Every evening, the cruel and vulgar criminal Albert Spica (the Thief) dines with his gang and Georgina (his Wife) at the luxurious restaurant Le Hollandais. With his violent outbursts, he instils a reign of terror night after night, not only amongst the staff but also towards his wife. With the help of the cook, she manages to begin a passionate affair with the bookseller Michael (the Lover), one of the other customers. Not without consequences…

The music by Michael Nyman, the costumes designed by Jean Paul Gaultier and the sets by the renowned duo Ben van Os and Jan Roelfs are legendary. Each room has its own colour – the restaurant is red, the kitchen green and the toilets white – to which Helen Mirren’s costumes are always adapted.

Are we watching a classical tragedy, a macabre love drama or a pitch-black comedy?A controversial film by Peter Greenaway that will still provoke both revulsion and admiration today. Was he simply out to shock? Was it a political parable about Thatcher’s England?

* English spoken, Dutch subtitles