Hold Back the Sea

The eternal fight of the Dutch against the encroaching sea has been the subject of many films from the Netherlands in the past. This film does far more than to depict the ravages of ocean and lake, however. It includes some impressive sequences from Joris Iven's 1932 film Zuider Zee, and several unique colour representations of mediaeval paintings. The colour cinematography is often overpowering, but always the theme — struggle for mastery between the Dutchman and his great enemy in nature—emerges dramatically.