Synopsis
Trailers
Reviews (172)
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L
Welcome to another entry in the “let’s get Lou to watch a movie from his home country” series. Tonight we’re watching Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book. Somehow, I always thought this movie was one of those very specific WWII dramas we Dutch seem to have patented. While those are often quite solid, they’re not something I enjoy putting on. With that in mind, I wasn’t really looking forward to this movie. It took some persuading from @glimmerman96 (übrigens, vielen dank dafür) for me to finally give this a shot. And I’m glad I did, because this wasn’t at all what I was expecting (and I mean that in the best possible way.) Black Book has all the action, intrigue, nudity and…
142 8 -
A
Smashing, sophisticated, and shameless entertainment that brings together the Holland and Hollywood chapters of Verhoeven’s career. Never a dull moment.
260 6 -
J
On its surface a very classically made wartime epic/thriller with exciting espionage twists and action setpieces but of course taken to all the thorny and filthy and perverse extremes you’d expect from Verhoeven; complete with sex, shit and brain matter. Totally lost it when Carice Van Houten asks her Nazi lover whether he thinks her titties are Jewish, and later when she strips for him and he appears on-screen to be growing a boner beneath the sheets only for it to be revealed to be a gun. Only Paul would make time for moments like these in an otherwise fairly Hollywood piece of resistance pulp.
523 2 -
B
I almost forgot how fucking good this was. Almost. BLACK BOOK is a rowdy genre picture about the most grim of subject matters: WWII. Director Paul Verhoeven is a madman, embracing everything about movie movies, all the while skewering them within an inch of their life. He is both deadly serious and an absolute prankster. It’s all here: candid sexuality, graphic violence, revenge, and betrayal. Who’s good? Who’s bad? If only it were that easy to figure out. The savagery of humankind is unbound by time and space. A war that can never be won.
302 2 -
A
I watched this after getting interested in Dutch cinema, and it definitely lived up to its reputation. The pacing is excellent, and the tension rarely lets up, making it a consistently engaging watch. My only issue was keeping track of some of the characters, which made parts of the story a little hard to follow. I also feel it’s one of those films that benefits most from a first viewing. Still, the first-time experience alone made it well worth watching.
215 1 -
K
Paul Verhoeven grew up during the Second World War in The Hague, which was bombed by mistake by Allied forces on 3 March 1945. “I will not be able to release myself from the war,” Verhoeven said in 2008 to Elsevier Magazine about the influence of the war on his later life and films, in which violence regularly predominates. “As a child I saw the bombing, dead people lying on the street. These are penetrating memories. That determines your world view. It is therefore no coincidence that I can move easily in violence, in tensions, in ambushes. I know what it means to be on the run. Sometimes I dream that I am walking on roofs, on the run. It…
196 8 -
N
Black Book is an unabashedly pulpy and entertaining espionage thriller about the Dutch resistance during WWII with a mix of genre play and tropes resurrected with fresh takes & twists without losing sight of the larger message. At times the plot seems outrageous and far-fetched, but it is based on true events. It’s also a very erotic & perverse flick (it’s what you expect from Paul Verhoeven), even considering the subject matter, which really helps you understand the main character and Carice van Houten is great in it.
198 -
M
Hopelessness merely persists, but survival is neverending. Either way they cost a lot.
179 -
M
They made this one like they used to. ( verhoeven is an anti-Zionist, I checked)
173 5 -
I
Something of a career Rosetta Stone, in that it tackles the same triad of sleaze, fascism, and loot as Verhoeven’s subverted male fantasies, but is also in line with his other films about female protagonists, being a parable of survival in a grotesque world. The manifesto is the same as in Elle: In order to preserve one’s dignity on this planet, one must let go of guilt and shame. Interestingly, this is one of the few Verhoeven movies to present us with moral supporting characters, represented by resistance members like the communist Kuipers and the principled attorney Smaal, who (unlike their more corruptible co-conspirators) are fighting for reasons other than war and country—which renders the final shot politically ambiguous.
