A great production full of surprises and excellent acting

Rating: 8/10 (2 August 2007)

When Paul Verhoeven was younger, he did a lot of movies in Holland. His most famous one was 'Soldaat van Oranje', which as I believe is still one of our best movies. Paul was playing with the idea of making Zwartboek for a number of years, but eventually decided to 'go for it'.
And what a great choice. Zwartboek takes you to the world that the movie takes place in right from the very start. Carice, a brilliant actress who I knew from her lovely film Minoes, (English Title: Undercover Kitten) gets you involved. All throughout the film, whether she's singing with the Nazi's, kissing Muntze or crying because of her loss, she takes the viewer with her. Wherever she goes, you go, and it doesn't get annoying. One scene, she wonders: "Houdt het dan nooit op?" (Does it never end ??!) Her emotions in that particular scene are so real that you feel pain in your chest. I think this was probably the best piece of acting I have ever seen! Also, Sebastian Koch is a fantastic actor in this movie. Though a Nazi, you get to feel for him, or at least understand that he is not so much a violent and crude man, but so much more a compassionate man who wanted to provide for his family. The tension between Carice and Sebastian throughout the movie is intense and real. No wonder they have had a relationship since the movie was shot. Halina Reijn, Ronnie, is a great actress too. Her beauty, might it not be the same as Carice's but there is something about Halina, makes her fit for this film.
However, some of the other actors fail to impress me. Michiel Huisman, who plays the boy that Carice meets while relaxing outside her house, doesn't seem to be the kind of actor for these movies. His performance in pulp like Costa would be a little more suitable. And Johnny de Mol really doesn't add anything. He's playing some kind of psychedelic Christian who's totally weird or something. Most of the Resistancepeople don't get to me either. A real shame.
Holland was in upright position when we first got to see this movie, but I think it wasn't what we expected. Still, a great movie and the so-deserved big break for Carice, who will now star in a James Bond, an Irish thriller and play the lead in a movie with no other than Tom Cruise himself. The ability of Verhoeven to get Dutch actors , as he did with Rutger Hauer, Jeroen Krabbé, Famke Janssen and others, once again is proved.
A great production that will take you from place to place in seconds. An absolute must for anyone who likes Carice.