Betrayal (2023) User Reviews

Not too bad

[activesilver · 6/10 · 21 September 2023]

First off, it might be a low budget movie and played by volunteers, but that didn't bother me very much.

I enjoyed this more than some big ww2 blockbusters from the last few years (including Dunkirk and Midway and the remake of Sobibor).

It was a refreshing movie when it comes to new faces instead of the usual dutch "big" actors.

Some bits might not be very logical, but it's still a movie, sometimes certain cuts need to be made and it doesn't always work out perfectly. Its a good try

The only thing that really should have been cut is the short monoloque at the end, it adds nothing to movie.

There you are enjoying the movie (or not) and then there comes the jewish daughter as a kind of kindergartenteacher to close the day and telling you what to think and do. F*** that, i make up my own mind thank you very much.

Do not understand the high IMDB rating

[wimverdoes · 3/10 · 1 April 2023]

This movie is made with a very low budget. That is itself is not a reason for a bad result. However, the makers of this movie were not capable to overcome the handicap of a low budget.

There is practically no scene that is really believable, the acting is poor, the script is thin, the storyline haphazard.

E.g. The hiding place in the woods of the jewish families was totally unrealistic, people were talking loud where they should be silent. It was completely visible from the outside.

The illogical follow up of lines, an example : when Mengelberg was just at the farm in Drenthe he told his men something fishy was going on in the farm and that they should be watchful. 2 minutes later he discovers the easy to find hideout of the people in hiding and Mengelberg immediately makes a 180 degree turn, how????? Completely unnatural, and it goes on, together with the wooden Dutch acting performances it is worth 3 points for the costumes and props.

No Oscar material but nice to watch.

[jacobse_en_van_es · 7/10 · 22 September 2023]

I enjoyed watching this movie although I did needed some time get into it. From the beginning it becomes very clear that this movie was made with a low budget (300k Euro). Most of the soldiers in it are re-enactors without any acting experience probably wearing their own uniforms. The firefights look a bit clumsy and confusing and the acting of some of the actors (especially Peter Nilessen) is very poor. But..... once you have set aside all this it becomes a nice movie where people really made an effort to portray things in the right way. The uniforms and weapons are history locally accurate to a large extend. And the movie highlights a very unknown military operation that had a big impact on the war in the North East of the Netherlands.

Dutch cinema has always struggled to make good WW2 movies since "Soldier of orange". "The resistance banker" and "Black Book" are just 2 of many examples of horrendously bad Dutch WW2 movies which had a much bigger budget. So in that light this movie was not bad at all. Don't expect Oscar material but a nice viewing experience nonetheless.

Not a movie to watch

[Gerrit-Hamstra · 2/10 · 4 April 2023]

This is clearly a small budget movie. It's great with how little money it was filmed, but the acting is very bad. The scenes are also not correct, so you quickly drop out of the film. This is a pity because the message of the film is beautiful.

You can see that the battle scenes were filmed with reenactors. The uniforms are good, but combat scenes are poorly executed. Perhaps a low-budget film without combat scenes would have been better. Too bad, but maybe next time a better film from this production company. I look forward to other reviews on this movie, I personally think the film is poorly acted and the storyline is not clear enough.

A movie to watch!

[Productionman134 · 9/10 · 4 April 2023]

I was very curious about Betrayal (Grenzeloos Verraad). In the cinema I saw some people from the cast and crew for a meet and greet and they have explained how much budget they had to make this movie. This movie is also the first movie who tells the story of Operation Amherst. (Important history to know)

After watching the movie I was surprised about the result. The camerawork is really bringing you into te story and the music is bringing the tension you are feeling. I have seen good work from the actors.

Specially from Ludwig (Peter Nilessen) and Martin (Dirk Gunther Mohr). The acting and the tension between the two was phenomenal. A movie to watch!

An edutaining night at the movies.