150 1 -
I
Does it never end? first of all, most ww2 movies just roll the credits right as liberation hits like it’s some clean finish line. what actually makes this stand out is how it deals with the messy aftermath. liberation didn’t magically bring grace, just a whole new round of cruelty and score-settling. verhoeven completely skips the standard cinematic gloss and shows an occupation built entirely on panic, opportunism, and shifting loyalties, where the main character survives purely on grit and adaptability instead of playing the noble hero. carice is magnetic as a spy caught in the crossfire, making every single moral compromise feel genuinely heavy. sure, it leans a bit too hard into pulpy thriller territory sometimes, but that unflinching look at post-war retribution keeps it fascinating the whole way through.
73 3 -
A
Watched last night in solidarity with the NYC screening introduced my my close personal friend Caroline Golum and programmed by my ditto Steve MacFarlane. Probably my favourite Verhoeven and very arguably his best; the synthesis of his Holland and Hollywood phases at the end of a picaresque artistic journey (exile, success; exile; return of the mack) is breathtakingly achieved, effectively completing a circle of formal give and take dating back to his Dutch TV work (hugely influenced by American productions) and providing the last word on a rhetorical argument about the Netherlands’ putative legacy of tolerance/decency initiated in Turkish Delight and Spetters. Verhoeven is one on hand a completely shameless entertainer and on the other a stringent moralist; his hands…
253 2 -
J
wtf is er gaande
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Y
Un film dur et poignant de réalisme et de froideur, le combat non pas au front mais derrière les lignes, par des inconnus, qui parfois et même souvent, firent basculer le conflit en faveur des alliés. Une tension présente tout le film et une réalisation magistrale
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A
2 Omg im dying. Anyway Ich bin die fesche Lola, der Liebling der Saison Ich hab ein Pianola zu Haus in mei’m Salon Ich bin die fesche Lola, mich liebt ein jeder Mann Doch an mein Pianola, da lass ich keinen ran Lola! Lola! Ich bin die fesche Lola, der Liebling der Saison Ich hab ein Pianola zu Haus in mei’m Salon Will mich wer begleiten, da unten aus dem Saal Dem hau ich in de Seiten und tret ihm aufs Pedal Lola! Lola! Можно процитировать пол фильма, кстати? И, мое лето любви, прости, но этот фильм занимает твое место в моем топ 4
4 -
Z
Verhoeven’s WWII epic holds up just as well as his iconic Hollywood run. All the classic Verhoeven hallmarks are here: cynical, erotic, and violent. It feels like a dry run for the last act of Inglourious Basterds.
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T
Peli disfrutona de espías, nazis, traiciones y conspiraciones. Me causa mucha gracia cuando los protagonistas de las películas actúan efectivamente como personajes de una obra y van dejando destellos de gracia y picardía casi más como una broma y guiño cómplice para el espectador que acordes a la situación concreta en la que están metidos.
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D
I generally associate WWII movies with the way they’re presented in America and the UK – goodies, baddies, noble sacrifice, yada yada. It’s so wonderful to see something about the time that’s genuinely morally complex, but more than that, really vulgar. Last shot fleeting but pointed.
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M
Nachdem ich dieses Jahr endlich mal Paul Verhoevens Frühwerk nachgeholt habe, war dieser Film die letzte Bildungslücke im Oeuvre des niederländischen Altmeisters – die ich nun auch schließen konnte. Nach seinen großen Hollywood-Filmen markierte “Black Book” die Rückkehr Verhoevens ins europäische Kino. Er beweist, dass er kein großes Hollywood-Budget braucht, um großes Kino abzuliefern, sondern nur ein exzellentes Drehbuch. Letzteres hat Black Book definitiv. So viele Filme es auch über den Zweiten Weltkrieg gibt, Verhoeven liefert hiermit einen der besten…
39 2 -
J
The moral ambiguity and lack of dignity in surviving the human world. Verhoeven returns home and gets his mojo back.
