A Stunning, Compelling Film on Every Level

Rating: 10/10 (27 September 2007)

Just when we think we have read about or seen all of the stories there are to tell about courageous heroes/heroines who sacrificed much for the sake of many during World War II, along comes BLACK BOOK (ZWARTBOEK) with another dramatic 'biography' of a significant figure. Director Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Spetters, Total Recall) is a much admired Dutch artist who is able to draw his audience into another world so real that it literally feels as though we are part of the process. And that is precisely why this film works so well: the audience as a participant drives home the film's message that war changes people, that from one day to the next it is impossible to distinguish the 'bad' from the 'good', the 'enemy' from the 'friend'.
Rachel Stein (the enormously gifted Carice van Houten) was a Jewish Dutch born cabaret singer in Berlin until the war broke out, at which time she returned to Holland to hide during the Jewish Solution. A series of incidents in 1944 destroy her hiding place and thwart her attempts to join her family to escape the Nazis. She is left to fend by herself until she bonds with a group from the Dutch Resistance. Gaining their confidence she is asked to masquerade as a German singer, dye all of her body hair blond, enter Germany as the consort of a doctor Hans Akkerman (Thom Hoffman) and infiltrate the highest elements of the Nazi regime, namely to become the mistress of Gestapo head Ludwig Müntze (Sebastian Koch) changing her name to Ellis de Vries. She stays in contact with the Resistance, places microphones in strategic positions, and with her friend Ronnie (Halina Reijn) becomes a Nazi party girl, singing at events while assisting her colleagues underground. The story is complex with many surprises as to who is with the Nazis and who is with the Resistance, and the story is so well told that we the audience are left guessing identities much the same as the characters.
Paul Verhoeven wrote the screenplay with Gerard Soeteman and Verhoeven's dedication to his story is always present. There is a considerable violence and some sections that may offend viewers, but try to tell a true war story without including such aspects! The cast is brilliant, especially the multi-talented Carice van Houten, easily one of the finest actresses on the screen today. The entire cast is includes such gifted actors as Waldemar Kobus, Derek de Lint, Christian Berkel, Dolf de Vries, Michiel Huisman and Ronald Armbrust. The cinematography by Karl Walter Lindenlaub recreates not only The Hague, Holland, and Germany but also a kibbutz in Israel with solid veracity. Anne Dudley has created a musical score that includes songs from the period (sung beautifully by Carice van Houten), and atmospheric scoring for the tender scenes as well as the many tense scenes.
Released in Europe in 2006, it is not clear as to whether this film will be eligible for the Oscars this year. If it is it should win. It is one of the finest films this reviewer has seen in a long time. In Dutch, German, Hebrew, and English with subtitles. Highly Recommended! Grady Harp