Exceptional flick. One of the best 2007 releases.

Rating: 10/10 (1 October 2007)

Stunning, gripping WWII thriller that plays like a pulpier version of Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows. That's not something that should be criticized, I think. There's nothing wrong with being entertaining when dealing with serious subjects, as long as the film stays respectful of its subject. And Black Book is respectful. It's tense and exciting, but it always made me understand that these were real people who were undergoing real suffering. I was both extremely entertained and involved in the situation of these characters. Carice van Houten stars, and is brilliant as a Jewish girl who escapes several near-death encounters to end up working with the Dutch resistance movement near the end of the war. She infiltrates a Nazi headquarters by seducing an officer (Sebastian Koch of The Lives of Others). While the film starts off as a very black and white, resistance vs. Nazis flick, things get more and more complicated and, after a while, no one can be trusted. You never know what will happen next. The film-making is very classic, and nearly perfect. Verhoeven has always been an interesting filmmaker, but his work is plagued by sloppiness in both direction and writing. Black Book exhibits few flaws (I might have rethought the opening, which assures us immediately that the protagonist will survive the war). It's one of the most satisfying cinematic experiences I've had in a very long time.