Antonia's Line
| Antonia's Line | |
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German poster
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| Directed by | Marleen Gorris |
| Produced by |
Gerard Cornelisse Hans De Weers Hans de Wolf |
| Written by | Marleen Gorris |
| Starring |
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| Edited by | Wiebe van der Vliet |
| Distributed by | Asmik Ace Entertainment |
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Release date
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Running time
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102 minutes |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Language | Dutch |
| Budget | £1.5 million |
| Box office | $4.2 million |
Antonia's Line (Original title: Antonia) is a 1995 Dutch film written and directed by Marleen Gorris. The film, described as a "feminist fairy tale," tells the story of the independent Antonia (Willeke van Ammelrooy) who, after returning to the anonymous Dutch village of her birth, establishes and nurtures a close-knit matriarchal community. The film covers a breadth of topics, with themes ranging from death and religion to sex, intimacy, lesbianism, friendship and love.
Antonia's Line was made after challenges in finding locations and funding in the 1980s and 1990s. It enjoyed critical success and several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 68th Academy Awards.
Following World War II, the widow Antonia and her daughter Danielle arrive at Antonia's home town where her mother is dying. Antonia turns down an offer of marriage from Farmer Bas, but develops a romance with him anyway. Danielle becomes an artist and expresses interest in raising a child, while rejecting the idea of having a husband. Antonia and Danielle visit the city to find a man to impregnate Danielle, resulting in the birth of Therèse, an unusually intelligent girl. Danielle also develops a lesbian relationship with Therèse's tutor.
Years later, Therèse is raped by a man named Pitte, who had earlier raped his mentally handicapped sister Deedee. Antonia places a curse on him, after which he is drowned. Therèse is unable to find her intellectual match but eventually has a relationship with a childhood friend, resulting in her pregnancy. She decides to keep the baby and gives birth to Sarah, the film's narrator. Antonia later dies of old age, in the company of friends and family.
Director and screenwriter Marleen Gorris envisioned the story as distinct from her previous work, such as A Question of Silence (1982), which she referred to as "indictments against society." She referred to Antonia as "a celebration of life," incorporating fairy tale elements and cruel details. Gorris finished the screenplay in 1988. However, making the film took three attempts, with challenges stemming from putting together a large cast and finding a village that could be portrayed as realistic for a 50-year period. It was eventually filmed in Belgium.
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