I had heard about "Borgman" as being a movie about some guy, apparently a fallen angel, who slowly destroys an affluent family from within by sheer cunning plus a few little supernatural tricks like affecting their dreams. I happen to think that's pretty damned creepy, so I watched the movie.That's basically what happens in the movie, too, except the master "Borgman" guy (who looks like a cross between Max Von Sydow and Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson) has some help from some buddies of his who are just as evil and cunning as he is.He invites them in as gardeners after he manages to wrap the lady of the house around his finger by putting on a "poor abused tramp who hasn't had a wash" act. The thing is, though, is that I just don't buy the lady of the house coming to care about him as much as she did. I mean, she practically begs him to stay. For some reason I can believe that he can affect people's dreams, but the ease with which he gains total control of her makes it a little lame. It's like he's almost omnipotent, so there's too little conflict. Like pitting Professor X versus, I dunno, Randy Quaid.The same goes for when one of his buddies (Pascal) transforms the house nanny from a sweet, kind of airheaded young woman into a vicious shrew who suddenly hates her boyfriend and fawningly loves Pascal. I don't know; it's like, I know they're fallen angels and all, or at least one of them is. But it's just not as interesting when they have these superhuman powers of manipulation. Dude even Jim Jones would have to take at least a few days plus a position of esteem -- not a damn gardener living in a shed -- to completely turn someone to their will.The movie is still very well-made, I just couldn't buy these awesome powers the Borgmen had. And oh yeah, they go around murdering people in broad daylight without the police being on to them at all, which also made the movie more boring than disturbing. Like, they go to the family doctor's office and just shoot him in the head without even a silencer. I guess their Deus Ex Machina Fallen Angel powers kept the police from caring about it.Without giving away too much, the Borgmen eventually wind up triumphant. This left me with the question, "what was the point?" Not the point the Borgmen had of recruiting new members, I got that. No, it's like, what was the point of this movie? What's it trying to say? "Here, watch these imaginary fallen angels ruin a family for two hours"? Without a real-world analog to really link these events to, it ultimately comes across as an extremely well-crafted but kinda lightweight flick.

It's really intriguing, diverse and confusing, also engrossing movie. However, there are many references to Christian culture and myth. If you don't have knowledge on this topic, you can't get the point. The symbol seems strange. After watching movie, you should surf on the web and take notes to see the bigger picture. Still, it's well-done movie, also disturbing. Although, the questions raised on remain unanswered, the curiosity is always kept alive. Throughout the movie the number of questions which remain unanswered continually increasing. Acting is very well. If you think about the popular movies which seem similar to each other, thanks to its uncommon atmosphere this could be the most outstanding movie I've seen this year.

I have mixed feelings about this film especially after reading explanations after viewing it. I was immediately intrigued by this film after watching the trailer months ago. Overall, I enjoyed it although it had a disturbing quality to it that I cannot shake maybe because I didn't fully understand the motivations behind the actions. I had a general idea what was happening throughout the movie but was still confused at times and did not understand all of the symbolism.The storyline regarding the children was the most confusing to me. They had unwavering trust toward Camiel from the get go and were completely docile without showing any humanity. If they would have been portrayed as 'normal' children from the start, then their eventual manipulation would have been much more disturbing. The 'mark of Satan' on the children baffled me as well because they made it seem like some type of procedure had been done with similar effects to a lobotomy or something. This was before I knew it was supposed to be the 'mark of Satan' which the viewer previously saw on Camiel as well. I honestly think giving them a brand or a tattoo would have been more effective (but maybe too obvious?).As the film progressed, I kept wondering what is Camiel's goal in all of this as he didn't seem to have any motivation and was just a very intelligent but insane person. Now I understand that he basically was recruiting minions and trying to have 'fun' at it all the while. All of the efforts to manipulate and kill when it did not seem necessary was more or less just a game to achieve desired results. I also don't fully realize why he didn't take the wife who had obviously fallen under his control.If you are a more intelligent person than I (which is likely) and figure out all of the symbolism and motivations while the film happens, I could see this film being very rewarding. With my lack of religious and folklore knowledge, I was admittedly pretty lost at times but still enjoyed it while having a general idea what ultimately was happening. If you know the story and everything ahead of time, I could actually see this being kind of boring and unrewarding. So basically, I fell in the middle and liked the movie but could see myself on either side of the fence depending on some prerequisite knowledge.

