Mai and Obe
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| Mai and Obe | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster in Gaullica | |
| Directed by | Quentin Gérin |
| Written by | Litrik Veldman |
| Screenplay by | Kier Posthuma |
| Based on | The Sharpened Axes by
|
| Produced by | Fop Meyer |
| Starring | Metta Hoekstra Sjuke Hoekstra |
| Edited by | Uffert Vonk |
| Music by | Aam van der Werff |
Production company | GPStudio |
| Distributed by | SDIMédias |
Release dates | 20 October, 2023 (Montecara) 12 November, 2022 (Worldwide) |
Running time | 72 minutes |
| Country | Alsland |
| Language | Gaullican |
| Budget | €1.5 million |
Mai and Obe is an upcoming 2023 Alslandic adult animated film directed by Quentin Gérin and written by Litrik Veldman and is a modern adaptation of the 1948 novel, 'The Sharpened Axes', written by Gorryt van der Zwaag. It stars the voices of actors Metta Hoekstra and Sjuke Hoekstra in their last film productions before both retired. The film is set during the Great War in the occupation of Delland by Gaullica and follows the lives of retirees Mai and Obe trying to maintain an appearance of normality as four years of occupation collapses around them and the occupying forces result to ever increasing acts of aggression to surpress dissent.
Plot synopsis
During the occupation of Delland during the Great War, retired couple Mai and Obe Klaver live in the rural village of Haistêd oan de Yn. Obe volunteers as a member of the functionalist-aligned Union for Civil Defence to help protect his community from air raids and the prospect of an imminent advance by Valduvia after the recent liberation of Yndyk. Obe has witnessed the takeover of normal life in Haistêd over the course of the war by Functionalist collaborators including his former close friend turned Gaullican appointed leader of the local area Pyns Kramer. After leaving his and Mai’s home early in the morning to help deliver sandbags with his tractor and trailer, he notices a group of young men and women walking up the garden path as he drives away, initially believing them to be local school children who have been conscripted to help the local elderly.
In Haistêd, Obe meets with Pyns and other civil defence union members, exclusively old men from the community, who begin to distribute the sandbags to the village square where the Gaullican army has erected hasty defences and where resistance and anti-Gaullican posters litter the walls. Whilst in the square Obe witnesses Gaullican soldiers harassing and cat-calling a young woman, after attempting to intervene and help the woman a Gaullican soldier hits him with his gun causing Obe to receive a black eye. Mai cycles to the village doctor’s office and chastises Obe for getting hurt but is grateful for him standing up to the soldiers. That night Obe and Mai settle down for dinner whilst some of the youths from earlier; Eda and Eine who Mai explains have been sent by the Union to help them obtain rations and to care for people who may be isolated. During the dinner Eine explains how a bombing raid conducted at the start of the war caused him to lose his leg and how neither Eda or himself had any contact with their respective parents after being evacuated to the countryside. Afterwards both Eda and Eine are seen out by Mai and Obe, Mai tells Obe how she sees herself and her husband in the two and Obe acquiesces to allowing the pair around to help Mai in the home.
The next day to recover from his injuries Mai and Obe go for a walk along the river where Mai repeats anti-functionalist slogans from the posters around the village. She resents the functionalists for having caused their children to flee to Werania and for the chaos they’ve brought. Afterwards Mai goes to the conservatory to paint whilst Obe relaxes in the garden to the radio which states that Valduvia is making steady progress throughout Alsland but and the radio announcer warns of many war crimes were committed, as he relaxes he spots bomber aircraft in the distance flying across the skyline and remembers the initial stages of the war where the village people had to hide in the church as an air raid happened and overhead. Pyns comes to the couples home to visit and ask when Obe will be back to the union, he chastises Obe for disrespecting the so-called “visitors” and for leaving his position. Pyns tells Obe that the Union is now requiring all men in the village to join as its only a matter of time before Valduvian forces arrive. Mai’s distaste for Pyns is put on full display when she mocks him behind his back, getting a faint smile from Obe. That night the two share a heartfelt nighttime dance in their living room before Mai hears a noise from the conservatory and rushes off.
