Black Book
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Movie Reviews of Black Book
Movie Review: An engaging, exciting, hilarious and loopy film about the Dutch resistance in WWII
Summary: 5 Stars
I won't reiterate the plot here since other reviews have described the film in sufficient detail, but merely want to make a point about Verhoeven's work, that this film in particular helped me see. While "Black Book" may seem a far cry from Total Recall, Robocop, Basic Instinct, Showgirls and Starship Troopers (some of Verhoeven's best known Hollywood films) it shares with each of these films Verhoeven's keen insight into what makes a genre film tick and his perverse delight in undercutting and challenging the dichotomies and distinctions that tend to characterize standard genre films. This is Verhoeven's first Dutch film in a long time, and it recalls some of his early films before he went to Hollywood at the same time as it shows his fascination with the way in which films that recall conventional genres carry with them a set of audience expectations that can be played with and twisted. This film, beautifully shot and with exceptional performances, is an emotional roller coaster in which the viewer gets caught up in the excitement of an escape, then horrified by tragedy, then engaged by romance, then titillated by eroticism, then horrified as the heroine falls in love with someone we are conditioned to hate, then sympathizing with the enemy, then .... and so on. Verhoeven can make you laugh out loud and a moment later gasp in disgust and then become fascinated and then afraid. The film is nothing less than wildly entertaining, but at the same time (like all of his films) is underscored by Paul Verhoeven's intriguing brand of humanism: he recognizes and insists that there is no good and evil and that all of us are in some way compromised and yet holds out a hope and a conviction that there is the possibility of heroically, out of love and genuine fellow feeling, rising above the endless intrigue and selfishness and cruel lust and war that he clearly depicts as the dominating force of human experience. At the same time, he recognizes that this very hope and belief in love and human dignity is a fragile thing because it is so easily manipulated and there are so many who out of greed for power and money will manipulate this hope. His films remain compelling for continuing to hold out that hope, and for the genuine affection they display for even his most flawed characters.Movie Review: Has all the right ingredients, perfectly crafted!
Summary: 5 Stars
Now I am not going to call this a MASTERPIECE FILM by any stretch of the imagination, but as a commercial, mass-entertainment thriller it simply does everything right. Namely:
1. Solid acting, directing, and dialogue: nothing to make you say, "puh-leeeez!" and choke or gag on your popcorn as often happens in your typical high-cheese, big-budget Hollywood thriller, especially in their last 10 minutes or so.
2. An engagingly original and unpredictable plot and characters: will not bore you to tears because everything that's going to happen in the film is systematically telegraphed/foreshadowed within the first 10 minutes, and the characters are not all a bunch of 2-dimensional cliches chosen by a Hollywood focus group.
3. Beautiful sets/locations and cinematography, and a very luscious Carice van Houten who is just as good an actress as she is a powerfully sexual and intoxicating woman, even though she has to dye her hair blonde during the movie.
I have to giggle at the usual parade of prudish American reviewers here on Amazon who are (gasp!) shocked and offended by (gasp!) the perhaps half dozen all-too-fleeting, piddling nude (gasp!) and sexual (gasp!) scenes.
Actually, compared to Verhoeven's infamous "Basic Instinct" (a decent thriller, though a bit over the top sometimes) this film is just barely PG-13. The sexual scenes are not anywhere as prolonged or as graphic, and the nudity is tastefully done in a soft-light, airbrushed kind of way. There is one rather cute scene where van Houten is shown dying her pubes blonde, but all you see is fur, nothing else...sheesh! I would personally have preferred not to be subjected to full frontal and rear nudity of the one old, fat, pasty and hairy German officer (Franken), but that's just because I'd much rather look at the likes of Ms. Van Houten in her birthday suit, thanks very much!
Can't disagree with the many film critics who've hailed this as Paul Verhoeven's best works in many, many years. Mind-boggling that this is the same guy who made the abysmally God-awful "Showgirls" (1995)!
Just nevermind the prudes and the Bible-thumpers, they're kind of like mosquitoes in a swamp: unavoidable when you live in America.
Movie Review: The Real Showgirl
Summary: 5 Stars
Director Paul Verhoeven returns back to his homeland of Holland to regain what he had obviously lost in his short time spent in Hollywood. For sure, he had given us the superbly satirical sci-fi comic books 'ROBOCOP' and 'STARSHIP TROOPERS', but his star was on the downward spiral following misfires 'SHOWGIRLS' and 'HOLLOW MAN'. Its great to see that going back to his own turf has obviously reinvigorated him as 'BLACK BOOK' (Zwartboek) is certainly the best film he has made for a very long time.
