Netherlands goes international - finally

Rating: 9/10 (16 September 2006)

Not knowing what to expect, I went to see this movie in theaters yesterday. Being a long-time World War 2-buff and fan of Verhoeven's early Dutch work (Floris, Turks Fruit, Soldaat van Oranje) and some of his Hollywood-projects (Robocop, Total Recall, Basic Instinct) I was pleasantly surprised.
First off, this is clearly Verhoeven. Some nudity is somehow unmissable in all of his movies, so we get to see some. Verhoeven is also known to put mind-boggling plot-twists in the story, and again he left this trademark of his. I'm glad he did.
The movie tells us the story of a young Israeli teacher in a '50s Kibbutz. Triggered by the unexpected visit of an old friend, she thinks back about what happened during the last months of the war in Europe.
We see a young Jewish girl getting into trouble after her hide-out was accidentally bombed by a chased Allied bomber. She has nowhere to go and, with some help, decides to flee to the already liberated lower south of the Netherlands. The transport however is intercepted and wiped out before they reach the safe side. Being the sole survivor she suddenly finds herself in increasingly threatening situations. She is picked up by a small Dutch resistance-group and offers her services as a spy. She infiltrates the headquarters of the Sicherheitsdienst (German Intelligence Agency) but unexpectedly finds herself facing the deeper aspect of war and occupation: Not all Germans were monsters. Facing increasingly difficult situations she tries to survive the war against all odds.
Verhoeven does a great job telling the story in the emotional, colorful, humorous and utterly thrilling way he is so good at. He does what he did with 'Soldaat van Oranje' (Soldier of Orange) and adds his Hollywood-experience and an even greater budget to realize his visions.
The story is absolutely lifted to an even higher level by van Houten. She is impressive and convincing throughout the movie and the chemistry with Koch, Hoffman and Reijn never looses grip. Koch does a great job, probably partly due to his earlier roles of 'humane nazi' such as Claus Graf Schenk v. Stauffenberg ("Stauffenberg") and Albert Speer ("Speer und er"). He (finally) gives the German occupier a more humane face, a big relief compared to the black/white way Germans are portrayed in most WW2 movies even today. Kobus is very convincing in his role as the frustrated, treacherous and non-stop drinking first Lieutenant and Hoffman does a great job portraying the resistance 'hero'. It is also nice to see Derek de Lint again in his role as resistance leader, the exact opposite of his role as Dutch voluntary SS-man in 'Soldier of Orange'.
The only character that felt out of place was that of Theo (Johnny de Mol). Not only is de Mol very unconvincing and clearly not up to roles beyond soap-opera's, his character is an unnecessary addition to the otherwise convincing group of resistance-fighters.
Verhoeven is back - and how. Go see this one, it will, one way or another, grip you by the throat and won't let you go until well after the movie has ended.
9/10