Black Book (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Black book.
Black Book

Film poster
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Produced by Jeroen Beker
San Fu Maltha
Frans van Gestel
Jos van der Linden
Teun Hilte
Written by Gerard Soeteman
Paul Verhoeven
Starring Carice van Houten
Sebastian Koch
Thom Hoffman
Halina Reijn
Music by Anne Dudley
Cinematography Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Editing by Job ter Burg
James Herbert
Distributed by A-Film
Release date(s) Flag of the Netherlands September 14, 2006
Flag of the United Kingdom January 19, 2007
Flag of the United States April 6, 2007
Flag of Germany May 10, 2007
World Premiere: September 1, 2006
(Venice Film Festival)
Running time 145 min.
Country Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands
Language Dutch
English
German
Hebrew
Budget €17,800,000
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Black Book (Dutch: Zwartboek) is a 2006 Second World War film directed by Paul Verhoeven, and starring Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, and Halina Reijn. The story is about a young Jewish woman in the Netherlands who becomes a spy for the resistance during World War II, when tragedy befalls her after an encounter with the Nazis. The film had its world premiere on September 1, 2006 at the Venice Film Festival and its public release on September 14, 2006 in the Netherlands.

The press in the Netherlands was divided about the film, but with three Golden Calves Black Book was the most awarded film at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2006. The international press responded positively to the film and especially to the performance of actress Carice van Houten. It was the Dutch submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007, but the film was not nominated.

At the time of its release, it was the most expensive Dutch film ever made, and commercially also the Netherland's most successful, with that country's highest box office gross of 2006. By January 12, 2007 1,000,000 people had seen the film.


Contents

[edit] Plot

In the scenes which bookend the film, a schoolteacher is shown living in 1950s Israel. By chance, she has encountered Ronnie, a wartime friend and colleague, who is now married and on a tourist package trip in Israel. The film flashes back to 1944, during World War II, and begins the story of Rachel Stein (Carice van Houten), a Jewish singer who lived in Berlin before the war and who is then living in hiding from the Nazi regime in the occupied Netherlands.

Rachel Stein on the back of a bike
Rachel Stein on the back of a bike

After the house that she had been hiding in is destroyed, Rachel reunites with her family and tries to flee by boat with other Jews. The goal is to escape from the Nazi-occupied part of the Netherlands to the liberated southern part of the country. However, they are ambushed by uniformed SS men on the river. Rachel survives, but does not manage to escape from occupied territory.

She becomes involved with a resistance group and assumes the alias Ellis de Vries. She seduces SD officer Ludwig Müntze (Sebastian Koch) and is offered a job at the Gestapo headquarters in The Hague. She recognizes Günther Franken (Waldemar Kobus) as the SS officer in command who had ordered the massacre of her fleeing refugee party, and manages to bug his office. She falls in love with Müntze, who in contrast to Franken is not abusive or sadistic, and becomes friends with her Dutch colleague Ronnie (Halina Reijn), who has acquiesced to the occupation; Ronnie works for the Germans, has lots of sex with them, and has accepted stolen gifts from them. Her introduction in the film portrays her as being sexually loose, supposedly without reaction to the Nazis’ brutality in her country, and towards its citizens, except to find it dull.

Rachel's resistance cell debates the likely reprisals if they kill the Dutch Nazi collaborator who caused the death of her family. One member asks how lost Dutch lives compare to lost Jewish lives. Although they decide to abduct him instead, the plot goes wrong and he is killed. After Müntze is discovered to have been negotiating with the Dutch resistance "terrorists," he is sentenced to death. Some members of the resistance group are imprisoned. Rachel only agrees to participate in a rescue attempt on the condition that they free Müntze too, and reluctantly the other members of the group agree. However, the attempt fails due to an ambush and most of the prisoners and rescuers are killed.

Film set of Black Book in The Hague in 2005
Film set of Black Book in The Hague in 2005

Rachel is subsequently arrested and jailed by the Gestapo. They have discovered the bug and use it to make the resistance group believe she is Nazi collaborator, and frame her for the catastrophic failure of the rescue operation. With Ronnie's help, she and Müntze escape and the two of them hide in the countryside.

When the country is liberated, Rachel is imprisoned by the Dutch and publicly humiliated as a traitor. Because of an Allied occupation order that honors existing death warrants, Müntze is executed by a German officer who opposed his decision to not execute hostages. Rachel is rescued by physician and fellow member of the resistance Hans Akkermans, who had in fact not only been a traitor, but also responsible for the brutal death of her family at the hands of the Nazis. Akkermans, in a bid to cover his tracks, murders Franken and also tries to kill Rachel with an overdose of insulin, but as it begins to send her body into shock, she manages to survive by eating a bar of chocolate as an antidote and escapes. (The chocolate remains of what Akkermans gave her to distribute to children in crowds cheering the liberation.)

