in the memory of people over forty-five. They are now taking their children and grandchildren to see our new version - and everybody seems to enjoy it. Many of the original songs are part of a collective Dutch memory, and that makes the musical part of the film recognisable for people of all ages. But nostalgia is clearly only part of the appeal – we find that a large part of the audience are people in their twenties and thirties. Certainly I don’t myself see the film as just an exercise in nostalgia. It’s a modern film with plenty of new material in it. Even the fact that people have never seen Nurse Klivia in colour before adds something. And although it’s true to the original, the film stands on its own. I think the nostalgic element isn’t so much about the original series itself. It’s more about the whole feeling and atmosphere of a world that was sweeter, safer, and simpler than the world seems to be today. Young people find its form original and its approach very contemporary – and it is a novelty for them to discover a film that consciously sets out to radiate a sense of happiness. It’s a positive film that celebrates a world that is safer and simpler than the one we live in today. Q: The new version started life as a stage production, which you also directed. How was the original series adapted to a single stage show? PK: The original series consisted of twenty short episodes, each one a self-contained story. The challenge for the stage production as well as for the film was to turn all these little plots into one coherent story, while keeping the best scenes and the best songs. While we kept the songs and the characters intact, the plot was radically reconstructed to tell a single story. Q: How close is the screen adaptation to the stage version? PK: The film version is very different from the stage production. For that we used plots that permitted direct interaction with the real-life audience. The main set was Klivia’s living room. When we came to the film we were able to use all sorts of new images, which gave us the possibility to use different songs and incidents. For instance, the love story between Jet and Gerrit was added for the film script. This wasn’t in either the original tv series or the stage version. On stage, Mr Boordevol the angry neighbour ended up in jail, while in the film he becomes a better person. Another completely new element in the film was the use of the chorus of three women, “the Trudy’s”. Q: The film has reminiscences of Frank Capra, of Jacques Demy and of Singing in the Rain. Are these films you personally like, or were there any other cinematic influences? PK: Demy, certainly, with Les parapluies de Cherbourg. Otherwise, The Little Shop of Horrors and Jacques Tati.  Q:
One of the film’s charms
is the way it mixes comic artifice with life lived in very
down-to-earth and everyday settings. Is your street a location or
a set?PK: The street was built in a studio. I always enjoy the artificial look and feeling you find in old musical films. It enhances people’s fantasy. Building our own set made it possible to give it the exact atmosphere and feeling I wanted. I was able to create the special intimate, small and safe world I wanted the film to present. Q: European musicals have been pretty rare, and this appears to be the very first from the Netherlands. Could it initiate a new European genre? PK: I find it surprising that there has never been a Dutch musical film – and for me it was a dream come true to be able to make the first one. I would very much like to see the film establish a new style of intimate musical. For myself I shall certainly keep looking for the possibilities to make films like this. I keep getting inspired by all sorts of musical film. Q: Your actors are not very familiar – at least to audiences outside the Netherlands – but they all seem marvelously to have understood and interpreted your idea of the musical fantasy. Had any of them worked in the stage production? PK: For the Dutch audience who remembered the original series, there was only one Nurse Klivia: Hetty Blok; and she was the one who nominated Loes Luca as the only suitable successor. So now there are two Nurse Klivias. The main roles in the film are played by the same actors who performed in the theatre play. So although the story is different, they are very comfortable in their characters, having played them many times in the theatre. I think there could be no better preparation. Loes Luca was already a well-known actress and a familiar face to the Dutch audience. And in addition they are all people with faces which, with the help of the right make-up, have a classical and timeless look - like they come from a different time. And I would just like to add that they are all very good actors. |