Black Book (2006)

In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writers:

Gerard Soeteman, Paul Verhoeven

Stars:

Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 13 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carice van Houten	...	Rachel Stein / Ellis de Vries
Sebastian Koch	...	Ludwig Müntze
Thom Hoffman	...	Hans Akkermans
Halina Reijn	...	Ronnie
Waldemar Kobus	...	Günther Franken
Derek de Lint	...	Gerben Kuipers
Christian Berkel	...	General Käutner
Dolf de Vries	...	Notary Wim Smaal
Peter Blok	...	Van Gein
Michiel Huisman	...	Rob
Ronald Armbrust	...	Tim Kuipers
Frank Lammers	...	Kees
Matthias Schoenaerts	...	Joop
Johnny de Mol	...	Theo
Xander Straat	...	Maarten

Storyline

Israel 1956. Rachel, a Jew, rather unexpectedly meets an old friend at the kibbutz where she is working as a teacher. It brings back memories of her experiences in The Netherlands during the war, memories of betrayal. September 1944. Rachel is in trouble when her hiding place is bombed by allied troops. She gets in contact with a man from the resistance and joins a group of Jews who are to be smuggled across the Biesbosch by boat to the freed South Netherlands. Germans from a patrol boat murder them all however. Only Rachel is able to escape. She is rescued by a resistance group under the leadership of Gerben Kuipers. When Kuipers' son is captured after trying to smuggle weapons, he asks Rachel to seduce SS-hauptsturmführer Ludwig Müntze. Soon she will find out the attack in the Biesbosch wasn't a coincidence.

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Plot Keywords:

resistance | hiding | boat | escape | nazi | 

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Taglines:

To fight the enemy, she must become one of them.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong violence, graphic nudity, sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Netherlands] Official site [United States]

Country:

Netherlands Germany UK Belgium

Language:

German English Hebrew Dutch

Release Date:

18 May 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Book

Filming Locations:

's-Gravenhage, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Box Office

Budget:

$21,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£166,362 (UK) (19 January 2007)

Gross:

$4,398,392 (USA) (17 August 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fu Works, Egoli Tossell Film, Clockwork Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

With a budget of approx. 16 million euros, this is the most expensive Dutch movie to date.

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Goofs

People are traveling by train, while in real life no trains were going any more at that point in the war.

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Quotes

Gerben Kuipers: You can stay here. But you have to work.
Rachel Stein aka Ellis de Vries: The harder the better.

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Connections

Referenced in De wereld draait door: Episode #2.4 (2006)

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Soundtracks

Grenadiersmars
Composer: F. Dunkler
Performed by Fanfare "Metro" (Scheveningen)

User Reviews

A real masterpiece by Paul Verhoeven.

This is definitely one of the best films ever made in Holland. Paul Verhoeven has created a real masterpiece. In my opinion, even if you dislike WW2 movies, you really should see Zwartboek, this movie is about so much more than just the war.

A very philosofical sentence in the movie is 'Does is never ends?'. Men could say it illustrates the writer's longing for worldwide peace, also regarding the end of the movie which illustrates the Middle East conflict.

Carice van Houten and Sebastian Koch are simply great in this movie. Without them Paul Verhoeven couldn't have done this with such a magnitude. I'm sure that we will hear more from this two actors in the future, maybe in a Hollywood production? They really deserve it.