»Dear Monique, many who know me ask me how I am. Answer: not so good. I was hoping for cooler weather, but the opposite has occurred. Heat, heat everywhere, a really horrible heat.«
– Kees Momma

Out in the car, firing off a rant, Kees swears that they should drop a nuclear bomb on the Krauts (by which he means the Germans). Images from a TV news broadcast inevitably cause him great distress and loud noises come over as a physical assault. Unpredictable eruptions can be the result. Aged 49 and autistic since birth, Kees Momma lives with his parents. He is a sensitive man. And a genius.
If it all gets too loud, Kees withdraws to his »chalet«, the refuge next door to his parents’ house where he likes to perfect his written Japanese, draw models or play with his railway set. Another reason to follow him through the film is an even rarer talent: Kees is in a position to reflect on himself and his life from the viewpoint of his disability. Which he does with almost literary gesticulation and archaic, naïve, poetic language. His greatest fear is the death of his parents who are already in their eighties. Without their vital protection against noise and the intrusiveness of the outside world, Kees reckons his life would be only gruelling and loud. His mother is also thinking about that moment. Euthanasia could be a way out for him, she says.

Monique Nolte has accompanied Kees Momma for five years. Her film is not only a complex portrait of his special life but also an in-depth and informal study of altruistic love, letting go of children and the death of one’s parents.

Film programme Always Together