Rachel proves her innocence to resistance member Gerben Kuipers with the titular black book which contains the names of traitors. Together they intercept the fleeing Akkermans, who is hiding in a coffin in a hearse that a mortician is driving, which he also filled with stolen money and jewels. Rachel seals the coffin's air vents, suffocating him. This scene refers back to Rachel's earlier escape by being made up as a typhoid victim and hiding in a coffin.

After the war, instead of being imprisoned and publicly shamed as a collaborator and Nazi whore, Ronnie manages to get herself a key spot in the victory parade and falls in love with and marries a Canadian liberator. It is implied that the currency and jewels in the coffin with Akkermans were recovered by Rachel and used to fund the kibbutz where she lives and has re-encountered Ronnie. An idyllic scene of Rachel and her family is interrupted by explosions heard in the distance; an air raid siren goes off, and soldiers take positions in front of the kibbutz: It is October 1956, and the Suez Crisis has started.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

[edit] Writing

People in Eindhoven watching the allied forces enter the city following its liberation, similar to the depiction of the liberation in Black Book
People in Eindhoven watching the allied forces enter the city following its liberation, similar to the depiction of the liberation in Black Book

After 20 years of film making in the United States, Paul Verhoeven returned to his homeland, the Netherlands, for the making of Black Book. The story for the film was written by Verhoeven and the screenwriter Gerard Soeteman, with whom he made successful films such as Turkish Delight (1973) and Soldier of Orange (1977). The two men had been working on the script for fifteen years,[1] but they only solved their problems with the story in the early 2000s, by changing the main character from male to female. According to Paul Verhoeven Black Book was born out of elements that did not fit in any of his earlier movies, and it can be seen as a supplement to his earlier film about World War II Soldier of Orange.[2]

Verhoeven has emphasized that the story does not show an obvious moral contrast between characters:

“ In this movie, everything has a shade of grey. There are no people who are completely good and no people who are completely bad. It's like life. It's not very Hollywoodian.[3] ”

Black Book is not a true story, unlike Soldier of Orange, but Verhoeven states that many of the events are true.[4] As in the film, the German headquarters were in The Hague. In 1944 many Jews that tried to 'cross' (Dutch: crossen) to liberated parts of the southern Netherlands were entrapped by Dutch policemen. As in the film, crossing attempts took place in the Biesbosch.[2] The events in the story are also related to the life of Paul Verhoeven. Verhoeven was born in 1938 and he grew up in The Hague during the Second World War.[5]

[edit] Financing

The initial estimate of the budget for making Black Book was €12,000,000. According to film producer Rob Houwer, who worked with Paul Verhoeven on previous films, it was not possible to get the job done for that amount of money. San Fu Maltha produced the film together with three other producers. He tried to economize on different parts such as the scenes in Israel, that could have been left out without changing the plot, but this was not negotiable for Paul Verhoeven.[1]

Because of financing problems the filming did not start as planned in 2004 but was delayed until August 2005.[6][7] In this month it was announced that Black Book received about €2,000,000 support from the Publieke omroep, the CoBO Fund, and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.[8] There were also several foreign investors, which made the film a Belgian, British, and German coproduction. With a final estimated budget of €18,000,000 the film is the most expensive Dutch film ever, at the time of its release.[1]

In October 2006 twelve crew members and businessmen started a lawsuit in which they demanded the bankruptcy of Zwartboek Productie B.V., the legal entity founded for the film. Some of them were already waiting for more than a year to get their money, in total tens of thousands of euros. Production company Fu Works settled the case and promised to pay the creditors.[9]

[edit] Filming

A 'bunker' is built around the entrance of an underground parking garage at the film set of Black Book
A 'bunker' is built around the entrance of an underground parking garage at the film set of Black Book

The shooting of the film was delayed in 2004 due to financial problems[6] and Paul Verhoeven's health issues.[10] Because of the delay there was a lawsuit regarding lead actress Carice van Houten, who had agreed to act in a play. When van Houten was forced to return to the set, the theater company sued over the costly delay to their own production. The outcome of the lawsuit was that the production company had to pay €60,000 for her unavailability.[11]

