Black Book
Closed CaptioningPaul Verhoeven
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Plot Summary
Filmmaker Paul Verhoeven returned to the Netherlands after more than twenty years of success in Hollywood to direct this epic-scale war drama based on a true story. Rachel Steinn (Carice van Houten) is a beautiful Jewish woman living in German-occupied Holland during late 1944. Her family members - who have been falsely promised safe passage to Belgium (their names recorded in the 'black book' of the title) are instead robbed and slaughtered by the Germans on a premeditated basis; Rachel herself manages to escape by diving into the water and swimming away. She narrowly avoids capture, then joins the local resistance movement. With her hair dyed blonde, Rachel can easily pass for Aryan, and when the leader of the Dutch resistance movement learns his son has been captured by Axis forces, Rachel is asked to use her feminine charms to persuade a German commander to arrange for the boy's release. Rachel soon finds herself caught up in a dangerous double life as she becomes a sexual plaything for the Nazis while attempting to bring down their evil empire as a spy. Zwartboek was written by Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman, who collaborated on the 1977 international success Soldier of Orange. Zwartboek received its world premier at the 2006 Venice Film Festival.
Credits
Director
Screenwriters
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
76%- Reviews Counted: 150
- Fresh: 114
- Rotten: 36
- Average Rating: 7.1/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: A hard-core war film with raw violence, intense action, graphic sexuality and a twisting plot that offers a series of surprises.
Rotten: A lurid, pulpy, slightly perverse potboiler, Black Book suffers mainly from its utter lack of seriousness.
Fresh: Despite the picture's subtitles and its imposing 145-minute running time, Black Book maintains a breakneck pace, pausing only long enough to raise some very interesting questions.
Fresh: Stout-hearted celebration of the Dutch Resistance or total smut? Try both.
Customer Reviews
thenextclassic!
If there was ever a story that touched every core of emotion, this one is it. WOW! I have never gotten through a sub-titled movie and I have already watched this 4 times. It is sad, sexy, classy, suspensful and educational. It will make you hate and make you love humanity. I hope you enjoy it. It is truly worth ALL 5 stars!
Amazing Dutch film!
I first heard about this film actually on Apple's movie trailer website, and I decided to buy it when it came out. I did, and I love this movie! The language (Dutch) is really cool and unique, adding a certain effect to the film. The acting is great, and the storyline/plot is very well devoloped. I would highly recommend this to anybody!!
Black Book
The best foriegn film I have ever seen. Very enjoyable.
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- $9.99
- Genre: Thriller
- Released: 2007
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