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S
35mm—Roxy Cinema My first Verhoeven Dutch movie. Amazing to see a WWII Jewish survival story in his style of filmmaking—the image is so lush and he doesn’t shy away from the sexual or grotesque. Carice Van Houten is a revelation in this movie. I wanna see more of her work. Only critique I have is that it really thins out at the end as it rushes to a conclusion and final reveal. All the craft around moving thru the plot and mystery that isn’t his strong suit, made me really appreciate the masters like Demme w/ Lambs or Fincher with Dragon Tattoo.
1 -
S
Die Nacht ist dunkel und voller Schrecken in den von Nazis besetzten Niederlanden für Carice van Houten in Paul Verhoeven’s WWII-Spionagethriller. Der zu Beginn sehr sprunghaft und zwischendurch etwas zäh erzählt ist, und der aufgrund zu vieler Wendungen kein Ende finden mag und somit zu lange dauert. Der wiederum aber auch sehr aufwendig inszeniert ist, tolle Schauwerte sowie einige richtig spannende Szenen und gute Action-Momente liefert. Gewalt, Nacktheit und Grausamkeiten (Stichwort Scheiße-Eimer) dürfen bei Verhoeven natürlich nicht fehlen.
4 -
I
Does it never end? first of all, most ww2 movies just roll the credits right as liberation hits like it’s some clean finish line. what actually makes this stand out is how it deals with the messy aftermath. liberation didn’t magically bring grace, just a whole new round of cruelty and score-settling. verhoeven completely skips the standard cinematic gloss and shows an occupation built entirely on panic, opportunism, and shifting loyalties, where the main character survives purely on grit and…
73 3 -
A
Maybe Verhoeven’s best??? (It’s tough between this and Starship Troopers.) He takes a very harrowing story of a woman trapped between Resistance forces and the Nazi regime and embues it with all the genre elements he’s built up through his career to tell the tale with an expressionistic sense of emotionality. There’s nothing dour or stolid or cartoonishly nihilistic about this movie and it deals in the great complexities that comes with the territory — complexity that nearly all the…
7 9 -
G
Most movies about the holocaust are travesties. But Paul Verhoeven is not most filmmakers.
6 -
T
Pas mal mais assez oubliable
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O
Chekov’s vatful of human shit
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R
So many thoughts but not much too say other than, wow that ending is a choice.
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୭
It’s a trash
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E
Zoveel verschillende namen😵💫😵💫
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T
A series of compromises and transactions with the Nazis which lead to Israel. Make of that what you will.
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J
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K
such a good movie, very interesting with a good dose of history
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D
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A
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J
I can’t get over the beauty of the 35mm print that was screen for my Roxy Cinema audience. Since this isn’t the type of film that got screened a lot, the print was still pretty crisp and the glossy professionalism of the mid-2000s production made the cinematography look period appropriate. Paul Verhoeven uses his Hollywood blockbuster verve to make this historical drama extremely propulsive. It’s funny, looking back at contemporaneous reviews, they mock him for campiness and his trashy taste.…
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B
eh
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G
Never, NEVER I SAY, trust a European man named Hans, there’s too much of a history of these gentlemen being too cheeky.
2 1 -
T
Verhoeven was like, hey I can also make a WW2 movie with an iconic shit scene The most realistic scene was when there was a massacre during the Hitler birthday party and the still expected the girls to tear down the party decorations afterwards.
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DDHCKris 8 月 12, 2026
Almost every Dutch film I’ve seen features a person suffocating in a coffin
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W
Holy shit. For the first 1.5 hours, I was totally engaged—and even entertained (which felt wrong)—thinking it was just a really well-made anti-Nazi WWII picture. But right when I thought it was wrapping up, BOOM. It took a turn that reminded me all over again why Verhoeven is a master filmmaker
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N
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ఱ
Extraordinary Film! The film doesn’t try to seduce you, it doesn’t even try to allure regardless of it’s gut wrenching plot, yet Paul just gets you immersed with narrative and the world, man, what a production! It was not an intense experience but yes I did shed tears. And I’m quite surprised that it happened just by going with the plot, not the twists or intense dramatization of the characters. One can easily say where Tarantino got his Shosanna and Bridget. Also, she’s Melisandre?????