The shooting of the film was from August 24 until December 19, 2005[12] on locations in the Netherlands, among which Hardenberg, Giethoorn, and The Hague, and in Israel. In the opening scene a real pre-war farm was blown up in the municipality Hardenberg. The farm was already declared uninhabitable and ready to be demolished.[13] Some under water explosions are filmed in a lake near Giethoorn.[14] In the centre of The Hague they built bunkers to cover up modern day objects such as the entrance of an underground parking garage.[15] Great attention to detail was paid in the film. Several requisites (stage props) were reproduced from the 1940s, such as signs, posters and the black book itself.[16] Furthermore, in one of the liberation scenes in The Hague, as many as 1100 or 1200 extras have a role.[17]

During the shooting the general public was able to see making of scenes on their mobile phones or on the internet.[18]

[edit] Media based on the film

[edit] Novelization

Main article: Black Book (novel)

The screenplay by Paul Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman was turned into a thriller novel by Dutch writer Laurens Abbink Spaink. The book was published in September 2006 by Uitgeverij Podium, and contains photos and an afterword by Paul Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman. Laurens Abbink Spaink says about the book: "Black Book is a literary thriller. Its form is in between the typical American novelization, only describing what the camera sees, and a literary novel. The novelization adds something to the film. It gave Rachel Stein a past, memories and a house. In the film she did not have a personal space."[19]

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: Black Book (soundtrack)

The soundtrack of the film was released on October 2, 2006 by Milan Records. The album contains four 1930s-1940s songs sung by actress Carice van Houten, as she also performed them as Rachel Stein in the film. Three of them are in German, one in English. The other tracks of the film score are written by Anne Dudley. The album is recorded in London and produced by Roger Dudley.[20]

[edit] Reception

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 77% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 132 reviews.[21] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 71 out of 100, based on 34 reviews.[22]

[edit] Premieres and festivals

Director Paul Verhoeven at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2006, where Black Book received three Golden Calves
Director Paul Verhoeven at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2006, where Black Book received three Golden Calves

Black Book had its world premiere on September 1, 2006 in Venice, as part of the official selection of the Venice International Film Festival.[23] Here it was nominated for a Golden Lion and won the Young Cinema Award for best international film.[24] The film was also in the official selection of the 2006 Toronto Film Festival.

HRH The Prince of Orange and his wife HRH Princess Máxima attended the Dutch gala premiere of Black Book in The Hague on September 12, 2006. Other prominent guests at the premiere were mayor Wim Deetman, minister Hans Hoogervorst, minister Karla Peijs, and staatssecretaris Medy van der Laan.[25]

The film was nominated for four Golden Calves at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2006. It won in three categories: the Golden Calf for Best Actress (Carice van Houten), for Best Director (Paul Verhoeven), and for Best Film (San Fu Maltha). Black Book was the most awarded film of the 2006 festival.[26]

The United States premiere of Black Book was a gala screening at Palm Springs High School on January 5, 2007 during the Palm Springs International Film Festival.[27] On March 2, 2007, Black Book was the opening film of the Miami International Film Festival.[28]

The German premiere of Black Book was a gala screening at Zoo Palast in Berlin on May 9, 2007.

[edit] Critical reaction

Most of the Dutch press was not positive about the film. Dana Linsen writes in NRC Handelsblad: "In Black Book, Verhoeven does not choose for moral discourse but for a human measure and he has given new colour to his work with the non-cynical approach of his female lead and with love."[29] Belinda van de Graaf in Trouw writes: "Without breath we run along burning farms, ugly resistance fighters, pretty kraut whores, spies, traitors, and because the story has to go on the coincidences pile up until it makes you laugh. If Carice van Houten screams 'Will it never stop, then!' it is almost kitsch, and not surprisingly already a classic film quote."[30] She compares this film to Soldier of Orange and explains why this film is not a stereotypical war film: "The war adventure is no longer based on the male character of the type Rutger Hauer, with his machismo and testosterone, but the small fighter Carice van Houten".[30] Literary critic Jessica Durlacher, daughter of an Auschwitz survivor, describes the film in Vrij Nederland with the following comparison: "The reality of 1940–1945 as portrayed in Black Book compared to reality is like the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas compared to the original in Paris."[31]

