Van De Koele Meren Des Doods (aka The Cool Lakes Of Death) (1982)

Set in the late 19th century, a young girl (Renee Soutendijk) brought up in a sexually repressed religious family is ill prepared for marriage. Her romantic illusions about love and sexually not only destroys her marriage but leads her down a path of degradation and insanity. Based on the novel by Frederik Van Eeden and directed by Nouchka Van Brakel. Portions of this Dutch film (particularly the scenes in the insane asylum) are very difficult to take. The circumstances of Soutendijk's transition from a bourgeois wife to a raving maniac aren't very well defined. She gives birth and goes batshit crazy. Is the baby dead or alive when she stuffs it in a carpet bag? Or is the baby even in the bag? One must admire Soutendijk's commitment to the role, she jumps off the deep end and doesn't look back going from naive teenager to morphine addicted prostitute sleeping on the streets till her final redemption. Theo Van De Sande's cinematography is lovely, capturing the period without calling attention to itself. With Derek De Lint, Adriaan Olree, Erik Van't Wout, Peter Faber and Claire Wauthion playing two parts, Soutendijk's mother and a nun.