Michiel de Ruyter (film)


Michiel de Ruyter is a 2015 Dutch film about the 17th-century admiral Michiel de Ruyter directed by Roel Reiné. The film had its world premiere in the Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum in Amsterdam on 26 January 2015 and has been released in cinemas in the Netherlands on 29 January 2015. On the English promotional website, the film has the title Admiral.

Cast

First choice for the title role was Yorick van Wageningen, but he couldn't come to a financial agreement with the producers. On 9 May 2014, the full cast was presented to the press.
The actors in starring roles are:
Other actors are:

Production

The film was directed by Roel Reiné and produced by Klaas de Jong. It had a budget of 8 million euro. Among the film locations are Zeeland, Texel, the Wadden Sea, and the Ridderzaal.

Reception

Pre-release

Prior to its release, several protest groups had accused the film of glorifying the colonial history of the Netherlands. References to colonialism in the film are however almost absent. The film makes a minor reference to the Dutch East India Company, which contributed highly to the welfare in the 17th century in the low countries, and to the trading vessels which were protected by the navy under Michiel de Ruyter. The film's main subjects — apart from Michiel de Ruyter himself — are the internal politics of the country, including the brutal murder of Johan de Witt and the complicated relationship with England, up to the engagement of the William III of Orange with the English princess Mary.

Post-release

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 60% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 6.56/10. In a review for the Los Angeles Times, Robert Abele writes: "With loving shots of booming, towering ships so dominant, and decades squeezed into what feels like a week of action, there's barely enough time to develop De Ruyter as a character in his own movie, or even successfully explain his war strategies."

Awards