Black Book

Amazing story and all that has to be endured in order to reach the end…

I seldom write 5-star reviews as I think others will think it is just promotion -BUT- I just viewed the BD today and it is one of the best films (of any genre) I have ever seen and I rushed right out to write this. It is as good as ANYTHING Hollywood has produced (no- better). It was fluid and flowed from start to finish - and never missed a beat. I was engaged from the very first second and captured to the last. A caution about the disk itself - let the film start from the very first; don't click over to the extras, looking to turn on the Subtitles; for me, I could not get the left remote to move the pointer back to 'Play'. I had to eject the disk, reload, and let it 'Play' from the start; the Subtitles started on their own. It's about 2-30 long so start early, you don't want to interrupt this movie!!!

This is a very good film. The solitary reason I held back from giving it five stars is due to the liberties taken with the occupation history in order to fit the story into a time frame of September 1944 to May 1945. BLACK BOOK cannot be categorized as a war film. It is a drama thriller, complete with a mystery that is only resolved at the conclusion of the film, set during the final year of World War Two in Europe.The film's main character is Rachel Stein, who later goes by the name of Ellis de Vries. The movie begins with Rachel in Israel eleven years after the European war. After meeting one of her wartime friends, the setting moves back to wartime Holland. It is late 1944 and Rachel and her family have thus far succeeded in hiding from the Nazis. As the Allied advance has stalled after September's Operation Market Garden, Rachel, her family, and dozens of others attempt to reach liberated Holland via a lumbering barge zigzagging through the marshes. Unfortunately they are betrayed and intercepted by a German patrol boat. As the sole survivor of the incident, Rachel makes her way to the Hague, changes her name and goes under cover for the resistance. She is motivated in part by the fact that she recognizes an officer at SS headquarters as one of the Germans who took part in the massacre and looting of the refugees who attempted to escape through the marshes.At the SS headquarters she becomes romantically involved with a Sicherheitdienst officer Ludwig Muntze. Muntze realizes quickly that Rachel is not what she appears to be, but is smitten with her and does not take any action. For his part Muntze also realizes the the war is ending badly for Germany and secretly negotiates a cease fire with the resistance. Muntze attempts to assist Rachel by exposing SS officer Franken as an embezzler of looted jewels, money, and other valuables. The attempt backfires and Muntze's superior, Kautner, imprisons Muntze.The resistance attempts to free some of their own from the basement of the headquarters, but are ambushed by alerted German SS troops. It becomes obvious that there is an additional traitor in the reistance. Rachel, now imprisoned by the SS, is framed as the traitor. She and Muntze subsequently escape from the prison, wait out the end of the war, and attempt to clear their names before they are captured by the Dutch and the mystery as to the real traitor continues to unfold.The above summary barely does justice to the film as there are additional twists and turns, but you will have to watch the movie to find out what happens.Unlike director Paul Verhoeven's earlier work SOLDIER OF ORANGE, BLACK BOOK is not a true story -- though it is billed as based on true events. This is where the film departs from some historical accuracy. In the beginning of the film we find Rachel living in circumstances similar to that of Ann Frank -- living in a secret annex of a farm house. Later she joins other refugees attempting to cross the rivers and marshes of the Biesbosch. In 1944 - 1945 the Biesbosch served as a regular route for couriers, refugees, and Airborne escapees. The film then jumps from September to several months later, which would put the film in February 1945, though it does not look like February. At that point in history the Dutch in occupied Holland suffered greatly in the what became known as the Hunger Winter. With the exception of the soup kitchen where Rachel is employed, the Hunger Winter is not portrayed in this film. Likewise in BLACK BOOK the Dutch rail service appears to be uninterrupted at this stage of the war. The final deviation from history is that the Germans at the SS headquarters celebrate Hitler's birthday in a fashion that would have been more likely in 1942 and not at at time when the Soviets had already surrounded Berlin and V-2 rockets were no longer being fired from the Hague.Those points aside, the movie returns to the historical period with the euphoria surrounding the liberation and use of German military personnel for labor and administrative duties in the months following the German surrender.There are some very familiar faces in this movie. In fact, four of the stars would also appear in 2008's VALKYRIE. Actor Christian Berkel makes yet another appearance as shaved-headed German officer. We have seen him in other war time setting movies such as DOWNFALL, VALKYRIE, and MIRACLE AT ST, ANNA.In the end, BLACK BOOK has elements of war, Holocaust, love story, and detective thriller. Yes, as a European film there are some risque scenes included that lend very little to the story, but you expect this sort of thing from a movie lensed in the Netherlands.

As many here have said, this is a beautifully shot, gripping, unforgettable movie, a great addition to the honorable genre of WWII flicks. In fact, the father of one of my colleagues, Dutch himself and in his 70s, said this was the best film he has ever seen. So I don't understand why, if a man in his 70s who is from the WWII generation himself did not find this film "prurient," so many reviewers have insisted that it is. The scene that most of the prudes seem to find gratuitous is (spoiler alert) the scene in which the Jewish heroine prepares herself to pass as a blonde bombshell so she can seduce the German officer. Clearly, she is going to have to dye or shave hair other than the hair on her head in order to pass as a natural blond. The movie shows her doing this. Why is it not gratuitous? Because the scene sets up the love triangle that will result in the conflict in the last third of the movie. It is absolutely essential to the advancement of the plot, and in my opinion, any reviewer who can't see that is not only a fussy old woman, but also not much of a reviewer. So if you have not seen this movie because you've read a review that trashes it on the grounds of prurience, please reconsider. And consider this: the most recent Ang Lee movie is so sexually frank that it got an NC-17 rating, yet there hasn't been a single review which has trashed it on the basis of its gratuitous sex. That says to me that some major reviewers are only interested in criticizing Paul Verhoeven rather than commenting honestly on his film. Another reason to see this movie is Carice Van Houten. She not only convincingly plays a 40's bombshell, she has that same 40s movie-star quality that you can't take your eyes off of. Truly, you could watch this film 100 times and never get tired of her. She is irresistible.

A very thrilling, suspenseful, and entertaining World War II movie from a Dutch perspective. Everything is top notch in this film and recommend it to anyone who likes films from this era but maybe isn't in the mood for depictions of the more brutal aspects of the war, e.g. the Holocaust. This is more of a spy thriller, one that will stay with you for a while. Very rewatchable, too.