One should never underestimate the impact a good teacher can have on the prospects of his or her students. As many of us undoubtedly know, the educators put in charge of helping us navigate our way to our respective futures are vital, and do so much to prepare us for the world. However, many of them tend to have their work cut out for them when it comes to certain students – whether troublemakers or raised in homes in which they rarely received much love, some children need to look towards other adults to nurture them and provide them with the spiritual and emotional connection they not only crave, but sorely need in order to become functional members of society. This is the thesis statement of Ciske the Rat, the beautifully poetic drama directed by Wolfgang Staudte, who tells the story of a young man (the titular Ciske), and the teacher who took a chance on him and helped him work through his own personal obstacles, all the while learning the harrowing details of his personal life, which would shock and bewilder any rational, decent adult. This film is a haunting excursion into the depths of a broken childhood, told through alternating perspectives, focusing on the child who suffers greatly at the hands of an abusive mother, and the teacher who has no choice but to intervene, before Ciske does something that he will regret. An absolute gem of Dutch cinema, and a strikingly profound coming-of-age drama that can occasionally be quite difficult to watch, Ciske the Rat is a staggering achievement, as well as resounding proof to the fact that the most effective stories are often those that are simple and assured of the direction in which they are going to take the viewer. The result is a quiet meditation on youth, told from the perspective of two very different characters divided by a generation gap, but united by their shared conviction to work their way out of a bad situation.

Piet Bakker’s trilogy of novels centring on the young, wayward Ciske are some of the most cherished works in the history of Dutch literature, and it makes sense as to why these novels have come to be so indicative of growing up in a particular time and place. The subject matter may certainly be harrowing at times, but these are simple, beautiful stories of everyday life, and a firm manifesto to the importance of realizing one’s one ability to overcome even the most perilous of obstacles. Staudte’s adaptation of Ciske the Rat (the first novel in the trilogy) is perhaps not the best-known version, with a variety of other productions having been made over time. However, it is the first time Bakker’s wonderful protagonist was brought to the screen, and the introduction to Ciske and his motley crew of friends and supporters for many viewers. Staudte had a great deal of experience, with a career going deep into the past of European cinema, thus making him a prime candidate to bring Ciske to life in a way that wasn’t simply retreading the same themes of the novel, but doing something creative with them. It converges into a poignant, emotionally-charged drama that is fully in control of its tone and atmosphere (there are a few moments of levity, but the film frequently avoids becoming a flippant comedy about childhood, since this isn’t the point of the story), and understands the gravity of the material it was working with. It’s not always a particularly pleasant film, but it’s one that knows the importance of what it is saying, so the combination of the simple storytelling and deep emotions makes for an engrossing, but often quite challenging, look into a difficult childhood.

Viewers should be aware that Ciske the Rat is not the charming, effervescent coming-of-age comedy that we’d expect based on a quick glance – this is a very serious film that looks deep into the roots of abuse, and the reaction that it elicits once it goes too far. As a result, the film can be quite difficult to watch – the scenes between Ciske and his abusive mother are harrowing, and are far from pleasant. However, they’re essential, as they show the reality many children face behind closed doors, exploited and abused in private, and sent out into the world and expected to develop into normal, functioning adults. Staudte finds the right balance between the horrifying scenes of emotional violence inflicted by the mother (played brilliantly by Jenny Van Maerlant, who is remarkable in playing the embodiment of evil), and the healing process, as facilitated by the one schoolteacher who refuses to chalk Ciske’s misbehaviour up to mere youthful mischief. The film knows where to draw the line, but it never fails to be thoroughly compassionate, especially in the portrayal of the teacher, a man who works tirelessly to give the troubled Ciske the best chance at life – praise must be given to Kees Brusse, who commands the film as the audience surrogate. There is a lot of hope in this film, it’s just peppered between moments of despair – and the constant oscillation between joy and sadness creates a powerful contrast, since the catharsis of seeing Ciske finally be able to embrace his childhood and move away from his dark past, is beyond satisfying. However, the journey to get to that point is difficult, and it took a lot of work on the part of the director to make it seem so authentic, avoiding overt melodrama, but also not neglecting to make use of the powerful emotions that come with such stories. Ciske the Rat is all about balance, and Staudte makes sure we are well-aware of this from the start, right until the final triumphant moments, where hope finally eclipses the melancholy.

When it comes to films about childhood, we tend to gravitate towards those that appear to be more joyful – after all, we enjoy more distracting, endearing portrayals of our younger years, since there’s a sense of nostalgia that comes about as a result. However, we know that not everyone had the most pleasant upbringing, so it’s vital the cinema pays attention to this fact, and allows the space for alternative stories to be told as well. Ciske the Rat is a definitive entry into a steady canon of complex coming-of-age dramas, where the story is less about the follies of youth, and more focused on showing how not every childhood was necessarily the same. The film is often a very sobering, haunting look into one child’s upbringing, and how he had to deal with an endless stream of abuse, which only stopped when he took the situation into his own hands (the film very smartly doesn’t condone Ciske’s extreme actions, but it refuses to use this as an opportunity to plumb for inauthentic, overwrought commentary – everything is very much genuine, rather than overly dramatic), and how he dealt with the consequences, as well as the resulting triumph of being liberated from his awful situation. Ciske the Rat is a multilayered film, a nuanced portrayal of childhood, taken from the dual perspective of a young boy and the man who saved him from falling even deeper into a cycle of abuse. One of the most important films centred on the issue of childhood development, and how our earliest years are undeniably the most formative, Staudte’s work here is truly impeccable, and the sign of an exceptionally gifted filmmaker who knows exactly how to elevate material and bring it to the screen in a way that feels natural and meaningful, as well as capturing the audience’s attention with his striking understanding of human behaviour, all of which make Ciske the Rat an absolute triumph.