Spetters

Spetters is a Dutch film released in 1980 and directed by Paul Verhoeven. The film follows the lives of three young men who have little in common but their love for dirt-bike racing. Set on the outskirts of Rotterdam, the film depicts three characters who are hoping to escape a dead-end, working-class existence.

Contents

• Spetters 1980 trailer
• Plot
• Title
• Film rating
• References

Each of the boys are seduced by a young woman who, with her brother, sells French fries and hot dogs at the races. She is looking for the person who will help her get out of the business and away from her brother. The motocross racers want to make their marks as professional racers, but their hopes don't go according to their plans.

Spetters led to protests about how Verhoeven portrayed gays, Christians, the police, and the press. Although Verhoeven made one more film in the Netherlands, the response to Spetters led him to leave for Hollywood. Despite the large amount of controversy surrounding it, the film proved to be popular, with 1,124,162 admissions in the Netherlands alone.

The film was a small success in the United States, and it helped launch the Hollywood careers of Verhoeven and some of the actors, including Jeroen Krabbé, Rutger Hauer and Renee Soutendijk.

Plot

Two young motocross racers, Rien (Hans van Tongeren) and Hans (Maarten Spanjer), and their mechanic, Eef (Toon Agterberg), dream of fame, fortune and loose women. Their hero is legendary motocross champion Gerrit Witkamp (Rutger Hauer), who fuels their competitive drives. The lives of the racers are changed when they meet a young seductress named Fientje (Renée Soutendijk). Eventually, she makes the three men face the reality of success, defeat and homosexuality.

Title

The word "spetter" (plural: "spetters") is a (now outdated) word with the same meaning as the English word "hunk". It also means "splatters" and thereby refers to motorcrossing with the dirt splatting up and the chips stall where Soutendijk's character works, when she lowers the chips into the frying pan.

Film rating

The film is classified as R18 in New Zealand.