AllMovie

Loosely based on some political events in the 1960s, this film about the rise and fall of a Dutch public relations man is well-acted, but may be abstruse to outsiders not familiar with the allusions to real people and places (real names are not used). The story centers on Ben Mertens (Gerard Thoolen) who goes to a doctor for help with his alcohol problem. The physician prescribes very controlled doses of morphine to get him through the rough patches - which is fine until an unscrupulous doctor bribes Mertens with unlimited doses of morphine so Mertens can get him a top position in a government organization. Mertens complies, but while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, he talks too much to the press about who and what he knows. That mistake turns out to be unaccountably fatal, and Mertens' unexplained demise in a hospital remains a mystery.