Black Book [Zwartboek] ***** (2006, Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn) – Classic Movie Review 13,006

Paul Verhoeven returns home to make the superb 2006 Dutch war drama thriller film Black Book [Zwartboek], starring Carice van Houten as a young Jewish singer who becomes a spy for the resistance in World War Two.

After 20 years of film-making in the US, Paul Verhoeven returns to his home country of the Netherlands to make the superb 2006 war drama thriller film Black Book [Zwartboek]. It stars Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman and Halina Reijn.

Carice van Houten is tremendous as young Dutch Jewish singer Rachel Stein, initially hiding in the occupied Netherlands in 1944, who becomes a spy for the resistance in World War Two after a tragic encounter with the Nazis. The film is a great piece of old-fashioned, concerned entertainment film-making from Verhoeven, packed with provocative ideas, incidents, facts and excitement.

The story, based on true events and characters, is co-written by Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman, with whom he made the hit films Turkish Delight (1973) and Soldier of Orange (1977). They had been working on the script for 15 years and solved their script problems by changing the protagonist from male to female.

It premiered on 1 September 2006 at the Venice Film Festival and was released on 14 September 2006 in the Netherlands.

It is Verhoeven’s first Dutch film since The Fourth Man (1983).

Rachel Stein is based on Dutch resistant fighter Esmée van Eeghen.

Van Houten dated German actor Sebastian Koch from 2005 to 2009 after meeting on the set of Black Book. Since 2015 she is now in a relationship with Guy Pearce, whom she met on the set of Brimstone. In August 2016, she gave birth to their son, Monte Pearce.

Van Houten won a Golden Calf at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2006 for her performance. The film was nominated for four Golden Calves, winning three: the Golden Calf for Best Actress (Carice van Houten), for Best Director (Paul Verhoeven), and for Best Film (San Fu Maltha).

Paul Verhoeven said: ‘Never in my life I have worked with an actress this talented.’ Asked to compare her with Sharon Stone, he replied: ‘Carice can really act.’ Apart from the undeserved and unchivalrous insult to Sharon Stone, he is right: Carice van Houten really can act.

It was devilishly, dangerously expensive for a Dutch film .With a final estimated budget of €18,000,000, it was by far the costliest Dutch film ever at the time. But it enjoyed the highest box office gross for a Dutch film in 2006, coming third overall, and grossing €6,953,118 there (it’s a small country!). Worldwide the story is on a budget of $21 million, the box office was $27 million.

The cast are Carice van Houten as Rachel Stein, alias Ellis de Vries, Sebastian Koch as SS-Hauptsturmführer Ludwig Müntze, Thom Hoffman as Hans Akkermans, Halina Reijn as Ronnie, Waldemar Kobus as SS-Obersturmführer Günther Franken, Derek de Lint as Gerben Kuipers Christian Berkel as General Käutner, Dolf de Vries as attorney Mr Smaal, Peter Blok as policeman Mr Van Gein, Michiel Huisman as sailor Rob, Ronald Armbrust as Tim Kuipers, Frank Lammers as Kees, Matthias Schoenaerts as Joop, Xander Straat as Maarten, and Johnny de Mol as Theodore.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,006

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