‘Holland’ sold-out screening offers first look at Michigan-set thriller movie

HOLLAND, MI – Locals flocked to downtown Holland Monday night for a sneak peek at a mystery thriller filmed in the town’s iconic tulip fields.

‘Holland,’ directed by Mimi Cave, was mostly filmed in Tennessee, but some scenes were filmed in and around the authentic Dutch windmill at the city’s historic Windmill Island.

Over 500 people attended the sold-out screening of the new film at Knickerbocker Theatre, 86 E Eighth St., on Monday, March 24.

‘Holland’ director to host free hometown screening for Michigan-set thriller film

“It was a lot of research missions with Mimi coming to Holland in the beginning to see families, homes — people who actually live here and are Dutch,” said JC Molina, production designer of the new film. “It was really important for us and my team to recreate these sets because we weren’t able to shoot it here and to give it that authenticity and respect that it really deserves.”

The one-hour and 48-minute movie follows Nancy Vandergroot, a seemingly ordinary teacher and homemaker played by Nicole Kidman, whose picture-perfect life in Holland during the early 2000s is turned upside down when she and her colleague (Gael García Bernal) become suspicious of a secret, only to discover that nothing in their lives is what it seems.

Mayor Nathan Bocks, who moderated a Q&A with Cave and Molina following the free screening, said the film will be great exposure for those who’ve never been to the area.

“What everybody needs to remember is it’s not a documentary, it’s not about the city of Holland, but it happens to take place here,” Bocks said. “One of the great things about Holland is it’s a community that has a personality. We’ve got a long, rich history, and I think that shines through in the movie.”

Despite being only partially filmed in Holland, the movie captures the city’s small-town charm by featuring events like Tulip Time, showcasing the local high school and incorporating scenes near the Holland Peanut Store and other long-standing local shops.

For Holland resident Kendal Southworth, the excitement lies in seeing how the filmmakers incorporated the beloved spots around town.

“The movie did a great job capturing Holland and some of its funny quirks, and I was very impressed,” Southworth said. “There was a line in there about, ‘This is Holland, not Allegan,’ which was hilarious. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of reaction. You could tell that it hit home for a lot of people, especially the people who were born and raised here.”

But some viewers, like Paul Kleinheksel, 84, weren’t so impressed with the film.

Kleinheksel walked into the theatre with high hopes of how Holland would be portrayed but left disappointed.

“It was interesting, for sure,” he said. “Looking at the credits, it was mostly filmed in Tennessee, which everyone knew. ‘Why Holland?’ They have a few scenes at the windmill, but nothing quite captured our town. They chose to use the name of our town and put it on a movie with big-name actors, but it was disappointing.”

“Holland” streams nationwide on Prime Video on March 27. It initially premiered at the March 7-15 SXSW (South by Southwest) Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas.

Cave told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press that the film captures the hospitality of upper midwestern suburbia while weaving in unexpected twists and turns.

“It’s a really entertaining storyline,” she said. “My hope is people can sit back and enjoy it — not think too much and really be enveloped in the world we’ve created.”

Mayor Bocks shared a similar sentiment. While the film is a murder mystery, Bocks assures viewers that such events are not a regular occurrence in Holland.

Bocks, a resident of Holland, encourages those who have seen the film to visit the city and experience its true character firsthand.

“The fact that I didn’t actually grow up here, I can see some of the quirkiness that those who’ve lived their entire lives here might not see,” he said. “That’s one of the things that makes it such an incredible place to live. I think people are going to find this is an absolutely fabulous place, the most wonderful place in the world.”

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