Domweg gelukkig

In the late eighties, Hungarian Péter Forgács used old amateur movies to compile films, that drew an intriguing portrait of the 'other side' of Hungarian history in this century. How did 'ordinary' people deal with dramatic historical events like war, revolution and uprising? In SIMPLY HAPPY, together with Albert Wulffers, he applies the same process to the post-war precinct Ommoord in Rotterdam. Utilizing old films by six amateur filmmakers, supplemented by interviews and archive footage, they look for the Dutch definition of happiness (within families). They are not concerned with "making a documentary from an anthropological or sociological viewpoint, but with the poetry of fiction". The film consists of thirteen chapters. The filmmakers' conclusion is that inhabitants of wards like Ommoord manage extremely well "to find the everyday poetry by cherishing the attained happiness, the satisfaction that has silenced desire".