Elise and Bracha argue like only sisters can
If I have to name two things that make me really happy when I'm feeling down, then ‘sisters’ and ‘frying’ are at the top. So when I heard that Bracha van Doesburgh and Elise Schaap are together in a movie that also has those two favorite topics as its basis, I was immediately ready to sprint to the cinema to see ‘De Z van Zus’. The film is about the bond between two sisters, which is put to the test when their father passes away. Or rather, the lack of that bond. Because the sisters Rianne and Juliette are twins, and yet they have completely lost sight of each other in their adult lives. The sisters grew up together with their father's snack bar as their home base, but the contrast between them now couldn't be greater: Rianne takes care of their father until his death, in a Rotterdam house a la ‘Hoarders’, while Juliette, as a decluttering guru in a television program, guides people through the decluttering process, enjoying her neatly arranged house in Amsterdam.
During the filming, it was constantly about outbidding each other.
When their father passes away, the sisters must somehow try to fulfill his last wish. Thus begins a hilarious road trip with two sisters and their bffs, in an attempt to pay their father one last tribute. As creative producers of the film (we love girls in charge), Bracha and Elise could really go wild on the script together. Elise: ‘We really wanted to make a real comedy, so that's how Jelle, the director, and I got to work. And I just really wanted to make it with Bracha; we have the same kind of humor, like the same things. That was the starting point,’
Bracha: ‘There was already a version of the script, and we were allowed to further develop it with director Jelle, screenwriter Jildou, Elise, and me. Playing as sisters went very smoothly right away, it was a kind of constant outbidding and challenging each other, which made us laugh uncontrollably during the filming.’ Fortunately, the sisters in the film don't have to endure everything alone; two fun bffs have also joined them: Sarah Janneh and Mariana Aparicio support the sisters in the hilarious trip full of ups and downs.
If there is anything worse than a fight between two sisters,
it's a fight between twins.
‘Brothers and sisters naturally love each other unconditionally; you can go further in a fight than you would with friends. With friends, you eventually have to talk it out, with a brother or sister, it's just suddenly okay,’ laughs Elise. ‘Every little house has its cross, but we wanted to seek out the extremes. What could be worse than a fight between two sisters? When it comes to twins!’ Bracha adds. ‘Twins are so connected; if something breaks there, it's just a bit more intense.’ The bond between brothers and sisters is something the women recognize; Bracha has an older sister and Elise has a brother: ‘Yes, we could really fight, then my mother had to come and calm things down. But that's also very typical; suddenly it's over again.’ The sisters Rianne and Juliette go a bit further, which leads to bizarre situations.
Maybe there is still a resemblance between the actresses and their characters...
No matter how fantastically organized Juliette's house is, in normal life, that's of course not sustainable. Bracha: ‘Fortunately, it's not as bad at my home as it is for Rianne in the film, but with three children, unfortunately, it is the case that you haven't turned around before there's stuff everywhere again. Daan (Schuurmans) would love it if our place could be as tidy as Juliette's home.’ Elise: ‘I would really like to be that organized, but unfortunately, that just doesn't work at all. But with Rianne, it's really a lot worse.’
If you're now immediately craving to sit in the cinema with a bag of fries, I have good news: the film will be in theaters from Thursday, November 7 (yes, tomorrow already!).
