Black Book (Zwartboek)
Set during the end of WWII, Black Book is the story of a German Jewish girl who narrowly survives the war in Holland. She joins the resistance to find out who betrayed her family after all of them were killed in an attempt to reach the liberated south.
Member Reviews
The Black Book - Patnb1
I was looking forward to this movie especially as it was a Dutch one but was extremely disappointed with it. It was contrived, very choppy and clumsy and many situations were improbable. It's the worse movie on this topic I've ever seen. Even from the beginning when she's in the water and the house is burnt to the ground, she's suddenly dry and with new clothes. This happens in more than one occasion and it's poor filming.Oh that Verhoeven. - cathyottawa
Say what you will about him, the infamous director of Basic Instinct and Showgirls never fails to entertain.
Ever wonder what would happen if you crossed a Spanish novella soap opera with a serious war movie? I think it would look something like Black Book.
This isn't nearly as campy or simplistic as some of Verhoeven's other outings; in fact, it was put up for, and very nearly received a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination.
But it does have those Verhoeven trademarks - lots of nudity, both male and female, and lots of sex. This film is more likely to be remembered as the one where the girl dyed her pubic hair blond (and yes, we see it), than as a serious war drama. Such is Verhoevens fate.
Big Dutch star Carice van Houten is beautiful and compelling as the protagonist of this story. I wouldn't be surprised if her career started to take off in Hollywood as a result of this film.
This has some violence (mostly people getting shot), but isn't a very bloody war movie. It stays centered on Carice's character, and her story of how she survived the war as a Jew in occupied Holland. It's a story told with flourish, that I enjoyed.Nazis She Has Loved - Stitch
You might guess this romance will face an occasional bump in the road since the heroine is Jewish and the year is 1944 in occupied Holland. But she has commendable twin attributes to admire, the action is pretty well non-stop, and there are more twists to the plot than those legendary Amsterdam canals. The cinematography is excellent throughout. The supporting roles are competently handled in spite of the screenplay having more holes than Leerdammer cheese.
It reminds me a lot of Soldier of Orange, also by Verhoven. A convenient crutch is to announce up front that the story is derived from true events—but so is just about every movie ever made. His schtick is to pack a plethora of events into a visually appealing action film and then try to weave them into a semblance of believability. How about fewer events with more time and attention to related plot and character development? There are just so many players that, as in Soldiers, you never come to know any one character well enough to suffer along. Except for the lead, and that’s another story.
The moral grounding of the film, aside from resistance to a brutal occupying army, is the heroine's personal sacrifice for vengeance and to save others. Yet to me her character hasn't been given sufficient plot integrity so we can appreciate her reluctance to romance the enemy or later to empathize with her suffering. More convincing maturity and rectitude early on might have put us more firmly in her corner.
Waldemar Kobus as Günther Franken is a great choice for the villain. Absolutely detestable, best performance of the lot. Koch as Muntze has a tougher job convincing us of his irresistability. And the bit about occupation forces honoring SS court martial orders is a fabrication, a handy cop-out to resolve a plot conundrum.
In summary, a shoot-em-up masquerading as a true-story morality lesson. Sex, brutality and full frontal nudity, male included. Put the kids to bed first.
Member Reviews
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The Black Book - Patnb1
I was looking forward to this movie especially as it was a Dutch one but was extremely disappointed with it. It was contrived, very choppy and clumsy and many situations were improbable. It's the worse movie on this topic I've ever seen. Even from the beginning ...Oh that Verhoeven. - cathyottawa
Say what you will about him, the infamous director of Basic Instinct and Showgirls never fails to entertain.
Ever wonder what would happen if you crossed a Spanish novella soap opera with a serious war movie? I think it would look something like Black ...Nazis She Has Loved - Stitch
You might guess this romance will face an occasional bump in the road since the heroine is Jewish and the year is 1944 in occupied Holland. But she has commendable twin attributes to admire, the action is pretty well non-stop, and there are more twists to ...