[MickBelder · 8/10 · 6 April 2023]

Being a fan of history movies, and being Dutch myself, this important and underexposed (in film) part of WW2 is a refreshing setpiece for an interesting tale of living on the border of nazi-Germany. Having met and talked with several actors and folks who worked on the film at a meet & greet I learned this film was, impressively, made with a low budget and mostly volunteers.

Yes, you notice this is a different kind of film than the big budget WW2 films we know and love, but it's just as 'edutaining' as the ones you might already know. Actors differ in skill, from obvious amateurs to raw talent; it makes the film all the more fun to watch instead of seeing the usual suspects in Dutch medialand.

There have been a couple of cuts in the film that I found somewhat haphazard and could be worked on to deliver somewhat more coherence; perhaps a director's cut?

Long story short: it's fun and nice to see new faces in a lovingly crafted film on an important part of Dutch-German history.

Last but not least: the guy that plays Roelfsjan has a face and style that should be in a Western- somebody hire that guy!

Volunteers carry this well played WOII Story

[jwmvalk · 8/10 · 5 April 2023]

Drenthe is one of the 12 Dutch states. And it's a place where the people look out for each other. There isn't much happening daily. But what Peter Nillesen and his crew did with Betrayal is something extraordinary. Just with a budget of 300.000 euros, all in gifts and sponsorships from municipalities and the province Drenthe.

And if you look at the movie with that in mind you can only be surprised with what they made. This isn't a big budget or Hollywood style film. Betrayal is made by volunteers. Something extraordinary.

Peter Nillesen plays the role of Ludwig Mengelberg a Wehrmacht officer who has seen it all. Death, destruction, the craziness of the Nazis and so on. On one day he gets an assignment to go to The Netherlands. A mission he will never forget. And it's Peter who carries this film. He plays the character so well that in your mind you believe that he's actually there.

The role of Maarten Schoonma played by Dirk Gunther Mohr is well executed. The obsessed SS officer does exactly what you expect from one in the Schutzstaffel. You really hate the man. Allard Geerlings plays the role of Lieutenant de Vries. An officer of the Prinses Irene Brigade. He has an authority aura that you respect immediately.

Betrayal zooms in on Operation Amherst. The operation who prepared the way for the 1st Canadian armed forces. Polish, Dutch, and Canadian men gave there lives to liberate the north. It's something that other films doesn't show. A welcome filmed piece of history.

The film is as I said made and played by volunteers. Many of the didn't had any acting experiences. And this fact is something that you can't forget seeing this wonderfully put together piece of film.

An emotional ride through war

[Bez6911 · 9/10 · 4 May 2023]

After all promotion work on social media from the team behind Grenzeloos verraad, I became very interested to see this movie.

I was almost scared the movie would dissapoint me.

A part of the cast and crew were in the cinema to talk about the movie.

I've noticed there was a lot of passion for making this movie.

About the movie, it starts with the background story of Mengelberg, the lead character in this movie.

I loved the actionscenes and the details in the movie. In my opinion there could be more background information for some of the characters. That would make the movie and the other characters more interesting.

I saw some great actingwork. Peter Nillesen (Mengelberg) and Dirk Gunther Mohr (Schoonma) were great in their characters and are really carrying the movie. I also want to mention Gerhard Meijer (farmer Jan) and Kai Kolder (Roelfsjan) because they also did a good job in their characters.

After watching the movie, the crew explained why they wanted to make the movie and told their familyhistory during and after the war. It made the movie even more special and important.

Good Movie!

[drackenmaze · 10/10 · 25 September 2023]

This film was made with a very low budget, yet they came so far in making it a good movie.

Netflix, Cinema and even Dvd's on webshops they accomplished it all, for a low budget movie that is really something!

A great movie with good detailed and historical correct uniforms, they really made a good quality movie for the budget they had.

The movie started to pull me in, it's really a fun movie to watch. I spoke with alot of the actors they are really nice and hard working people who try to make the best of what they had with their budget.

I would say it's worth your time to watch this movie.

And give them your support by dropping a good rating!