Andres Salama The Age of Exploration (or age of Discovery). Those 200 years (more or less) from 1450 to 1650, when a few brave men coming from Western Europe, traveling in fragile wooden ships and armed with primitive fire weapons, basically conquered the world. It's strange that very few movies have been made out of that era. Perhaps this is so because this era is now a bit politically incorrect (since it many times involved Europeans invading and conquering Native people). But movies dealing with early polar exploration should not have such a problem, since there were few if any native people there. So here comes this fine film from the Netherlands that tells the true story of Willem Barents, the Dutch navigator that seeking a Northern route to China (Spain, being in war with the Netherlands at the time make it difficult for Dutch ships to go to the east through the Cape of Good Hope) reached in 1596 (more than three centuries before the North Pole was reached) the island of Nova Zembla in the High Arctic Sea, an island that is now a part of Russia. However, the ice soon broke the ship and the crew has to spend in the island a harrowing winter. Shot in 3D mostly in Iceland, this film is handsomely made, with a good, classic storytelling. The story is mostly told through the eyes of Gerrit de Veer, the young, inexperienced chronicler in the expedition. Famous Dutch model Doutzen Kroes has a small role, appearing mostly in flashbacks, as Gerrit's fiancé back in Holland (she was obviously hired because she was believed to be a box office draw, not because her character was really needed in the story).

kdv93 Nova Zembla doesn't hold up to the promises made. In fact, it fails utterly, which, truly, is a shame. An adventurous story, a beautiful setting and (for Dutch standards) good acting but all that cannot make watching this film bearable.The storytelling is unbelievably slow. While being promised an action-packed heroic story it instead halts drastically every time a little climax should be due, resulting in the opposite. And if your film is to be made for a Dutch audience based on a classic Dutch history lesson almost every Dutch person will remember, you just can't get away with it. Not even with showing random scenes of Doutzen Kroes' breasts.The cast was fine though and the acting wasn't particularly bad. The lines didn't seem forced and it all had a genuine feel, which is often lacking in Dutch films. The technical side of this film wasn't bad either and the effects, costumes, locations and props are a rare perfect blend.It is clear this film lacked the experience of a great captain and should be a learning opportunity for inexperienced director Reinout Oerlemans. Nova Zembla fails to hoist the colours and sail full speed ahead and instead feels more like a rowing boat without oars. A typical trailer-beats-film.

susannetilburg **Warning: Lots of spoilers** This movie is one of the worst I have seen in a while. The 3D-effects are barely worth it (you can actually watch a lot of this movie without the glasses). The best effect is Doutzen on a swing, for just a few seconds. There's some missed chances there. I'd have liked to see a 3D-polar bear or something. What also p*ssed me off, is that the story has flaws. It's got gaps that are not explained. The clothing does not fit the setting (example: there's people sleeping in the snow with just normal clothes on). Besides, the editing is a bit off from time to time. Visually, there's some stuff that just doesn't work for me. All and all, this was a sheer waste of money and time. :)

bouke-223-258128 The idea is good, decors are very well thought of and very well done. Amsterdam and the scenery's are a charm to watch. (some minor mistakes, but hey, you can't have it all ;-)) Unfortunately the story is a bit thin and bleak, casting is way off Doutzen is more being a 21th century (very nice) model, than a 15th century girl, Robert is not convincing in his acting and does not fit the role at all. Derek and Victor ... well I have seen them way better before. Teun is not being convincing in his role as 'the bad guy' at all Highlights were Jan Declair as Plancius and Semmy Schilt as Claes.Technically the 3D performance was not adding much to the experience (done because they were able to??) some scenes were even disturbingly bad in 3D quality. The ship is nicely done, and is very well thought of in details.All in all, expensive movie (12,5 euro's) for 2 hours of disappointment with a few highlights in performance, story or scenery