Regret!

Jochem is the class target. Three boys go at him; they take his things, push him, laugh. The teachers do not see it or look away. David is in the same class. Jochem asks him for help and David chooses to stay on the side of the crowd; if he steps in his turn will come. One day Jochem does not come to school. Then he does not come again. When it is known there is an assembly and everyone is sad. David knows something and did not say it. What the narrative is about is what comes after that, which is responsibility. Dave Schram directs. Robin Boissevain, Stefan Collier and Dorus Witte are in the cast. It is a Dutch production. The source is a novel for young readers by Carry Slee; her books are widely read in the Netherlands and several have been filmed. The matter it treats is standing by; the film puts at its centre not the bully but the majority who watch and say nothing. The narrative holds the school responsible too; the adults who do not intervene are inside it. The film was made for young viewers and was shown in schools. The narrative does not soften the outcome; the loss does not come back and regret brings no resolution. Most of the cast are young and the acting is uneven. Its limit is method; the narrative is didactic, the message explicit, and the characters thin. Who it is for: viewers who like films for young people and school drama. Who it is not for: it is didactic, conventional, and the ending heavy.