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A
1 Я обязана это пересмотреть Это реально триллер, напряжённо моментами, аж сердце прям сжималось Фильм очень затягивает. Прям хорошо блин Очень мне нравится этот фильм Эллис👍👍👍👍👍👍 Ну это очень очень очень хорошо Dare i say thats one of the best films oat??
1 -
J
Existiu um tempo na Terra em que o ser humano tinha como preocupação primordial a própria sobrevivência. Talvez apenas aqueles que vivenciaram de perto períodos históricos como o da guerra aqui retratado possam compreender verdadeiramente o quanto somos capazes de entregar de nós mesmos em nome de permanecer vivos. Rachel se infiltra entre os alemães depois de perder toda a sua família, movida por uma única esperança: sobreviver. Até onde estamos dispostos a ir para não morrer? O que somos…
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E
A new tradition of Tuesday movie night has started at 727 and this was Harry’s pick. Harry loves Paul Verhoeven and is always offended when I remind him I haven’t seen Starship Troopers, Robocop or Total Recall. One day! A beautiful night was had as Harry loves Verhoven so much that he had this movie on DVD. Did you know the DVD provides a 3 hour commentary in Verhoven’s cute dutch accent? I like to imagine a future where Harry…
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B
*michael caine voice* there are two things in this world I can’t stand
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C
Verhoeven toes the line between pulpy fun and scathing provocations just as well here as he does in Starship Troopers. This manages to be an entertaining WW2 spy thriller, reminiscent of similar films from the same era like Inglorious Basterds and Lust, Caution, with some great performances (Carice van Houten! Couldn’t take my eyes off her!) while also flipping all the tropes it presents on its head. Everyone has their own motivations beyond the politics of the war whether it…
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NNat Hansen 8 月 10, 2026
I’ve seen this maybe four times and my memory still stops after the end of the war and I’m always amazed how insane and brutal the last 40 minutes are. And look, I’m as big a fan of Inglourious Basterds as anyone but this makes it look like a bunch of video game cutscenes.
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J
There’s a strong argument to be made that there have only been a handful of films released in this century that are better than this
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M
In other hands, this would be something not too dissimilar from what one views in school when the teacher has a hangover from the previous night. In the hands of the pervert auteur, there is a never a dull moment in this espionage thriller about the Dutch Resistance, packed to the brim with sex, violence, and a small helping of (literal) shit. One thing I’ve always loved about Verhoeven is how he navigates the survival of women in an unscrupulous…
2 -
A
Watched last night in solidarity with the NYC screening introduced my my close personal friend Caroline Golum and programmed by my ditto Steve MacFarlane. Probably my favourite Verhoeven and very arguably his best; the synthesis of his Holland and Hollywood phases at the end of a picaresque artistic journey (exile, success; exile; return of the mack) is breathtakingly achieved, effectively completing a circle of formal give and take dating back to his Dutch TV work (hugely influenced by American productions)…
253 2 -
E
Safdie bros take note, this is how you do tension!! Phew crazy movie to end a 3 in theatre day..way it ends it is wonderful too..war begets war
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S
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B
[35mm w/ intro] Verhoeven’s had his knob polished enough in the past decade, but we gotta give it up: there’s a type of perfect blockbuster that only he can deliver, with all the trappings that every 30 to 40 year old fading hipster goes hog wild for: grey cynic’s politics (complimentary), squibs, and Carice van Houten’s tits. (Hachi machi!) It just doesn’t at all play like a film any American could be capable of (or maybe any other nationality, period?), even the roteness of some of its dramatis feels askew, charged with danger in a way most aren’t. Last scene perfect chuckle material.
