Cult Epics: Wan Pipel (1976) - Reviewed

Images courtesy of Cult Epics

Cult Epics in their determination to keep up with the ever unfolding boutique label wars being fought by Radiance Films, Arrow Video and many others recently tapped into the collection of Scorpio Films and notably the work of Surinamese-Dutch chief co-founder and director Pim de la Parra.  Having released The Dutch Sex Wave Collection comprised of works of de la Parra (including Obsessions co-written by Martin Scorsese) and co-founder Wim Verstappen, Cult Epics naturally saw fit to license the film which effectively brought Scorpio Films and the working relationship of its cofounders to an end: 1976’s Wan Pipel.  

The first Suriname film shot entirely with Surinamese actors and one of the director’s non-erotic pieces functioning as a kind of Romeo and Juliet romantic drama, Wan Pipel translating to One People is a startling and colorful ensemble piece making it’s blu-ray disc debut in a new 2K digital restoration including a newly filmed introduction by de la Parra himself.
 
After being called back from studies in the Netherlands to his homeland in Suriname to visit his dying mother, Afro-Surinamese Roy (Borger Breeveld) returns via plane with the financial help of his Amsterdam based Dutch white girlfriend Karina (Willeke van Ammelrooy).  Once there, reinvigorated by his cultural surroundings and countryside, he crosses paths with an Indo-Surinamese Hindu nurse named Rubia (Diana Gangaram Panday) much to the chagrin of not only Karina but particularly of their respective Hindu and Black parents who are ashamed of the newfound couple.  

Soon Roy’s father played with stern wisdom by Emanuel van Gonter and Rubia’s father played by Sieuwpal Soekhlall conspire to break up the lovebirds, first by bringing Karina over to Suriname followed by a last-ditch effort to intervene by bringing Roy to a secret village upriver reminiscent of Heaven.  Needless to say the efforts only draw lovers Roy and Rubia closer together despite outside forces trying to pull them apart.

 
In a conservative departure from the spicier sex-laden romps of de la Parra’s prior oeuvre, the very first Suriname film produced following the independence of the country while contributory to the dissolution of Scorpio Films is an enlightened yet understated romantic drama of two people from different ethnic backgrounds coming together in love.  Naturalistic and observant, functioning as both a cultural snapshot and travelogue in addition to being a postmodern riff on William Shakespeare, Wan Pipel with its moody underlit cinematography by Marc Felperlaan and subtly colorful musicality of Hugo van Ams’ score, it feels almost like a documentary at times despite being a very obvious work of melodrama.  

Though feeling shoestring in terms of production values, the film behind-the-scenes was more expensive than the company’s usual fare resulting in the eventual separation of de la Parra and Verstappen.  Acting wise, Borger Breeveld and Diana Gangaram Panday give strong impassioned performances though both of them arguably take a backseat to each other’s respective fathers.  When Emanuel van Gonter angrily strikes his son and warns him not to make him put himself back in prison through violence, you can feel the tension on the set emanating off of the actor.  It is as much his movie as it is of the two lovebirds and his presence is felt even when he’s not on camera.

 
Though the film shut the doors on Scorpio Films with a marked departure from the previously outlandishly sexy erotic romps, Wan Pipel was something of a game changer ushering in the Surinamese language, culture and highlighting real world tensions between themselves and the Indo-Hindustan people through the prism of the Shakespearean romantic drama.  Those new to Suriname cinema as well as Dutch cinema will be elated with what’s here, a cultural snapshot of two disparate ways of life that find each other unable to come to terms with members of each other’s ethnicities falling in love.  

In addition to having a great transfer, Cult Epics have gone ahead of the curve with the inclusion of archival documentary materials, a bonus short film Aah…Tamara, running commentary by historians Lex Veerkamp and Bodil de la Parra and most notably a newly conducted interview with actress Willeke van Ammelrooy.  Also included is double-sided sleeve art and a collectible limited slipcover.  All in all, a solid home video release from Cult Epics with a proper introduction to Surinamese cinema.

--Andrew Kotwicki