The international press however, wrote mainly positively about the film and specifically about the performance of Carice van Houten.[32] According to Jason Solomons in The Observer: "Black Book is great fun, an old-fashioned war movie in parts, but with deep undercurrents about fugitive Jews, the Resistance, collaborators and the messy politics of war. This being Verhoeven, there's lots of sex and a scene in which the extremely attractive star (Carice van Houten) dyes her pubic hair blond. That aside, hers is a star-making performance, putting even Scarlett [Johansson] in the shade."[33] In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Dirk Schümer says Carice van Houten is not only more beautiful, but also a better actress than Scarlett Johansson. Furthermore he writes in his review: "Europe's Hollywood can actually be better than the original. With his basic instinct sharpened in California, Verhoeven demonstrates here the cinema as a medium of individual tragedy."[34] Jacques Mandelbaum writes in his review in Le Monde: "This lesson about humanity and about fear can be situated in the wake of several rare masterpieces, that are solemny confronted by this story"[35] where he compares Black Book with classics like The Great Dictator, To Be or Not to Be, and Monsieur Klein.

Time magazine's Richard Schickel named the film one of the Top 10 Movies of 2007, ranking it at #5, calling it a “dark, richly mounted film”. While Schickel saw the film as possibly “old-fashioned stylistically, and rather manipulative in its plotting”, he also saw “something deeply satisfying in the way it works out the fates of its troubled, yet believable characters.”[36]

[edit] Commercial success

Before the film was released, the rights for distribution had been sold to the distributors of 52 countries.[37] According to the production company Fu Works these sales make the film Black Book commercially the most successful Dutch film production ever, at the time of its release.[38]

Black Book received a Golden Film (100,000 tickets sold) within a record breaking three days[39] and a Platinum Film (400,000 tickets sold) within three weeks after the Dutch premiere.[40] The film had its millionth visitor on January 12, 2007.[41]

Black Book had the highest box office gross for a Dutch film in 2006, and over all in 2006 coming third in the Netherlands after American films Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and The Da Vinci Code.[42] As of 2006-12-31 the box office gross in the Netherlands was €6,953,118.[43]

[edit] Top ten lists

The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.