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T
“Does it never end?” On first watch of this, thought it was a really classy, stately take on WWII spy/resistance material, spiced up with Verhoeven’s predilections for desire and the dark part of humanity. And it definitely is that, but this time I locked in way way more with the Verhoeven auteurism side of it all, and a representation of him bringing together and merging the sensibility of his early Dutch work with his honed Hollywood storytelling craft, resulting in…
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E
« Black Book » est un film de guerre qui finit par se transformer progressivement en véritable film noir. Et c’est probablement ce qui le rend aussi séduisant. Verhoeven passe de l’un à l’autre, avec un goût certain pour le glamour au milieu de l’horreur. La Libération, surtout, n’a rien d’un happy end : elle ne suffit pas à faire apparaître la justice par magie. Les vainqueurs ne sont pas forcément des saints, et les survivants pas forcément innocents. Le…
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K
Are these Jewish? I never knew this would happen. To fear the liberation… KIBBUTZ FOUNDED WITH FUNDS OF WORLD WAR II JEWISH VICTIMS
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C
SO GOOD. Sophisticated smart sexy. So gripping and action packed. Verhoeven does not stoop to moralizing the story, committing to balls to the wall action and intrigue. Does not shy away from blood guts and literal shit. The only thing not included in this film is large nipples.
3 -
T
I tried rewatching Inglorious basterds recently and got about 20 mins in. This movie is the better version
1 -
B
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SS. Monohan 8 月 9, 2026
Went to see this because I knew friend/filmmaker Caroline Golum was a huge fan and happened to be introducing this screening. Even with all that, I was unprepared for how much this movie would fucking rip.
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K
She walked into the gestapo headquarters with a bleached bush and a tin of stamps and said I’m going to free my people. Holocaust Showgirls is AMAZING. What tips it over the typical verhoeven movie (which I adore) is the ending…. His fucking mind…
3 -
D
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T
a perfect film in every way. a punishingly entertaining genre flick and morality tale. black book is about a war known for its heroes and villains, but in this you’ll sympathize with characters ‘til you no longer can or should. liberation day in holland frees up victims to play victimizers while the shooting of a nazi draws tears. i’ve been tempted to compare black book to schindler’s list but i find myself referring to a different speilberg WWII film, saving private ryan,…
4 -
J
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M
An unexpectedly perfect weekend pairing with Cure as both films juggle with the traditional perceptions of good, evil and normalcy. Black Book while front facing looks like a generic WWII dad movie, the complicated sexual politics and perceived depravity are uniquely Verhoeven. The relentless drive to survive is reminiscent of Nomi Malone but with more Nazis. My naive American perspective loved this critical Dutch eye on fascism, freedom and jewish European occupation of Palestine.
4 -
B
Un nazi chévere
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C
This was really great. For some reason I put off watching it because from the posters and synopses and stuff it seemed like a boring period piece drama, but I don’t know why I expected that from paul verhoeven. This was a genuinely exciting, sleazy, nail-biting espionage thriller. I highly recommend.
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A
A great war movie by Paul verhoeven I remember seeing it in my late teens on tv and it looks amazing in HD
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Y
Un film dur et poignant de réalisme et de froideur, le combat non pas au front mais derrière les lignes, par des inconnus, qui parfois et même souvent, firent basculer le conflit en faveur des alliés. Une tension présente tout le film et une réalisation magistrale.
