Leden Stills
| Toespraak Ronald Plasterk en uitreiking van de Bert Haanstra Oeuvre Prijs 2009 aan Robby Muller |
| Written by NSC |
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"Dames en heren, geachte heer Muller, ik ga u zo toespreken in het Engels omdat we zoveel buitenlandse gasten hebben. Maar ik wil toch ook een paar zinnen in het Nederlands zeggen, of misschien maar één zin voor die mensen die de Engelse taal wellicht niet machtig zijn. Ik zag een paar jongeren. Alleen al voor hun en wie weet. Ik wil zeggen het is een grote eer en een groot genoegen om de hoogste Nederlandse Filmprijs zo dadelijk te mogen overhandigen aan cameraman Robbie Muller! Ehm, one is that photography, and photography is the art of making still pictures and film is the art of making moving pictures, then for photography it is totally clear for everybody who is the artist. So even if somebody who is very famous will be posing to be photographed, that person may be a model or might even be a supermodel, but the artist is clearly the photographer. And nobody would doubt about that. In filmmaking the artist that everybody knows, obviously, are the actors. And the artist that a lot of people know are the directors. But very few people know the person who actually is behind the camera. The person who pulls the trigger. That’s the person who makes the picture that we see. That’s the person who makes the final picture we are seeing if we watch a movie for – what is it – two hours. Ehm, and without taking any credits from Robbie but I think through - and I should say Mister Muller - ehm I should say that I am also very glad that through honouring you Mister Muller we can also honour the importance of cameramen in general. I’d like to emphasize that because I have the feeling you are almost embarrassed to be at the centre of almost the entire evening. If it makes you feel better, you know I am just doing it for all the cameramen in the world (laughter) to recognise the importance of what they contribute to filmmaking. Ehm, the… you can say that in a sense that the Bert Haanstra Award has come home, because Bert Haanstra would also carry his own camera. And since then the Bert Haanstra Award has been given four times, to Bert Haanstra, Fons Rademakers, Johan van der Keuken en Paul Verhoeven. All of them big filmmakers, but primarily, obviously directors. And now for the first time it is given to a true Director of Photography, to a true cameraman. It has been emphasized by many - and I must say I want to thank Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmusch for being here and sharing their wonderful speeches with us and also stating so openly that it was a turning point in their career to be working with Robbie Muller - and it is very clear that he changed the career of many people and he changed the landscape of filmmaking. And you could say that in a sense he has made directors famous and he has made the movies famous. And eh so this morning I actually read in a newspaper in a wonderful interview or in a wonderful description that Robbie Muller was not only famous for having chosen to make some films but also for having refused to make Harry Potter IV I believe it was, because there was nothing to be done there in terms of creating your own art and I could recognise that. So what I did to prepare for tonight was to, Els and I spent a Sunday afternoon watching Paris Texas. Ehm, and we thought let’s try to look at the camerawork only. As it turns out that is totally impossible. You cannot do that and in a way that probably does credit to the way the camerawork was done. Because the camerawork isn’t trying to be the centre piece. It is trying to help you recognize what the story is being told. So and, so I have tried to ask myself what do we see if we just look at the camera work. It is almost impossible. What you see is, you see paintings. Actually the first half of the movie, quit often the camera is still. So you see a painting and then something happens in that frame. Later on it starts moving with the story which starts moving. Ehm, the colours are wonderful. Ehm, it never gets arty-farty. It is never trying to be cute. It is always serving the storyline, which as I said makes it difficult to focus on the camerawork because your drawn into the, constantly you are trying to do that but you are drawn by the camerawork into the story that’s being told. Ehm, there is always something extra to see. And also I think if tonight we look at all these you know samples from all these films it’s impossible to see the trick. There is not a simple signature. It isn’t as if you can, at least for me, as if within a split second you can immediately recognise the artist. And probably that’s good because if that were possible it would mean that it is just a simple thing which is been done all the time. That is clearly not the case. Ehm so, I’ve reminded of Rainer Maria Wilke who in one of his notes says that he’s learning to see. And I think you are teaching us to see. And that’s difficult enough, and in that sense your work isn’t an answer, but a question to us. It is a question to, can you truly learn to see? And you know… thats amazingly difficult. Ehm, your power of imagery , you expressed in a’phrase that I read in an interview this morning in the Volkskrant where you are talking about how you made your work. And you said it is like cat that lands on a table. And again I love that image, because there is something smooth and natural about a cat landing on a table, but I couldn’t land on a table the way a cat lands on a table. So there is a lot of art there, and a lot of master ship to be able to do that. There is also natural about it and I think one can recognize that in your work. So, I won’t keep you long. It is with great pleasure and honour that I will give you the highest Dutch Film Award. The Bert Haanstra Lifetime Achievement Award. Ehm, it consists of two things. And I believe the organizers were wondering whether or not it was tacky to… (Johanna ter Steege interrupts ‘one is over there’) I think they decided it was tacky because it isn’t here. (Johanna ter Steege: Oh, there it is). I am glad you decided it wasn’t tacky to give you this which is the check of 50.000 Euros. (laughter and applause) But wait. It is also this wonderful statue by Erik Don which they told me I could lift by the top half. So I will do that. You could do as if, you know you can do that with prices. So, again, thank you very much for your wonderful work and for sharing your talents with everybody. I like to give you both of these prices and I’ll…" Johanna ter Steege: "Robbie, are you coming to us? Wonderful!"
(Big applause) |
