Boudewijn de Groot - Kom nader

Boudewijn de Groot never planned to be a singer. As a student at the film academy in the early 1960s he dreamed of success as an actor or director, but it were his melodies and his voice that brought him fame and many hits. Now, 50 years later, he is giving a concert to say farewell to the songs that took the Dutch charts by storm. Boudewijn de Groot is known to be introverted, even mysterious. This film shows a calm and inscrutable man in the run-up to this concert. He says little and displays few emotions, but his personality takes shape through the reflections and recollections of family members and friends. Old pals like singer Henny Vrienten and actor Jeroen Krabbé recall the past and discuss the somewhat estranged relationship between the singer and his longtime songwriting partner, the lyricist Lennaert Nijgh. De Groot’s elusive personality and well-known and lesser-known songs from his substantial oeuvre come to life in beautiful archive material that includes original interviews, TV performances and concerts, as well as original film footage shot by De Groot and Nijgh themselves. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)