Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersSundance Film FestivalIndependent Spirit AwardsBlack History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The East

Original title: De Oost
  • 20202020
  • TV-MATV-MA
  • 2h 17m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
5.9K
YOUR RATING
Martijn Lakemeier in The East (2020)
During the post-WW2 Indonesian War of Independence, a young Dutch soldier joins an elite unit led by a mysterious captain known only as "The Turk." When the fighting intensifies, the young soldier finds himself questioning, and ultimately challenging, his commander's brutal strategy to stop the resistance.
Play trailer1:46
2 Videos
32 Photos
DramaThrillerWar
A young Dutch soldier deployed to suppress post-WWII independence efforts in the Netherlands' colony of Indonesia finds himself torn between duty and conscience when he joins an increasingly... Read allA young Dutch soldier deployed to suppress post-WWII independence efforts in the Netherlands' colony of Indonesia finds himself torn between duty and conscience when he joins an increasingly ruthless commander's elite squad.A young Dutch soldier deployed to suppress post-WWII independence efforts in the Netherlands' colony of Indonesia finds himself torn between duty and conscience when he joins an increasingly ruthless commander's elite squad.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
5.9K
YOUR RATING
    • Jim Taihuttu
    • Jim Taihuttu(co-written by)
    • Mustafa Duygulu(co-written by)
  • Stars
    • Martijn Lakemeier
    • Marwan Kenzari
    • Jonas Smulders
    • Jim Taihuttu
    • Jim Taihuttu(co-written by)
    • Mustafa Duygulu(co-written by)
  • Stars
    • Martijn Lakemeier
    • Marwan Kenzari
    • Jonas Smulders
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 62User reviews
    • 31Critic reviews
    • 52Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:46
    Watch Official Trailer
    The East
    Trailer 1:47
    Watch The East

    Photos32

    Marwan Kenzari in The East (2020)
    Marwan Kenzari in The East (2020)
    The East (2020)
    Marwan Kenzari in The East (2020)
    Martijn Lakemeier, Joenoes Polnaija, and David Wristers in The East (2020)
    Martijn Lakemeier and Denise Aznam in The East (2020)
    Martijn Lakemeier and Jonas Smulders in The East (2020)
    Martijn Lakemeier in The East (2020)
    Martijn Lakemeier and Marwan Kenzari in The East (2020)
    Martijn Lakemeier in The East (2020)
    Martijn Lakemeier in The East (2020)
    Martijn Lakemeier and David Wristers in The East (2020)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Martijn Lakemeier
    Martijn Lakemeier
    • Johan de Vries
    Marwan Kenzari
    Marwan Kenzari
    • Raymond 'The Turk' Westerling
    Jonas Smulders
    Jonas Smulders
    • Mattias Cohen
    Abel van Gijlswijk
    • Sjaak 'Charlie' Rondhuis
    Coen Bril
    Coen Bril
    • Eddy Coolen
    Reinout Scholten van Aschat
    • Tinus de Val
    Jim Deddes
    • Werner de Val
    Jeroen Perceval
    Jeroen Perceval
    • Chaplain Janssen
    Mike Reus
    • Camp Commander Mulder
    Joenoes Polnaija
    • Samuel Manuhio
    Denise Aznam
    • Gita Tamim
    Huub Smit
    Huub Smit
    • Lieutenant Hartman
    Peter Paul Muller
    • Major Penders
    Micha Hulshof
    • Lieutenant Smit
    Lukman Sardi
    • Bakar
    Putri Ayudya
    • Myra
    Lucas Hamming
    • Singing Soldier
    Tycho Posthumus
    • Friend of Eddy
      • Jim Taihuttu
      • Jim Taihuttu(co-written by)
      • Mustafa Duygulu(co-written by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Forgotten Battle
    7.1
    The Forgotten Battle
    Winter in Wartime
    7.0
    Winter in Wartime
    Wolf
    7.3
    Wolf
    The East
    6.8
    The East
    The Judgement
    7.4
    The Judgement
    Rampvlucht
    7.9
    Rampvlucht
    Rabat
    7.1
    Rabat
    Becoming Mona
    7.2
    Becoming Mona
    Mijn vader is een vliegtuig
    6.6
    Mijn vader is een vliegtuig
    Balloon
    7.5
    Balloon
    Open Seas
    7.1
    Open Seas
    Ferry
    7.0
    Ferry

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The "Federatie Indische Nederlanders (FIN)" or Federation of Dutch Indonesians filed a lawsuit against the movie. FIN claims the movie is a fictional and overly evil depiction of the Dutch intervention in Indonesia, which was meant to put an end to waves of terror coming from local militia. Dutch veteran organizations were also dismayed by the depiction of Dutch soldiers spouting racial slurs and frequenting prostitutes, Special Forces wearing black "Nazi-like" uniforms (dark green in reality), and Raymond Westerling (Marwan Kenzari) sporting a "Hitleresque" mustache. The FIN asked for a disclaimer at the start of the movie, stating the film is fictional. The producer of the movie did not agree with adding such a statement (apart from the standard disclaimer at the end that parts of the story had been fictionalized for dramatic purposes), and the Dutch court finally decided an additional disclaimer was not necessary. Director Jim Taihuttu defended himself against the allegations, stating that the behavior and language of the soldiers was based on diaries given to him by an actual soldier in the war. He had also showed the movie to several Dutch veterans and army leaders, who all praised the film for its authenticity.
    • Goofs
      The Dutch called the capital of the Dutch Indies 'Batavia.' No Dutch soldier would call it by its Indonesian name 'Jakarta,' as one does in the movie.
    • Connections
      Featured in Twee voor twaalf: Episode dated 7 October 2022 (2022)

    User reviews62

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    First half of the movie is a 8, second half a 6.
    The movie starts off great. Not many historical flaws and a very balanced execution between the different perspectives. Sadly, the second part of the movie takes a Tarantino-esq turn in tone and story (like Inglorious Basterds) and this almost ruined the movie for me. Either commit to one style or the other. Furthermore, the second half is extremele unbalanced and depict the Dutch Special Forces troops as coldblooded murders basically the whole time. If you look at the actual historical facts about Westerling, you'd see that alot of nuance is left off the table. The ending is also very strange and basically pure fiction. This wouldn't be a bad thing because Tarantino did this with Inglorious Basterds aswell and that worked out great. However, Tarantino maintained his tone and story throughout the whole movie. This movie does not. Which makes it feel very disjointed.

    Speaking of acting, visuals, story and music: The acting is great (for Dutch standards) and the visuals and music are also very good. The story is very well done (for the first half) but then descends into fiction for a big part. Without spoiling it, yes there were alot of war crimes being committed at that time and place, but a whole lot of other stuff was left out. The second half felt like a montage of war crimes by the Dutch special forces without any actual story being told.

    All in all, the movie is still good. The first half especially is very much worth the watch. I would still recommend it, just be warned about historical inaccuracies and lack of nuance.
    helpful•48
    13
    • jasperkwint
    • May 15, 2021

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 13, 2021 (United States)
      • Netherlands
      • Belgium
      • Indonesia
      • United States
      • France
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • English
      • Japanese
      • Dutch
      • Indonesian
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Java, Indonesia
    • Production companies
      • Base Entertainment
      • France 2 Cinéma
      • Ideosource Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 2 hours 17 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Martijn Lakemeier in The East (2020)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The East (2020) officially released in Japan in Japanese?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.