[edit] List of nominations and awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Berkhout, Karel; Blokker, Bas. "Kan niet bestaat niet", NRC Handelsblad, 2006-09-08. Retrieved on 2006-10-07. (Dutch) 
  2. ^ a b De Wereld Draait Door - Paul Verhoeven talks about the film, September 7, 2006
  3. ^ Homeward bound in The Guardian
  4. ^ "The events are true, the story is not.", translated quote of Paul Verhoeven from 'Zwartboek' heeft geen ruimte voor subtiliteit in NRC Handelsblad.
  5. ^ Een beetje oorlog, best spannend
  6. ^ a b Opnames Verhoevens Zwartboek uitgesteld. Filmfocus.nl (2004-10-14). Retrieved on 2006-10-07. (in Dutch)
  7. ^ Shooting Paul Verhoevens Black Book will start end of August. Fu Works. Retrieved on 2006-10-07.
  8. ^ "Zwartboek en Alles is Liefde krijgen financiële steun", De Telegraaf, 2005-08-30. Retrieved on 2006-12-04. (Dutch) 
  9. ^ "Faillissement Zwartboek afgewend na schikking", De Telegraaf, 2006-10-27. Retrieved on 2006-12-04. (Dutch) 
  10. ^ "Paul Verhoeven ziek, opnamen Zwartboek uitgesteld", De Telegraaf, 2004-10-27. Retrieved on 2006-12-05. (Dutch) 
  11. ^ "'Zwartboek' moet betalen", De Telegraaf, 2006-02-03. Retrieved on 2006-12-05. (Dutch) 
  12. ^ Business Data for Zwartboek. The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2006-12-04.
  13. ^ "Verhoeven mag boerderij in Hardenberg opblazen", Algemeen Dagblad, 2005-10-25. Retrieved on 2006-12-05. (Dutch) 
  14. ^ "Verhoeven krijgt toestemming voor explosies", Trouw, 2005-09-24. Retrieved on 2006-12-05. (Dutch) 
  15. ^ Photocapy (2005-11-13). Entrance to a parking garage disguised as a bunker. Flickr. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  16. ^ Hoffman, Thom. De Wereld Draait Door [talkshow]. Netherlands: VARA.
  17. ^ "Acteur Thom Hoffman laat mensen Zwartboek beleven", Dagblad van het Noorden, 2006-05-04. Retrieved on 2006-12-05. (Dutch) 
  18. ^ Fu Works (2005-11-01). "Opnames Zwartboek via Vodafone op mobiel". Press release. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  19. ^ Van Baars, Laura. "De ‘verboeking’ van Zwartboek", NRC Handelsblad, 2006-09-15. Retrieved on 2007-01-10. (Dutch) 
  20. ^ De Bruijn, Joep. Review. www.geocities.com/filmscorevisions. Filmscore visions. Retrieved on 2007-01-07.
  21. ^ Black Book - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
  22. ^ Black Book (2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
  23. ^ a b c Stigter, Bianca. "'Zwartboek' heeft geen ruimte voor subtiliteit", NRC Handelsblad, 2006-06-02. Retrieved on 2006-12-02. (Dutch) 
  24. ^ Awards for Zwartboek. The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2006-12-04.
  25. ^ "Zwartboek beleeft Nederlandse première", De Telegraaf, 2006-09-12. Retrieved on 2006-12-04. (Dutch) 
  26. ^ a b c d "Zwartbroek grote winnaar Film Festival", NOS News, 2006-10-06. Retrieved on 2006-10-06. (Dutch) 
  27. ^ Black Book. Palm Springs International Film Festival. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
  28. ^ Miami International Film Festival (2007-01-10). "Miami International Film Festival Announces 2007 Film Program". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-01-13.
  29. ^ Linssen, Dana. "'Zwartboek' walst grijs verleden uit", NRC Handelsblad, 2006-09-13. Retrieved on 2006-10-05. (Dutch) 
  30. ^ a b Graaf, Belinda van de. "Carice van Houten als kleine krachtpatser in Verhoevens ’Zwartboek’", Trouw, 2006-09-14. Retrieved on 2006-12-05. (Dutch) 
  31. ^ Durlacher, Jessica (2006-09-16). Zwartboek liegt. Vrij Nederland (url is not the original source) . Retrieved on 2006-10-07. (in Dutch)
  32. ^ Stigter, Bianca. "Carice van Houten slaat in als een bom", NRC Handelsblad, 2006-09-04. Retrieved on 2006-10-07. (Dutch) 
  33. ^ Solomons, Jason. "Water, water everywhere - and a flood of tears", The Observer, 2006-09-03. Retrieved on 2006-10-07. 
  34. ^ Schümer, Dirk. "Basisinstinkt: Paul Verhoevens „Schwarzbuch“ in Venedig", Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 2006-09-01. Retrieved on 2006-10-07. (German) 
  35. ^ Mandelbaum, Jacques. ""Black Book": Paul Verhoeven brouille les pistes du bien et du mal", Le Monde, 2006-11-28. Retrieved on 2006-12-01. (French) 
  36. ^ Schickel, Richard; “The 10 Best Movies”; time.com
  37. ^ Official website.
  38. ^ "Zwartboek nu al succesvolste Nederlandse film ooit", De Telegraaf, 2006-08-21. Retrieved on 2006-12-02. (Dutch) 
  39. ^ a b Zwartboek bekroond met de Gouden Film (2006-09-18). Retrieved on 2006-10-05. (in Dutch)
  40. ^ a b Zwartboek bekroond met de Platina Film tijdens Gala van de Nederlandse Film. Retrieved on 2006-10-05. (in Dutch)
  41. ^ "Zwartboek passeert de 1 miljoen bezoekers", De Telegraaf, 2007-10-12. Retrieved on 2007-01-14. (Dutch) 
  42. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie. "Verhoeven leads Dutch resistance", Variety.com, 2006-12-22. Retrieved on 2007-01-14. 
  43. ^ $9,125,272 = €6,953,118. Netherlands Box Office. December 28–31, 2006. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2006-01-06.
  44. ^ Jason Coleman's Top Ten Films of 2007 (December 29, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
  45. ^ a b c d Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
  46. ^ En de winnaars zijn.... www.degoudenui.nl. Retrieved on 2007-01-12. (Dutch)
  47. ^ A-film oogst 27 Gouden Kalf nominaties. www.a-film.nl. A-Film (2006-10-04). Retrieved on 2007-01-07. (Dutch)
  48. ^ NSPCC (2006-12-18). "Dames get ready to do battle at film critics' awards". Press release. Retrieved on 2006-12-25.
  49. ^ "Zwartboek wint Haagse publieksprijs", De Telegraaf, 2006-12-29. Retrieved on 2007-01-11. (Dutch) 
  50. ^ This year's nominees. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved on 2007-01-13.
  51. ^ Black Book official entry from the Netherlands for Best Foreign Language film. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
  52. ^ Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (2007-01-16). Nine Foreign Language Films Seeking 2006 Oscar. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
  53. ^ Nederlands Film Festival (2007-01-29). "Eerste Diamanten Film voor Zwartboek". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  54. ^ a b Saturn Awards. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
v • d • e
Feature films directed by Paul Verhoeven