The next morning Eda and Eine arrive to help Mai with shopping in town whilst Obe tends to the couples garden. Whilst gardening he hears a radio from the conservatory and after investigating discovers Mai has been creating and distributing resistance and pro-Valduvian propaganda from their conservatory, he also discovers resistance radio broadcasts alongside codes revealing Mai to be the leader of the regional resistance cell, he also discovers Eine and Eda are also members of the resistance. Initially angered he resolves to confront Mai about jeopardising their safety by doing this and waits outside the house for her to return, as the day turns to dusk Mai has failed to return and he ventures into Haistêd where he discovers Mai sticking posters against the walls of the school. Obe confronts her which inadvertently draws the attention of Pyns and some Gaullican soldiers nearby who come over to investigate and discover Mai who is arrested. Obe is sent home and the next day Mai returns after being beaten violently by Pyns and the soldiers for hanging the posters. Pyns visits and tells Obe he believes Mai was acting under the influence of others in the resistance but warns him to keep her at home and tells him their pensions will be cut as punishment.
Obe cares for Mai who is severely injured and the two reconcile over the course of several weeks. Whilst visiting Haistêd, Obe witnesses the soldiers conducting executions of resistance members including Eine and Eda who are both publicly shot and kicked, several others have the same fate which Pyns justifies to the gathered crowd who are visibly disgusted and horrified by the execution of two youths.
Days later, Obe and Mai are forced to flee their home as Valduvian forces enter the area and shelling begins and their house is eventually struck as the couple flee. Obe carries a sick Mai into the church where the rest of the village have gathered as the Gaullican soldiers engage in a bloody firefight before fleeing but not before setting much of the village on fire as they leave. The villagers escape the church and Obe is left to carry an injured Mai out through a broken window after Pyns slams the door in their faces. Once outside the victorious soldiers begin tearing down propaganda posters placed by the Gaullicans. Mai’s condition deteriorates and she dies in Obe’s arms, happy at the eventual outcome. Years afterwards, Obe is visiting Mai’s grave where he reminisces of their life together before leaving and saying he’ll be back the next day to talk. Eventually Obe is reunited with Mai and the two share a happy embrace. The film ends with the chorus of Can't Help Falling in Love as the two embrace and dance together.
Cast
- Metta Hoekstra as Mai Klaver
- Sjuke Hoekstra as Obe Klaver
- Waltsjer Keizer as Pyns Kramer and the Radio Propagandist
- Rienst de Vries as Eine
- Foske Kok as Eda
Production
Development and casting
Themes
The Film itself was part of a wider cultural movement in Alsland to reexamine the country's position during the Great War and is the first major film in Alsland to deal with the subject of collaboration, namely through the character of Pyns Kramer who is a high-ranking collaborator with the Gaullican aligned regime. In Van der Zwaag's novel, Kramer is seen to have been rehabilitated and has maintained his position in the local community despite being hated by the locals, as seen when he is ignored at the grocery shop after the war. Kramer's character was largely interpreted as a characterisation of the mass acquittals of almost all of Alsland's wartime collaborator government, many of whom continued to serve in government after the war. Van der Zwaag also wrote the character of Obe Klaver as a passive collaborator who slowly grows disillusioned with the state of the region as time progresses and the growing effects of the advancing war are portrayed, this is contrasted with Mai's character who is high up within the local resistance and has been trying to organise resistance efforts in the region.
The deaths of Eine and Eda were written into the book initially as a way to present the destroyed innocence of the country's youth during the period, many of whom had participated in the resistance and some had been executed for their role. The characters of Eine and Eda were said to be inspired by the Herne Trio — Nenne Yntema, Jiedsk Andringa and Seles Tjepkema — who led student demonstrations at their university against the presence of Gaullican forces and were all tortured and beheaded in the aftermath and were the last three people to be executed via capital punishment in Alsland. Van der Zwaag was a close friend of Yntema in their youths and was disillusioned with the war following his execution.
Mai Klaver's character was the characterisation of the Dellish resistance organisation who distributed posters and carried out acts of sabotage against collaborators and the Gaullican military in Delland. Her character was based off the real life examples of retired women being senior members of the resistance due to collaborators believing that there was no possibility they could be involved in resistance activity. After Van der Zwaag wrote his novel, Klaver's character came under fire from the Government of Alsland for reportedly being seen as a depiction of the ODRE movement which forced Van der Zwaag to rewrite her character to get the book published as in the final release of the novel Mai survives and goes onto retire peacefully with Obe.