Dennis P. 2007

Dennis is in love with Tiffany, a prostitute. He isn’t particularly drawn to sex, but he pays her to keep him company and showers her with expensive gifts. He funds this by repeatedly stealing diamonds from his employer, Globus Diamonds. Faced with an upcoming investigation into the missing stones, he fears he can’t keep living like this, so he plans one last heist — bigger than any before. He succeeds and leaves most of the diamonds with Tiffany’s parents, who agree to hide them. The two of them then flee to Mexico: Dennis escapes the country, while Tiffany’s wish to visit that sunny destination is fulfilled. Because the theft is already discovered, their departure is complicated by travel logistics, and Dennis must obtain a false passport to keep moving.

In Mexico, Tiffany reveals she has a lover there whom she intends to marry. Unbeknownst to Dennis, this man is a policeman who knows about the theft but won’t report it. Dennis feels a sharp sting of disappointment, and he ultimately decides to return to the Netherlands. Back at his parents’ house, he learns that his father has just died, a blow that deepens the sense of consequence now surrounding his actions. His mother disapproves of the theft and refuses the money Dennis offers, while a more forgiving outlook—anchored by a guiding motto—offers a counterpoint: the idea that sometimes it’s better to confront what’s done rather than live with what wasn’t attempted.

It is better to regret what you have done than to regret what you did not do

Upon returning, Dennis contemplates skipping the funeral to avoid potential police trouble, but he goes anyway. After attending, he decides to turn himself in. In a quiet, poignant turn, his mother’s feelings shift, and she is finally proud of him for choosing to face the consequences of his actions. The film closes on a note of hard-won accountability, tracing a turbulent arc from illicit escape to a form of moral reckoning, all set within a tense, intimate family drama.