Good concept, poorly executed.

Best movie ever!

Absolutely the worst movie.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Oss is a city with a violent past, a city which has seen numerous changes both on industrial, criminal and civilized levels. These changes were seen all over the Netherlands, but for that period of time no example was so striking or extreme like it was in Oss.André van Duren is a case of good Dutch film-maker which has lots of quality and not too much work. He has proved his skill with historical portraits in the past and De Bende van Oss is one of the few successful attempt to portray the region of Oss in that period. Cleverly shot in Ravenstein, Herpen, Keent and Oss itself, with the exception of some studio work, all feels quite authentic.The cast is mostly put together from Brabanders (the province in which Oss lies) and this works well enough. Of course, they cannot speak with the right dialect for the film should be understood all over the Netherlands, but that doesn't bother much. The acting balanced between realistic and over the top.This is the case with the entire film. It's brought with realism but there are many grotesque elements present. Somehow the film manages to find a delicate balance between those two. The soundtrack by Paleis van Boem works nice and gives it a special touch.There are some problems with the film, like the gangleader is the least scary and convincing of the entire gang and he is more clown than Capone at times (not in a good way) but the rest of the cast carries him well enough so you won't really be bothered by it.This film did cost about 3,5 mil euros which is a large budget for the Netherlands. If you think they transformed and built a convincing world with that money on par with 50+ mil Hollywood productions I can't help to wonder how we in our humble country manage to do it sometimes.A good film, sometimes a little unsolid and at times plain great with many human touches, this is a film of which the Dutch people can be proud and will largely entertain themselves with.

De bende van Oss provides a convincing historical image of a dark period influenced by the obscene marriage of capitalism and catholicism in the southern part of the Netherlands during the thirties of the 20th century, concentrated in a small town by the name of Oss. De bende means 'the gang' but has another meaning as well: terrible disorder, filth, dirt. Exploitation of workers, bribe, blackmail, rape and murder became a hopeless daily routine and in the end 'de bende' even reached the Dutch Government at the time. The daring and wonderfully detailed script is based on a mosaic of true stories, gathered from a longer period of time: from the late 19th century up to WW II in which the industrialization in Oss took place. As the police from the north of the Netherlands comes in to restore law and order, a young woman - Jean Harlow blond Sylvia Hoeks can play effortless all the necessary looks - tries to escape from her fate as a whore and from the filth that surrounds her and her family, deeply involved in crime as well. In the end she succeeds, but she - as Godmother Maria, dressed in a blue blanket - has to pay a high price. After an amazing shoot out that reminds the spectator of High Noon, she manages - with many others - to flee on a steamer bound for the United States - just before WW II breaks out - to start a new life. De bende van Oss is a unique movie because of the documentary structured base which turns the dramatic story into a true story, instead of the other way around, thanks to the highly intelligent script, written by director André van Duren en Paul Jan Nelissen.Richard Fokker / Hoogland / the Netherlands / 2011-11-22 / Scriptwriter / art historian.

This movie gives an excellent idea of how life in a criminal gang was - in a small city in the Dutch outback (Oss, North-Brabant) in the 1930's. How the gang, with the help of the Roman Church and factory-owners, could flourish in a mental climate of hatred against the national government and it's military police ('marechaussee'). 'We from Oss', catholic southerners, speaking a different dialect against 'Them' - the Dutch occupiers, mostly protestants who speak 'high' dutch and who use the marechaussee to keep the Oss'ians down under. It's an honest film which tries to follow history more or less precise. By placing one member of the gang in the middle of the story (a woman, bar-owner and prostitute) it personalizes this history. The way she is portrayed in her attempt to get rid of the gang life and flee with one of her lovers is convincing and phenomenal! In the beginning she is only shrewd" an opportunist, only out for the money and for her own survival. But later on we see that she does care and she does have a morale, a conscience. It;s not black and white. And therefore - and for the fine actors, good dialogs and historical props - it's an excellent film in my opinion.

In the 1930's a small town called Oss, from the province Noord-Brabant, gets involved in serious crimes. An infamous gang called De Bende van Oss (The Gang of Oss) are the perpetrators, and no one dares to mess with them not even the local police force. From beginning to end the film stays in a certain tension, and not losing its excitement. The character development is good and the locations are well-chosen. One thing I liked the most was the dark atmosphere that covers almost the entire film. This reminded me of the Great Depression that was leading back in those times. For me this film has an extra value, because I live in the town Oss. There were certain elements easily recognizable for me, such as locations and some cast members.I recommend this movie for viewers that are interested in historic films, or one with a good storyline.