De Groeten van Mike! (2012)
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Directors
Cast
Maas Bronkhuyzen, Faas Wijn, Carine Crutzen, Leona Philippo
After months in the hospital, Mike is allowed to go home, but his mother’s failure to collect him brings child welfare into the picture.
The story
After months in the hospital, Mike is allowed to go home, but his mother, Natasja, who has a drinking problem, does not come to collect him at first. His nurse, Laetitia, contacts child welfare services, and when Natasja finally arrives, she is not allowed to take him. Mike is offered a temporary place with a foster family, but he does not want to go and behaves so badly toward the prospective foster parents that the placement falls through. Thinking he can stay in the hospital, Mike is instead told he must go to a youth residential facility. He writes to the juvenile court judge, arguing that he can care for himself if he lives with Natasja again.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After months in the hospital, Mike (Maas Bronkhuyzen) is allowed to go home. However, his mother Natasja (Bracha van Doesburgh), who has a drinking problem, does not come to pick him up at first. Laetitia (Leona Philippo), the nurse who is caring for Mike, contacts child welfare services, with the result that when Natasja finally comes to collect him, she is not allowed to take him with her. Mike can stay with a foster family for the time being, but he does not want to, so he behaves so badly toward the prospective foster parents that the placement falls through. Mike thinks he can now stay in the hospital, but, to his dismay, he has to go to a youth residential facility (“living community”). He writes a note to the juvenile court judge explaining that he can take care of himself if he lives with Natasja again. Mike's roommate Vincent (Faas Wijn) has had an accident that left him unable to walk. He is depressed because he had wanted to become a pilot like his father, which he can no longer do. Mike cheers him up. When Mike is collected to be taken to the youth facility, he runs away from the hospital with Vincent's help and goes home, but Natasja is not there. The police, who have been alerted, come to check the house, but Mike hides and is not found. Natasja is in a clinic undergoing treatment for her alcoholism. She goes to the hospital to visit Mike and then learns that he is missing. She finds him in a pigeon coop, wrapped in a blanket, where he has become ill because he has not had his medication. Vincent feels guilty, but he is also angry with Mike for not telling him that he still needed his medication. Back in the hospital, Mike recovers; then, by order of the juvenile court judge, he goes to the youth facility despite his note. After it becomes clear that Natasja is making progress, Laetitia, Vincent, and his parents go to the juvenile court judge, who decides that if things continue to go well, Mike can return to Natasja after three months; in the meantime, Mike may live with Vincent.
Genres
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