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Ciske de Rat

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Ciske de Rat
Paperback, 25th edition, 1984
AuthorPiet Bakker
Original titleCiske de Rat
LanguageDutch
GenreNovel
PublisherElsevier
Publication date
1941 - 1946
Publication placeNetherlands
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages620

Ciske de Rat ("Ciske the Rat") is a novel for children by Dutch author Piet Bakker. It is part of the Ciske trilogy which was written from 1941 to 1946. The book was published in more than ten countries. It was made into two films, a television series and an upcoming musical. Best known is the film version of 1984, starring Danny de Munk as Ciske, Herman van Veen and Willeke van Ammelrooy.

Plot

Ciske de Rat is the story of eleven year old lonely street child Ciske (Franciskus) Vrijmoeth, who has no friends and is only called "the rat". The setting is in Amsterdam in the 1930s. Ciske has to change school, because he poured ink over his teacher's head. After school, he helps out in a pub, where also his mother Marie also works. His beloved father Cor is a fisherman and therefore not at home. The story is told by his new teacher Bruis, who gives him a chance.

Ciske groeit op ("Ciske Grows Up") is the second part. Ciske starts a fire at home as he accidently knocks over a lantern. He meets his father, who wants to get divorced. At school he makes friends with a sick boy called Dorus. One night, Ciske surprises his mother with another man, who beats him. As his mother tears out pages from a book which was a gift from Dorus, who later dies, Ciske gets angry and kills his mother with a knife. He is then arrested and put into jail. His teacher helps him out, and after Ciske saves a drowning boy's life, he is declared a hero and lives together with his father and aunt Jans.

In the third part, Ciske de man ("Ciske the Man"), Ciske is now an adult soldier and fights against the German soldiers in World War II. This part of the book was published in 1946 after the Dutch liberation and is not included in the films.

Films

1955

The first film was issued in 1955, starring Dick Van der Velde as Ciske and Kees Brusse as the teacher Bruis. The black-and-white film, which was directed by Wolfgang Staudte, won an OCIC Award and a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

1984

The second film was directed by Guido Pieters and filmed by Frans Bromet. Ciske is played by 14-year-old Danny de Munk who also sung the title song Ik voel me zo verdomd alleen which scored a number one hit in the Netherlands. Herman van Veen played his teacher Bruis and Willeke van Ammelrooy his mother. The film was successful and in 1985 won a UNICEF Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. The producer was Matthijs van Heijningen and the film score was composed by Eric van der Wurff.

An enhanced television series was later broadcasted.

Both films are still in the TOP-10 of visited Dutch films in the Netherlands since 1945.

Musical

On October 5, 2007, a musical of the whole trilogy is planned to start in the Netherlands, starring 37-year-old Danny de Munk as grown-up Ciske, who had also appeared in other musicals.

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