- Theo van Gogh (director, screenwriter) movies & bio: The Dutch filmmaker was chiefly known as painter Vincent van Gogh’s great-grandnephew and as the director (at times also [co]writer) of several controversial – according to some, gratuitously exploitative – psychological dramas and thrillers.
- Birth: Theo van Gogh was born Theodoor van Gogh on July 23, 1957, in The Hague, the Netherlands. Death: He was murdered by a Muslim radical at age 47 on Nov. 2, 2004, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Theo van Gogh (director, screenwriter) movies & bio: Polemical filmmaker best known for several psychological dramas and thrillers
The great-grandson of art dealer Theo van Gogh (1857–1891) and great-grandnephew of post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), filmmaker Theo van Gogh had a relatively modest big-screen output. He directed a mere 15 features – most of which he also wrote or co-wrote – over the course of nearly a quarter of a century.
The vast majority of these films – among them Luger, Charley, Blind Date, and Baby Blue – are low-budget arthouse fare centered on troubled individuals and featuring (in the view of van Gogh’s critics, gratuitously) disturbing images and themes.
In spite of the envelope-pushing quality of his work, van Gogh never acquired the international prestige/notoriety of the likes of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Nagisa Oshima, or Lars von Trier, thus remaining a relatively minor name outside of the Netherlands.
Below is a brief overview of five Theo van Gogh features, in addition to his anti-Islam short film Submission: Part I.
Luger (1982)
Theo van Gogh’s feature debut, the sensationalistic black-and-white thriller Luger stars Thom Hoffman (also in his film debut) as the titular character, a fascistic psychopath who kidnaps a millionaire’s mentally handicapped daughter (Laurien Hildering). Problems arise when the woman’s father refuses to come up with the ransom money.
In one scene, two kittens are placed inside a washing machine; in another, a gun is stuck up a woman’s vagina.
Charley (1986)
Another “shocker,” Charley follows a silent serial killer (Marie Kooyman) whose technique involves seducing men, killing them, and – a few years before Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover – having them for dinner.
The justification for her deeds appears to lie in her incestuous past.
Blind Date (1996)
The psychological drama Blind Date revolves around a grieving couple (Renée Fokker and Peer Mascini) – their daughter has died – who decide to go on “blind dates” with one another.
Each encounter (or process of rediscovery) is supposed to have a different “theme.”
Baby Blue (2001)
Featuring extensive English-language dialogue, Baby Blue was described by the Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad as an “elegant psychological thriller.”
In the movie, the life of a married couple (Roeland Fernhout and Nienke Römer) takes a nightmarish turn – shades of Adrian Lyne’s Fatal Attraction – after the husband becomes sexually involved with his British neighbor (Susan Vidler).
Theo van Gogh referred to Baby Blue as his “most paranoid” effort, adding, “I know that I lie to other people and I suspect that my fellow man does the same.”
Tomas Ross was credited for the screenplay.
May 6th (2004)
Based on a novel by Baby Blue screenwriter Tomas Ross and loosely inspired by the events that led to the assassination of populist, far-right Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn in May 2002, the political thriller May 6th / 06/05 follows a photojournalist (Thijs Römer) who, shades of Alan J. Pakula’s The Parallax View and other such Hollywood thrillers of the 1970s, uncovers an intricate conspiracy to have Fortuyn assassinated.
In real life, Theo van Gogh had been a friend and supporter of the politician.
The filmmaker’s final feature, May 6th was released posthumously on Dec. 14, about five weeks after his murder.
Submission: Part I (2004)
The 10-minute short Submission: Part I was directed by Theo van Gogh and written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali refugee and former Muslim who at the time was a House of Representatives member belonging to the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, whose jumbled political agenda comprises libertarian, right-wing nationalistic, and socially progressive views.
Presenting itself as an indictment of Islam’s misogyny, Submission – the title is an English-language translation of the word “Islam” – features a narration of several fictional stories* about abused Muslim women while alluring, semi-naked female models are shown with Koran verses scrawled on their bodies.
Broadcast on Aug. 29 on the Dutch public television station NPO3, Submission was reviled by the Netherlands’ diverse Muslim communities, including some Muslim women’s groups.
* These were purportedly based on real-life stories that Ayaan Hirsi Ali herself had heard. Some sources list Theo van Gogh as her co-writer.
Theo van Gogh’s murder
On Nov. 2, or about two months after NPO3’s Submission broadcast, Theo van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death on Linnaeusstraat in Amsterdam. Following a shootout, the police arrested a 26-year-old Moroccan-Dutch man with ties to radical Islamic groups.
Attending the request of van Gogh’s family, a wake in his honor on downtown Amsterdam’s Dam Square was reportedly attended by 20,000 people banging pots and pans, and blowing horns and whistles as a representation of Dutch freedom of speech.
A planned sequel to Submission, which was to have been directed by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, never came to fruition.
Theo van Gogh filmography
Below is a partial list of Theo van Gogh’s feature films.
- Luger (1982)*
- A Day at the Beach / Een dagje naar het strand (1984)*
- Charley (1986)*
- Back to Oegstgeest / Terug naar Oegstgeest (1987)*
- Wild / Loos (1989)*
- False Light / Vals licht (1993)*
- 1-900 / 06 (1994)
- Blind Date (1996)*
- The Rack / De Pijnbank (1998)
- Baby Blue (2001)
- Aalbers’s Night / De nacht van Aalbers (TV Movie, 2001)
- Interview (2003)*
- May 6th / 06/05 (2004)*
* Also written or co-written by Theo van Gogh.
“Theo van Gogh (Director) Movies & Bio: Polemical Works” notes
Theo van Gogh quote about Baby Blue via De Filmkrant.
Theo van Gogh filmography via the British Film Institute (BFI) database and other sources.
Submission: Part I engendered more controversy after it was announced that clips from Theo van Gogh’s short would be aired on Italian television in May 2005.
Theo van Gogh (1984) image: Sjakkelien Vollebregt | Nationaal Archief (the uncropped, black-and-white original can be found here; Creative Commons’ license info).
Nienke Römer and Roeland Fernhout Baby Blue image: Shooting Star Filmcompany | Buena Vista.
“Theo van Gogh (Director) Movies & Bio: Polemical Works” last modified in June 2026.