The story is set near the end of the second World War and follows the exploits of jewish refugee Rachel Stein (played by the excellent and engaging Clarice Von Houten), who embarks on a quest for revenge when her family are killed in a nazi set up. Escaping the carnage, she joins the Resistance and is enrolled as a spy to infiltrate the German Security Service by using her feminine guile to seduce and entrap Senior Officer Muntze (again, an excellent Sebastian Koch), but this is where the story begins to take shape and twists and turns abound as Stein is pushed back and forth between the nazis and the resistance, not fully knowing who to trust and who will betray her next.
Certainly, the story is fairly standard fare and the pacing is directly hollywood in its execution - but, Verhoeven never gives the audience a dull moment. From war torn landscapes, daring escapes and resistance led assaults to high ranking Nazi dinner parties, the directors eye is meticulous in both detail and emotion. The cast too, are uniformly excellent and Karl Walter Lindenlaub's cinematography is superb - bringing vivid colour to every scene and a grace to the story. Sure, Verhoeven throws in his usual schtick with excessive violence and nudity in places - but, compared to his recent hollywood output - this time out they are minimal and become part of the narrative, not detract from it. All in all, a solid movie that will have you eagerly awaiting what the dutch director will have in store for us next. Recommended.
Movie Review: The return of Paul Verhoven! Black Book is artsy and trashy at the same time. Entertaining all the way!
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally taking on World War II and it's effects on the nation of Holland, Paul Verhoeven is back. He hasn't really dealt with this type of material since "Soldier of Orange" decades ago. His last film was the abysmal Hollywood sci-fi movie "Hollow Man". So now Verhoeven returns to the arthouse cinema, first time in many years. His ballsy style is in full evidence once again, filled with action, violence and sex but not gratuitously used like he sometimes does. The story is filled with twists, turns and many surprises, never disappointing in the area of entertainment. Some may claim that this is a Hollywood film masquerading as an arthouse flick but don't be so quick to judge. Hollywood would quickly sanitize an audacious film like this if they had a chance to produce it, that's why Verhoeven went back to Europe to make this film.
As most reviewers have already summarized the necessary plot points, I won't dwell on them. Just wanted to write this review and say that Verhoeven is back as a director to watch! Hopefully his next film will be more ambitious and contain the same type of great storytelling but brought to different subject matter. So, go out and rent or buy Black Book if you care about this filmmaker or if you just like World War II movies in general. Although this film contains it's many cliches, at least it shows that not all Germans were evil. Sebastian Koch is the male lead alongside the lead character played by Carice van Houten.
The title of this film is a bit random as this so called Black Book has little to do with most of the movie and acts as a sort of problem solving plot point near the end. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a deus ex machina. In conclusion, a very entertaining film indeed and a return to form for this director. For the record, my favorite Paul Verhoeven film is and probably always will be... ROBOCOP.
Movie Review: I can't understand what some major reviewers hate this movie
Summary: 5 Stars
As many here have said, this is a beautifully shot, gripping, unforgettable movie, a great addition to the honorable genre of WWII flicks. In fact, the father of one of my colleagues, Dutch himself and in his 70s, said this was the best film he has ever seen. So I don't understand why, if a man in his 70s who is from the WWII generation himself did not find this film "prurient," so many reviewers have insisted that it is. The scene that most of the prudes seem to find gratuitous is (spoiler alert) the scene in which the Jewish heroine prepares herself to pass as a blonde bombshell so she can seduce the German officer. Clearly, she is going to have to dye or shave hair other than the hair on her head in order to pass as a natural blond. The movie shows her doing this. Why is it not gratuitous? Because the scene sets up the love triangle that will result in the conflict in the last third of the movie. It is absolutely essential to the advancement of the plot, and in my opinion, any reviewer who can't see that is not only a fussy old woman, but also not much of a reviewer. So if you have not seen this movie because you've read a review that trashes it on the grounds of prurience, please reconsider. And consider this: the most recent Ang Lee movie is so sexually frank that it got an NC-17 rating, yet there hasn't been a single review which has trashed it on the basis of its gratuitous sex. That says to me that some major reviewers are only interested in criticizing Paul Verhoeven rather than commenting honestly on his film. Another reason to see this movie is Carice Van Houten. She not only convincingly plays a 40's bombshell, she has that same 40s movie-star quality that you can't take your eyes off of. Truly, you could watch this film 100 times and never get tired of her. She is irresistible.