Meet the Fokkens follows Louise and Martine Fokkens, identical twins who have worked as prostitutes in Amsterdam for more than 50 years. Martine still works today, while Louise stopped a few years ago because of her arthritis.
Credit Kino Lorber
The Fokkens are well-known in their neighborhood. The film mostly avoids downers but does tell of some darker moments in the twins' past, including an abusive husband and lost daughter.
Despite its dreadful English title (the Dutch title translates to the far better Old Whores), Meet the Fokkens strives mightily to be as quirky and bubbly as its portly protagonists. And it mostly succeeds, painting a warmhearted portrait of a pair of elderly twin prostitutes — they turned 70 earlier this year — one of whom, Martine, still occupies a storefront window in Amsterdam's red-light district while her sister, Louise, gave up the game two years earlier because of arthritis.
The Cincinnati Preservation Society is working diligently to preserve cemeteries in Columbia Tusculum. Executive Director Paul Mueller joins Barbara Gray to discuss the historic relevance of these cemeteries and the extensive efforts and partnerships that are collaborating on this project.
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