Holland Harbour Productions

When 12-year-old Mickey Miller moves from New York to Ireland, she soon discovers a link between herself and the 300-year-old legend of the mysterious Black Knight, who regularly haunts the sleepy Irish village. With courage and a sharp mind, she sets out to save a precious herd of white horses and to thwart the evil plans of a greedy, ambitious woman.

A woman drives in her car, wearing a grave look on her face. In the background, we hear the sounds of the freeway. The camera often captures her face, but occasionally we look at her from behind. Hypnotising lines on the road whiz by. Just like trees and other elements surrounding the road. Some short telephone conversations alternate with long silences. Meanwhile, the spectator travels along with the woman for many miles. Next, her phone rings for the third time. It turns out to be her lover. Gradually, the nature of the conversation becomes clear. It is their final, but intense and extensive talk. One time, the tone is very impersonal, another time defiant or even particularly emotional. More and more becomes clear about the two characters and their past relationship.

With its twenty-plus floors, the Chicagoblok high rise in Antwerp has a bad reputation in the city. But the residents think quite differently about it. The retired Louis has lived here for three years with his Thai wife. He is not proud of his place, but he mingles quite nicely with the other people. After his wife had left him, Rudi ended up in this council housing project. 'I'm surrounded by negroes. They live at night and make a racket.' Single Sandra is ashamed of her neighbourhood and longingly awaits the arrival of her new, Moroccan husband, whom she found on the Internet. African Yves is proud of his block of flats. He feels safe and does not understand the criticism.

In the Netherlands, colonial history is slowly but surely being rewritten. It has long been clear that what the Dutch government at the time described as “police actions”—the deployment of the army in response to Indonesia’s declaration of independence in 1945—was in fact an unlawful war. Nonetheless, the use of the term “war crimes” is still sensitive. This documentary reveals how far the Dutch rulers went in selling the war as a domestic affair, intended to restore peace among the population. Unique, often shocking images tell a different story. Filmmaker In-Soo Radstake holds extensive interviews with international experts who explain the complex relationships in the former colony and set out the global context.