A nail house is a Chinese neologism for homes belonging to people (sometimes called “stubborn nails”) who refuse to make room for real estate development. The term, a pun coined by developers, refers to nails that are stuck in wood, and cannot be pounded down with a hammer.
Alex van Warmerdam, ‘De Noorderlingen’ (‘The Northerners’) (1992)
A surreal black comedy set in a decrepit 1960’s housing development. When his mother is drawn into sainthood and the resulting frustrations of his father become too difficult to manage, Thomas, a young boy, becomes obsessed with events on the broadcast news. The liberation of the Belgian Congo is taking place and Thomas becomes Lumumba, one of the contenders as the Congo’s new leader. He is encouraged in this escapism by Plagge, the postman who reads all the mail and knows all of the bizzarre and intimate secrets of the eccentric inhabitants of the estate.
