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 & 22 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	...	Gen. Käutner
Dolf de Vries	...	Wim Smaal - Notary
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:

gestapo | seduction | dutch resistance | hiding in a coffin | dutch flag | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first Paul Verhoeven movie in 23 years to feature male full-frontal nudity. This was quite commonplace in Paul Verhoeven's Dutch films, but due to the movie rating system being much more strict in the US, the practice was abandoned.

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Goofs

During the gala party held at German headquarters, the drummer is playing a natural wood-finish Premier (British) drum set manufactured in the 1980's-1990's. A period drum set from the mid 1940's would probably have been a white-pearl finish and the drum sizes, hardware and positioning would have been altogether different.

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Quotes

Gerben Kuipers: You met that Muntze on the train, right? And he liked you?
Hans Akkermans: Liked her...? He fell for her!
Rachel Stein aka Ellis de Vries: He just showed me his stamp collection.
Gerben Kuipers: How far would you go with him? For Tim and the others...?
Rachel Stein aka Ellis de Vries: How far...? You mean sleep with him...? I want things to be clear, is that what you mean?
Gerben Kuipers: How far would you go...?
Rachel Stein aka Ellis de Vries: As far as that Muntze wants to go... Okay?

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Connections

Edited into Zwartboek: The Special (2006)

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Soundtracks

Scheepke Onder Jezus Hoede
Public Domain

User Reviews

A fresh look about WWII

I must admit that I don't like to watch dutch movies that much. Most of the time the acting is pretty bad and if they use some kind of cgi in the movies its one from the 1980's.

This movie really surprised me. Quite good acting from most of the actors. And the general view of the Alliance is good and the Germans are bad isn't presented. The movie shows both sides, the good the bad (and the ugly) behaviors of the people during the war.

Although he didn't have a very big budget to make this movie (between 16-20 million dollars) which is nothing for Hollywood matters, he'd made quite a good movie from it.

If you want to watch a movie about WWII that isn't like most of the movies made about this war, go and watch this one. You wont be bored for the next 2,5 hours.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Netherlands] Official site [United States]

Country:

Netherlands Germany UK Belgium

Language:

Dutch German English Hebrew

Release Date:

18 May 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Book

Filming Locations:

Giethoorn, Steenwijkerland, Overijssel, Netherlands

Box Office

Budget:

$21,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$112,521, 8 April 2007

Gross USA:

$4,398,532

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$26,768,563

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fu Works, Egoli Tossell Film, Clockwork Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1