From its 80th min on, it becomes a zany roller-coaster

Rating: 6/10 (16 February 2012)

Why would anyone watch Zwartboek? One reason to see Zwartboek is: because it has been recommended to you by someone. Another would be that Judith's preparations to seduce the Nazi Holophernes, the remarkable way she takes care of everything, in order to be a convincing blonde, are a nice bit; it is an endearing scene. But not much is revealed thus. The 3rd reason is that, from its 80th min onward, Zwartboek becomes a zany roller-coaster, a surreal mayhem—it accelerates the action, it enhances the suspense. Zwartboek, directed by Verhoeven, the somewhat _cartoonish rendering of a Jewish woman's run for her life through wartime Holland, resembles a comics book, and it depicts the way this endangered woman is helped by many honest, brave, clever people, who hate the Nazis as much as she does; after a while, she changes her mind, stops running away, and gets involved into the Resistance's activities. Frankly, it isn't much of a thriller, the dialogs are laughable trash, cinema of a very primitive and, to me, in its first 80 _mins., utterly _unengrossing kind, but it has a clean Hollywoodian look to it, and the female lead is comely. And for the viewer's benefit, Verhoeven indulges, now and then, in a bit of goofy humor, and of bawdiness. Zwartboek was kindly recommended to me by a female colleague, four months ago; and it took me four months to decide to watch it. The view could of been postponed forever. (Rest assured—the girl won't be rebuked for the recommendation.)