Shooting Flikken Maastricht
Big surprise yesterday afternoon in Maastricht: I was just coming out of the Selexyz bookshop when all of a sudden, I saw the two main actors of the popular Dutch police series Flikken Maastricht playing a scene right in front of me.
Angela Schijf and Victor Reinier were in the middle of a shooting session in the small square between the Entre Deux shopping centre and the Dominican church where the bookshop is located.
The two actors weren’t paying attention to the (small) crowd around them at all and one could feel their energy during the scene. (They were walking fast and looked as if they were arguing about something…). I even thought for a second that they were going to bump into me!
I enjoyed watching the series last year and commented upon it in the article “Do you speak Mestreechs“. Here’s the excerpt:
Flikken Maastricht
Maybe it’s just my impression but Maasttricht’s cobblestone streets have seemed even busier since they have appeared on national television every week for the past three months. With 1.2 million spectators and a 20.8 per cent viewing rate, the police series “Flikken Maastricht” proved such a big national success that broadcaster TROS has decided to commission a second batch of 13 episodes. Just about everyone agrees that the series showed Maastricht at its best and that the beautiful shots of the city and its surroundings worked better than any promotional campaign. Maastricht’s tourist office even started offering a Flikken Maastricht city tour and several adventure games based on the series. My husband and I watched and enjoyed the programme very much, because it was fun to try to recognise the various locations in each episode. Gerd Leers, the mediagenic mayor of Maastricht, even appeared in one of the stories!
But just like most viewers, and especially viewers from Maastricht, we were bothered by the fact that almost none of the characters spoke with the local accent. When the main actress, who played the part of a young Maastricht policewoman, was told that her new partner came from Amsterdam, she stereotypically lashed out: “What is this Hollander doing here?” but she didn’t ring true at all because she sounded like a “Hollander” herself. The first time her colleague from the north offered her a piece of advice, she immediately snapped back: “We’re not retarded in Maastricht!”, but she wasn’t convincing there either because people in Limburg are usually not that blunt and direct. In my opinion, the series would certainly have gained in authenticity and “couleur locale” if the actors had put a bit more effort in sounding and behaving like native Maastricht residents.
This year, after seeing both actors from so close, I think I’m not going to be bothered about Angela Schijf’s (lack of) accent anymore. She’s even prettier in reality than on television! (I had assumed that it would be the other way around…) And Victor Reinier isn’t unattractive either…
The second series of Flikken Maastricht will start in September and I look forward to finding out what they were looking so nervous about…
By Sueli Brodin
Crossroads editor
Flikken Maastricht opening credits
Famous speedboat scene on the river Maas
and i went...
