WW II film

Rating: 8/10 (12 September 2013)

Paul Verhoeven co-wrote and directed this tremendous undertaking, Black Book (Zwartboek), a Dutch film from 2006. This is a big, sprawling film about World War II and the travails of a Jewish woman, Rachel Stein.
The film starts on a kibbutz in Israel, where Rachel (Carice van Houten) is living and teaching, when she runs into a tourist (Halina Reijn) who knew her during the war. Rachel thinks back to those days, when she was hiding with a Christian family until their house was bombed. She then meets someone from the Resistance who helps her get a boat into free territory. Tragedy strikes.
Rachel begins to work with the Resistance who have her dye her hair and give her fake I.D. as Ellis deVries. While on a train, she meets a German officer, Muntze (Sebastian Koch). He seems interested in her, so the Resistance asks her to go undercover.
A very suspenseful and scary film that makes the point that not only can't you trust everyone, but that not everyone was out to help the greater good - sometimes only themselves. And within the Nazi regime, there were real baddies and some not so bad. An interesting take.
The film is carried by Carice van Houten, an absolutely beautiful woman who is one heck of an actress. I frankly preferred her with her natural dark hair; with her blond hair, she bore a resemblance to Annie Potts, which I found disconcerting. Nevertheless, she was pretty fantastic in a real workhorse role.
The rest of the cast was very effective. Extremely absorbing film that, despite its length, will keep you watching.