Spetters

Spetters, a Dutch film released in 1980 directed by Paul Verhoeven. Spetters led to many protests across the board about the caricatural manner in which Verhoeven portrayed gays, Christians, the police, and the press. Although Verhoeven made one more film in the Netherlands, the response to Spetters led to his leaving the Netherlands for Hollywood. The careers of Maarten Spanjer and Renee Soutendijk were launched by this film, but it did not do m... more

Spetters, a Dutch film released in 1980 directed by Paul Verhoeven. Spetters led to many protests across the board about the caricatural manner in which Verhoeven portrayed gays, Christians, the police, and the press. Although Verhoeven made one more film in the Netherlands, the response to Spetters led to his leaving the Netherlands for Hollywood. The careers of Maarten Spanjer and Renee Soutendijk were launched by this film, but it did not do much for the other young lead actors. Hans van Tongeren eventually committed suicide in 1982. The film, which is violent and sexually explicit, is a high-speed coming of age story which centers on three young men dreaming of an escape from their provincial surroundings by means of a motorcross career: young motocross racing champion Rien (Hans van Tongeren (nl)), another racer who thinks he has the goods, Hans (Maarten Spanjer (nl)), and Bible thumping Calvinist mechanic Eef (Toon Agterberg (nl)). When they run into a young seductress (Renee... less