Holland 1944 - The final years of WWII find beautiful Rachel Stein taking refuge with a family in rural Holland. Once a popular and wealthy singer, Rachel has been waiting out the war like many Jews in Europe, separated from her family and a moment away from being caught by the Gestapo. In a chain of events, Rachel joins the Dutch resistance forces and uncovers trails of deceit pointing to compatriots she once counted as her closest friends. To fight the enemy, she must become one of them.
by aldermanhogg
on 20/06/2008 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
One measure of the depth of Nazi evil is that fifty years after the event, films still are being made that shock our sensibilities by nothing else than telling a true story. This story follows the misfortunes of a level headed, happy-go-lucky young Jewish woman whose destiny necessitates entering the worlds of hideaways, resistance fighting, Nazi fraternization and consequent indictment for collaboration. The film is good: entertaining, exciting action with many emotional ups and downs - somewhat more closely related to Indiana Jones than Schindler's List, though. But it is not without subtlety; "...will it never end?" cries our heroine in a rare wallow in despair at the midst of the liberation turmoil, whilst the film ends with a Kibbutz coming under military attack. Anyway, let us salute filmmakers who continue to plumb the bottomless pit of Nazi attrociities, lest we forget.
It seems like the entirely varied filmmaking career of Paul Verhoeven has taken yet another predictably exciting twist with the release of "Black Book", a thoroughly accessible spy-thriller that elevates itself stylishly from the psychosexual drab that was Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution".
Of course, this isn't "The Lives Of Others" - no choking, claustrophobic intensity here, although the content is similar. Verhoeven's "Black Book" is exceptionally paced, enough to escape the dourness of all war-related movies that don't contain graphic violence. Verhoeven forgoes the Cronenberg-type violence in "Black Book" to concentrate on sexual dynamics and adventure storytelling, frankly his better advantage if you had seen guilty pleasures such as "Showgirls" and "The Fourth Man". All this Hollywood dabbling must have done some good because his most recent offering is completely balanced and cross-cultural, unlike his Rutger Hauer starrer "Soldier Of Orange" back in 1977.
It's simple really: the meaning behind a Nazi song is only as important as the meaning that an international audience can derive from it.
Carice van Houten reaches her widest audience to date as the Jewish singer who infiltrates the Gestapo HQ on behalf of the Dutch Resistance is really quite a watch, if only benefiting from the exquisite script. She has the right nuances of vulnerability and strength when switching between situations of danger and indulgence. By indulgence, I do mean sex really. Be still my beating heart! If "Black Book" was released 30 years ago, it might have reached the same iconic reverence as something like Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" - only without the super-serious assertions and with more run fun from the chasing around. It just so happens that the star-making roles of today are less spectacular and more frequent. Thus van Houten's full frontal attempt to peroxide her pubes as a perfectionist blonde spy would dissipate more fleetingly in the passage of modern cinema. Doesn't she look a bit like Greta Garbo from certain angles?
Naughty bits aside, all the cast put forth a great act although one would have expected a more involved delivery from Sebastian Koch, whom we last saw a powerhouse performance from in "The Lives Of Others". The story is sound, the players are proven and the sex is still intact. Throw in some WWII explosions and a little faecal humiliation (poor lass!) and you have your complete Nazi spy movie.
Who can wait to watch "The Thomas Crown Affair 2"?
Production Photos - Click thumbnail for larger photos
