Kinderjaren

A quiet, emotionally raw documentary that feels like an intimate excavation of family wounds, with long silences and rare outbursts.

Directed by

Piet Oomes

Overview

In the summer of 2005, Piet Oomes went to Sumatra with his mother Ank and his aunt Guus, to look for the Japanese concentration camps where the two had been interned with their mother in World War II. During the trip, it becomes clear that the filmmaker is mainly making a personal quest: for an explanation of the reserved relationship he has with his mother. The camera registers the collisions the two have been having for forty years. 'I keep my mouth shut', mother Ank spews in a rare outburst of emotions. Their digging in the past brings tears to the eyes of Piet's aunt, but his mother only makes rational analyses. Eventually, their visit to the site of the last camp, Aek Pamingke, which has now been replaced by rubber plantation, brings about a long-awaited breakthrough - though the tears are kept back even then.

How it feels

Melancholic, tense, earnest and dark. Slow-burning and needs your attention.

About

Family, memory, trauma, war

Content

Mild language. No violence, gore or sexual content.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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