As you probably know I live in the Netherlands, but if you’d start searching for reviews of Dutch movies you won’t find many. I never have found Dutch movies that interesting and of course you might wonder why that is the case. A big reason is that most movies are romantic dramas or romantic comedies (and usually not very good one), in which I’m not that interested. There are exceptions, like the fantastic Wolf, but in general it’s not worth giving most of them a try. Boy 7 did interest me though as it is a science fiction movie and I couldn’t remember any other dutch movies in this genre.
The movie is set in the near future, in which The Netherlands seems to have slowly changed into a country run by a dictator. Sam (Matthijs van de Sande Bakhuyzen) wakes up on the subway and realizes quickly that he is in danger and needs to stay out of the hands of the police. He can’t remember anything about who he is or what he has done, but does have occasional flashbacks.
Slowly you discover what Sam has done in his “previous life” and how he ended up in a camp together with other young recruits, where he is trained for something and strictly monitored by Zero (Tygo Gernandt). There Sam is known as number 7 and he decides to find out what is going on exactly.
Boy 7 is best compared to young adult movies like Divergent, in which it is up to Sam to make a difference and discover the details of a secret. The result is an enjoyable movie. It hasn’t been shot in the Netherlands itself and as someone from the country it gave me a sense of not feeling at home in the world because you don’t recognise the places. The acting is good and the sparingly used special effects are effective. It makes Boy 7 a dutch movie that stands out and which nicely wraps up its story in one movie (unlike the other young adult films)