"...and they descended upon the earth to strengthen their ranks." -opening quote, BorgmanCamiel Borgman is a greater demon of hell. His supposed name is actually his title; his real name is given at the beginning of the movie "Anton Breskens" which is believed to be a lie in an attempt to gain admittance to the house. His real name will be important later. The etymology of 'Camiel' is 'acolyte' and 'Borgman' is 'a man who takes toll/a landlord'. So his title is 'Acolyte Landlord' which means he's collecting tolls, or souls, for another (i.e. Satan). Mark 5:9: "My name is Legion, for we are many", the reference drawn from the play towards the end of the movie, the signs reading "I am" and "We are". Camiel's sole purpose is to build his legion of minions, represented by his friends who will do anything to seek his "favor", his hounds of hell ushering in his reign (but not too early!), and the children and young babysitter of the family who serves as Camiel's coveted converts-to-be (children only, no adults). Once they "drink the Kool-Aid", a sign of ultimate obedience towards Camiel's demonic sovereignty, their backs are branded by the mark of Satan, which he also bears. Camiel is a playful demon, like that of an alp or incubus (see wikipedia). If Camiel can't play, he gets bored and goes somewhere else. When he is playing, it is in some form of the 7 deadly sins of Christianity: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. In a general sense, the movie is a depiction of these sins at work. They are evident at the beginning where a priest employs wrath to hunt down Camiel and then shortly thereafter when the husband beats Camiel to a pulp (through a combination of pride and wrath). Later in the movie, Isobel employs wrath on the gardener. Throughout Borgman, the wife gradually takes to Camiel via envy, exhibits gluttony towards alcohol, and eventually lust towards Camiel and wrath towards her husband. The children are afflicted with sloth after drinking the orange liquid. The husband is a constant victim of greed in trying to steal his boss's company. The middle-aged man lusts after the babysitter. (Etc.) At the center of all these sins is Camiel, either directly or indirectly influencing the actions, and thus advancing his demonic kingdom.Camiel, like that of an alp, likes to manipulate dreams. You see him sitting stark naked over the asleep wife throughout the movie (which is Camiel's truest form), manipulating her dreams that serve to further placate her to him. Camiel also shares characteristics with that of an incubus which is revealed when the wife has to die due to prolonged interactions with Camiel. The story of the White Child that Camiel narrates to the children is an allegorical parable in which Camiel is actually in it, and the moral of the story is the same as the moral of the movie. It is of an angel (white child) falling from heaven (above the clouds) and into the depths of hell (the bottom of a deep lake with a terrible beast in it). Camiel is the cripple during the last part of the story who volunteers to save the mother's child after all others would not. The villagers wrongly placed their trust in Jesus for the salvation of the child, which Camiel chastises them in the narrative, "Jesus is only concerned about Himself". Camiel is known to be the cripple because he gives his name as 'Antonius' to the mother in the narrative, and at the beginning of the movie, Camiel gives his name as 'Anton' to the wife, which is a derivative name. Furthermore, the etymology of 'Anton' means 'priceless', so placing faith in Anton is synonymous with placing value in something that is priceless, an obvious parable to idolatry and greed. The moral of the White Child story and the moral of the movie are the same: one should put their faith in Camiel, not Jesus. After all, Camiel is quite literally the Priceless Acolyte Landlord. This is my interpretation at least. Fantastic movie with lots to uncover for yourself.