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Black
Book
(2006)
Zwartboek
 
On a weekend which will certainly be remembered
almost exclusively for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's
celebration of sex and violence, one of today's most prolific
exploitation directors has quietly released one of the most
serious and well-made films of the year. Paul Verhoeven, director
of Showgirls, Starship
Troopers, Total Recall, and Robocop returns
to his Dutch art-house roots in Black Book. More reminiscent
of his intriguing The
4th Man than his most recent picture, Hollow
Man,
the film explores survival, betrayal and love in the midst
of World War II.
Verhoeven's first non-Hollywood film in over twenty years,
Black Book follows the traumatic life of Rachel Stein
(Carice van Houten), a Jew in Nazi-occupied Holland. After
narrowly avoiding death during a failed attempt to escape to
Belgium, Rachel makes her way to the city of The Hague, where
she dyes her hair blonde, changes her name to Ellis de Vries,
and joins the Dutch resistance movement. Using her feminine
charm, she gains access to the local SS headquarters, serving
as a secretary and mistress to Ludwig Müntze (Sebastian
Koch), the department's commanding officer. While
her mission brings her face to face with the man responsible
for the murder of her family (Waldemar Kobus), her
developing feelings for Müntze force her to
make some difficult decisions and, more importantly, look at
the Germans in a more complex light.
Van Houten delivers a strong performance, displaying a wide
range of emotions and effectively carrying the weight of this
decidedly heavy film. This is the first must-see female performance
of 2007. Her load is lessened somewhat by the actors
portraying her love interests, though they never upstage
her. Thom Hoffman, who plays the rebel doctor Hans Akkermans,
presents a subtle blend of distance and passion, both
toward Rachel and the resistance. Hans' political and romantic
rival, Müntze,
is a conflicted mix of humanity and the inevitable Nazi monstrosity,
yet in a very short length of time he becomes one of the most
charismatic characters in the film.
Apart from these stellar performances, the film's true strength
is the complex script by Verhoeven and co-writer Gerard Soeteman.
While the plot may seem straightforward (and not entirely unique),
the narrative shifts gracefully from one disparate event to
another, replicating the uncertainty and volatility of Rachel's
life and the dramatically changing political situation. As
the film moves from wartime to the immediate post-war
period after the Liberation, the filmmakers make the transition
virtually seamlessly, and the plot segues flawlessly to keep
the audience engaged and enthralled. The viewer sits in a state
of limbo for much of the film, never knowing who to trust or
what to expect, and the suspense is utilized effectively to
heigten some very powerful revelations and disturbing events.
Verhoeven never strays too far from his pulp-cinema origins
though, though he manages to maintain a high level of respectability.
The story justifies every element which might normally be considered
gratuitous, so nothing seems overdone or exploitative. Historical
accuracy motivates the violence and graphic gore, and a
war movie would be less effective without displaying the atrocities
of the war itself. Likewise, the prolific sex and nudity bear
little resemblance to the filmmaker's past efforts like Showgirls
and Basic Instinct.
Instead, they deftly explore the sexual side of war and
the unpublicized battlefront between the sheets. For women under
occupation, sex could be employed as a tool of
survival.
It's a double-edged sword, however, and women like Rachel
discover that their "Nazi-whoring" (and even her
subversive use of sex) can have unforseen consequences after
the war at the hands of the liberated exacting revenge.
As events compound around one another, cinematographer Karl
Walter Lindelaub (Independence
Day, Georgia
Rule) adds to the complexity and contradictory nature
of the film by juxtaposing bright colorful images with the
harsh reality of the story, creating the most classically beautiful
film of Verhoeven's career. Unlike similar films depicting
the Nazi occupation of Europe, like Schindler's
List,
Life is Beautiful, and The Pianist, the sharp
focus and soft textures of Black Book present a deceptively
peaceful and pleasant aesthetic against which the horrific
events unfold.
The decision to present this contradiction heightens the sense
of uncertainty felt by the viewer, making distinctions between
normally clear opposites like good and evil (especially in
the case of the Nazis and Liberators) much harder to identify.
While I've always enjoyed Verhoeven's popcorn-friendly output
as effective entertainment, my respect for him as an artist
has increased ten-fold after watching Black Book.
This is easily the best film in his repertoire, and displays
a new maturity long in development. If he remains in the European
market, producing films of this caliber without pressures from
Hollywood, history may yet look back on him as one of the preeminent
filmmakers of the 21st Century.
-Mark
Moreland
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All contents ©
2004-2009 Thoughtsonfilm.com |
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Director:
Paul
Verhoeven
Writer: Paul
Verhoeven, Gerard Soeteman
Starring: Carice
van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn, Derek de
Lint, Waldemar Kobus, Dolf de Vries
Distributor: Sony
Pictures Classics
Runtime: 145
min
Rating: R
Release Date: April
4, 2007
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