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for larger version       'Black Book' - Hard To Resist
A Spielbergesque action thriller about the Dutch resistance in World War II, "Black Book" is more "Indiana Jones" than "Schindler's List." This is despite its "true events" disclaimer and theme that heroism can be found in the most unlikely places…as can villainy. In a breakthrough performance, Dutch actress Carice van Houten plays beautiful Jewish cabaret singer Rachel Stein whose adventure with the resistance movement has her outlive any cat. In fact, in an early sequence, she is rescued from certain death by Allied bombs when a passing sailboat skipper happens to pick her up. She then finds herself entrenched with Dutch partisans, who convince her to be a Mata Hari sex spy infiltrating the local Gestapo by bedding down its handsome leader Ludwig Müntze (Sebastian Koch). The problem is that Müntze's Nazi heart is surprisingly soft and Rachel, who now goes by "Ellis," falls for him (and vice versa).
Like his Hollywood movies, Verhoeven keeps the entertainment level high, loading up on ample scenes of sex and violence. It's one WW II resistance thriller that is hard to resist. While the subject is serious, he never stays too far away from cartoon pulp. Even the music by Anne Dudley is a bit overblown.
See it. Hollywood comes to Holland.
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