In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 13 wins & 23 nominations total
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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. —Arnoud Tiele (imdb@tiele.nl)
- Taglines
- To fight the enemy, she must become one of them.
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated R for some strong violence, graphic nudity, sexuality and language
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaMost actors speak more than one language in the film. Carice van Houten speaks four languages fluently in the course of the film: Hebrew in the scenes in Israel, German with Nazi soldiers, English with Canadian army personnel and Dutch for the majority of the film.
- GoofsA torch is used to cut the hinges off of a metal door during the rescue scene. When the door is removed, it is handled right next to the cut hinge. In reality, the metal would be so hot it would be impossible to handle without serious injury.
- Quotes
Rachel Stein aka Ellis de Vries: I never knew this would happen. To fear the liberation...
- ConnectionsEdited into Zwartboek: The Special (2006)
- SoundtracksIch bin die fesche Lola
Music by Friedrich Hollaender (as Friedrich Hollaender)
Lyrics by Robert Liebmann
Performed by Carice van Houten
(c) 1930 by Ufaton-verlagsgesellschaft mbH (BMG Music Publishing Germany), Munich
Top review
Why there's no exact line between good or bad...
When I read all the comments about Zwartboek, it becomes clear to me that either you like the movie or you kind of hate it. What is that with good and bad that we want to make an exact line... This whole movie is about not knowing if you can do bad things (kill, betray or whatever) to achieve the good. Or the other way around off course. I must admit that the movie is (again) explicit, but aren't all the Dutch movies? What strikes me most is that some people expect to get a movie in which everything is clear. I think this is a movie which should set us to thinking: what would I do if I were in the same situation. Paul Verhoeven made clear with this movie that in the end, lots of people act for their own prosperity. It's just what you make people around you believe... I think in lots of countries people acted like this, none of the countries however dared to make a movie out of it. To me this movie is again (as Soldaat van Oranje and for instance De Tweeling)a beautiful one about WWII without getting boring. A smart story with two faces. Although some of the actors don't really fit into a masterpiece like this, I give it a great compliment. Get over the explicit name calling (ever seen Pulp Fiction??) and appreciate the scenery and nice camera-work, the great plot change and you'll have a great time and may even reconsider your own ideas about the resistance!
helpful•10929
- mariekehopman
- Oct 30, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- La lista negra
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $21,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,398,532
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $112,521
- Apr 8, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $26,768,563
- Runtime2 hours 25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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