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Title: Black Book (2006)
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| 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 |
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. Written by Arnoud Tiele (imdb@tiele.nl)
I attended the North American premiere of "Black Book" at the Toronto International Film Festival. Although my main interest lies in independent film, and I did see many indies as well as foreign films and documentaries in Toronto, I also saw a few of the "Gala" selections. Of those "big movies" on my list, the one which impressed me the most was this Dutch production from Paul Verhoeven. Set in Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II, the film centers around a young Jewish woman named Rachel, who changes her name (and hair, and personality, and more) to Ellis and enters an odyssey of determination and sheer luck in an effort to survive what would otherwise be certain death.
Make no mistake about it: this is an epic in the true sense of the word. The visuals are stunning. Everything about the production from the sound to the effects to the score says "big budget." The story is chock full of more twists and turns than just about any film I've seen in this genre. And just when you think that, perhaps, Verhoeven is beginning to stretch the bounds of credulity, you realize (at the end credits, if not before) that "Black Book" is based on fact.
Most of all, the film's power is due to the magnificent acting of Carice van Houten. Her Rachel/Ellis is a character so unique, so original, that it holds up against the great heroines of contemporary cinema. Combine her marvelous performance with a wonderful story and superb production values and you end up with a thrill ride from start to finish. "Black Book" left me breathless.