Black Book

Leaving aside Basic Instinct, which I saw when I was about 13 years old. :), I haven't seen any Verhoeven films in their entirety up to this point – just always in bits and pieces. So, ironically, his last film thus far was the first one I saw. I'm breaking it down like this because I don't know if his other films are similarly dense, intricate, and grandiose in terms of scriptwriting. Black Book is an exquisite WW2 film that gives a rather original insight into the ranks of both Nazis and resistance fighters, while not putting either side in the forefront from a moral standpoint and keeping a clever distance. Verhoeven thus very cleverly and indiscriminately shows that there was plenty of shit on both sides and that there were very few truly unbroken and pure people left. Respectable Hollywood execution – all the costumes, the gorgeous interiors, the excellent music, and the charismatic Carice van Houten, combined with the expressive and distinctive direction, combine to create a breathtaking result that has something to say in terms of both form and content. And if the script for this film isn't Oscar-worthy, I really don't know what is. (12/29/2011)

Great atmosphere and impressive craftsmanship, but otherwise heavily detached and cold. There’s plenty of the traditional Verhoeven stuff (violence, explicit eroticism), but that doesn't necessarily make the film good as a whole. The attempt to go back to Holland, to be original and make a European-style film that seemingly unties the creative hands and allows for experimentation didn’t quite work. (09/14/2015)

The comparison may be silly, but I just think Verhoeven would like it. I mean, how a director who practically fled the Netherlands for creative reasons to the US, where he successfully and happily created until he started feeling the production limits again there, returned with great aplomb to his homeland, where everyone patted him on the back and put together a grand fresco about the uneasy and ambivalent mood of collaboration. Black Book's (excessive to my tastes) formal purity is a reference to film canons, which of course makes it far more subversive. In doing so, as if on purpose, those comfort-ripping scenes about dyeing privates, blown-out brains, little SS dicks, or shit cauldrons do little to disguise the fact that the film is almost lacking a purely noble character. For example, the protagonist herself becomes an ace up the Resistance's sleeve just because of her background and her desire for vengeance over the death of her family, otherwise she would have happily spent the war by the pond. These aren't themes that Verhoeven is tackling for the first time; in fact, he's spent his entire life talking about nothing but the inherent corruption of human character, and anyone who's seen at least one of his earlier Dutch films will be virtually unsurprised by anything here. Even though Black Book is a clumsier film than we’re used to from this director (the occasionally palpable staginess, the visible artificial lighting, the amusing single-line roles of the female resistance fighters), it still preserves the director's reputation as an entertainer who can work as well with the drama of the film as the drama of the individual scenes, making it virtually impossible to get bored or drop out of the film. (05/04/2021)

I don't seek out movies about World War II, it's not my heart's topic, I've never been the type who is somehow excited by war. But I understand it. Weapons, action, technology, all of this belongs to it and there must be something to it. But cars don't interest me either, I only recognize brands because I have a good memory, not because I'm interested in them in any way. That's why I prefer movies like "Black Book," where war is just a backdrop, it's not about the actual battles and fighting. World War II raged in the Netherlands as well, the homeland of the famous director Paul Verhoeven, who had to return home to be able to make great films again. His last American films "Hollow Man" and "Showgirls" definitely did not receive great success, and the movie "Starship Troopers" also didn't become a big hit and people have mostly forgotten about it despite its certain qualities. "Black Book," however, is a return to good films for directors, and what makes it even better is that he not only directed it, but also co-wrote the screenplay. It is truly his own work, and you can feel that he has a sense for the place, for national "pride," but also for a great story unfolding before our eyes. I know that the screenplay of similar movies is often predictable - innocent people have to suffer. In this case, of course, innocent people also suffer and suffer a lot, but in the end, it will still be shown that there is justice and not all the evil will go unpunished. Actually, it's a beautiful story about hope and about how even in times of war, a glimmer of hope can appear, although in the case of the main protagonist, it is shown that the path to hope and justice is really demanding and almost deadly. The moment when she is literally being thrown shit at is the moment when everyone, including the main actress, slowly loses hope. But even under that pile of filth, there is still a dormant waiting for the right moment. War was not kind, and at times, the paranoia that is the daily bread of heroes is transferred to the viewer. A beautifully shot film with a good story, where it's not clear who is really on whose side. But once again, I was convinced that Sebastian Koch can be on both sides. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/12/wtc-yes-man-mary-max-zambezia-cerna.html (03/02/2013)

I can't say that I was bored by Black Book, but Paul Verhoeven's film vision simply went completely beyond me. I expect realism, credibility, rawness, and authenticity from this sort of film. Verhoeven offers the exact opposite - pure Hollywood style that is far from reality, for which no studio from the so-called Majors would have to be ashamed. Verhoeven, as is his custom, offers great visuals, attractive women who are not afraid to show more of their curves, and at the same time offers passion, intrigue, conspiracies, and quasi-war scenes, as is customary in such stylized Hollywood productions of war melodramas. It is artificial, contrived, and in some moments truly silly in both imagery and dialogue. But if someone wants a spectacle, they will get it here. For me, Black Book represents a perfect contrast to, for example, the excellent Czech war film Death Is Called Engelchen. That film earned 5 stars from me, while Verhoeven's film only gets two. Overall impression: 45%. (05/05/2011)