Win/Win

If a man gets everything he wants with almost no effort, can he ever be truly happy? Jaap van Heusden’s feature debut explores this central theme in the story of Ivan, a young analyst at an Amsterdam brokerage firm who has an uncanny gift for interpreting data. His savant-like abilities are soon discovered by the arrogant, no-nonsense Stef—one of the firm’s top traders—who takes the wunderkind under his wing. Ivan is an immediate sensation, raking in huge daily profits for the firm, receiving a swanky new apartment and getting amorous attention from the pretty receptionist he has secretly admired as dividends. But his gift comes at a great cost. As the profits and his reputation soars, Ivan feels increasingly detached from the rest of the world, soon forcing him to make a momentous decision. Win/Win is an absorbing character study that also subtly skewers the financial hubris that helped bring about the global economic crisis. In between Ivan’s brilliant stock trades, we see glimpses of real-life news reports about the collapse of Bear Stearns splashed across the trading floor’s video screens—warnings that are virtually ignored by the busy traders.