Sea of Silence

Sea of Silence
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Stijn Coninx
Screenplay by	Jacqueline Epskamp
Produced by	Els Vandevorst Ineke van Wierst
Starring	Johanna ter Steege Huub Stapel Neeltje de Vree
Cinematography	Walther Vanden Ende
Edited by	Ludo Troch
Music by	Henny Vrienten
Production companies	Isabella Films [1] Sophimages [1] Lichtblick Film [1] Zentropa [1]
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures [1]
Release dates	29 October 2003 (2003-10-29)(Belgium) 27 November 2003 (2003-11-27)(Netherlands) [2]
Running time	105 minutes
Countries	Netherlands Belgium Germany Denmark
Language	Dutch

Sea of Silence (Dutch : Verder dan de maan) is a 2003 Dutch-language drama film directed by Stijn Coninx, starring Johanna ter Steege, Huub Stapel and Neeltje de Vree. ^[3]

The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on 29 October in Belgium and 27 November in the Netherlands. It received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure, attracting only 13,000 attendances in Belgium and 1,811 in the Netherlands. ^{[4] [5] [6]} It was selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 76th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. ^{[7] [8]}

Cast

• Huub Stapel as Mees Werner sr.
• Johanna ter Steege as Ita Werner
• Neeltje de Vree as Caro Werner
• Nyk Runia as Mees Werner jr.
• Yannic Pieters as Bram Werner
• Julia Van Lisenburg as Annette Werner
• Isabel Leur as Lettie Werner
• Anneke Blok as Tante Connie
• Annet Malherbe as Tante Masha
• Kees Hulst as Oom Tom
• Michiel Beurskens as Adri
• Marisa Van Eyle as Tante Veronica
• Jappe Claes as Oom Willy
• Betty Schuurman as Moniek
• Valentijn Vermeer as Thijs
• Dirk Roofthooft as Priester
• Bert André as Aad Schiller
• Flip Filz as Politieman
• Stefan de Walle as Leraar
• Wim Opbrouck as Badmeester
• Juul Vrijdag as Vrouw op bromfiets
• Michiel Nooter as Henk

Release

The film was released on DVD by Warner Home Video on 19 May 2004. ^[9]

Reception

Pieter Bots of Het Parool gave the film 2 of 5 stars and wrote that Sea of Silence is "full of dramatic hairpin turns, unbelievable moments and a forced ending. ^[10]

See also

• List of submissions to the 76th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Belgian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

References

1. Dunkley, Cathy (16 July 2003). "Belgian pic 'Sea' sails to Warner Bros. Int'l". Variety . Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
2. Ekker, Jan Pieter (15 October 2003). "Oscar-kandidaat komt later uit". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
3. Koehler, Robert (17 January 2004). "Sea of Silence". Variety . Archived from the original on 18 September 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
4. van der Burg, Jos (October 2003). "Verder dan de maan: Plattelandskitsch". Filmkrant; nr. 248 (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 13 May 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
5. Valkenborgh, Sam (7 December 2003). "Mijn film is kapotgemaakt". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). p. 16.
6. Verhaagen, Annelotte (8 May 2004). "Verder dan de maan". Filmjaarboek 2003. By Hans Beerekamp. International Theatre & Film books. p. 198. ISBN   9789064036484.
7. Dupagne, Marie-France (17 September 2003). "Sea of Silence chosen". Cineuropa. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
8. "Stijn Coninx over 'Verder dan de maan': Gedaan met brave Stijn". De Tijd (in Dutch). 29 October 2003. Archived from the original on 18 September 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
9. van Ballegoie, Eric (23 March 2004). "Warner: Informatie over DVD-releases in april". AllesOverFilm. Archived from the original on 30 May 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
10. Bots, Pieter (26 November 2003). "Verder dan de maan". Het Parool (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 7 December 2003. Retrieved 19 September 2025.

External links

• Official website (Wayback Machine) (in Dutch)
• Sea of Silence at IMDb
• Sea of Silence at Allmovie