Simply Love (Gewoon Liefde)

Forty-some years ago, Marcel and Marijke met at a summer camp and fell in love. Circumstances separated them, and each married and had children. In 1993, Marcel was the subject of the documentary A Change of View (Anders Bekeken), following him on his transition to Marcella. Now, Marijke's husband has died, leaving her to wonder what ever became of Marcel. She writes a letter, which reaches Marcella, and they rekindle their romance, not skipping a beat over the change from "boy meets girl" to "two older women." Some tensions arise, of course, as they try to figure out how to fashion their new life together, with Marcella's ex-wife still in the picture. Of course, in the Netherlands, marriage is an option, and that brings up further issues. Simply Love is an engaging portrait of an extraordinary love story; highly recommended

Simply Love (Gewoon Liefde), dir. Eveline van Dijck, 2007 Netherlands 50 min., in Dutch with English subtitles

Technorati tags: Simply Love, Gewoon Liefde, Frameline32, LGBT Film