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S
Door iemand aangeraden. Vroeger ooit een keer gezien, maar geen herinneringen aan. Het is echt een goeie film, Paul Verhoeven weet/wist echt hoe je een goede film in elkaar moest zetten! Ik ga hem denk over een tijdje weer opnieuw kijken 🙂
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N
I love Verhoeven, and it’s precisely that love that makes it really hard to read what he’s doing in Black Book, outside of making the world’s horniest Holocaust joint. Y’know, because Verhoeven. It’s built like a Nazi-infiltrating spy thriller kinda thing with oodles of betrayals and twists and moles and such, but Verhoeven really reaches back to his pre-Hollywood roots and fills it with copious nudity, dongs, people being doused with cauldrons full of human feces, etc. It’s like he’s…
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C
I’m weak for cliche war movies, and Verhoeven’s style fits this niche pretty well. Carice is charming and Francken is a classic Verhoeven-style repulsive bad guy. I don’t even have a stupid funny quip to type out; I just enjoyed the flick
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L
An absolute masterpiece of Dutch cinema! Black Book is exceptionally well-written, and the fact that it’s grounded in real history makes it feel incredibly vivid and tense. The characters draw you in right away and keep you hooked until the very end.
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L
Se sienta dentro de la mesa de las mejores películas de la historia
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S
Very excited to get to show this movie to my husband because this one is a teenage (I’m not joking) favorite of mine which I purchased on DVD at a Cracker Barrel when I was like 14 (?? don’t quote me on that) and have considered a fav movie for a long time. Lo and behold! – It’s actually by acclaimed film director Paul Verhoeven. AND made the gun penis joke way before Metropolis. Also pube dying. So yeah, this movie is underseen and totally takes you on a ride. If you like Inglorious Basterds, check this one out.
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S
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S
God I miss when movies stuffed a season of tv into 2 hours.
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M
Dokter Tinus: The Prequel
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L
De tien miljoen plottwisten had ik niet verwacht DAYUM
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L
id never watched this cuz i always thought it was christina aguilera on the poster & i never knew it was a verhoeven (who, unexpectedly, has been climbing the long list of my fav filmmakers the more I see of his work, each time i revisit his classics)… but now i have an unscratchable itch of an intrigue imagining the alternate uncanny verhoeven valley where it had been xtina (esp after looking it up and discovering her heritage is half ecuadorian…
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S
De film staat sterk in zijn schoenen met een paar over-het-hoofd-geziende-afstapjes waar die lichtelijk over struikelt, toch vangt Paul Verhoeven de film goed op. Het verhaal is grotendeels duidelijk, sleept je mee en houdt spanning. (Wel dacht ik op 4 verschillende momenten; ‘dit is vast het einde’ terwijl het niet zo bleek). Om de film volledig te kunnen volgen moet je hem minstens 2 keer zien (of iemand bij je hebben die je vragen beantwoordt; dankjewel Huub). Carice van Houten,…
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M
@ home cinema
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Y
有些剧情不太连贯
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C
Let’s get out of the way that the very start and end are pretty questionable from a 2026 consciousness. Although the end is… open to interpretation. But I outside of that… one thing I can’t say without making this spoilered I didn’t love. But mostly this movie offers a brutally unromantic view of resistance during WWII and the handling of the end of the war. It makes a compelling story and offers food for thought.
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E
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C
I found the first hour and a half of this to be really enjoyable, but wow that last hour ruined most of it. I’m all for morally gray characters, but I feel that the story and the characters in this are not grounded or well-written enough to sell me on the whole sympathy for the nazi thing it has going on. I just don’t see why the literal nazi is painted in a better light and dies a more honorable…
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F
Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book is one of the finest World War II thrillers I’ve seen. It is tense, beautifully photographed, and constantly keeps the audience off balance with shifting loyalties, betrayals, and moral ambiguity. Rather than dividing people neatly into heroes and villains, it presents a world where survival often demands impossible choices and where goodness and cruelty can exist side by side. At the heart of the film is Rachel Stein, a remarkable protagonist whose intelligence, resilience, and humanity…
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E
Izokay
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O
Verhoeven weet weer eens niet wat eerst gedaan. Maak ik een oorlogsfilm met romantische wending? Een spionage thriller, met nazi-insteek? Een revengeflick? Weetje wat? Doe maar eentje van elks! Hij heeft geluk met Carice Van Houten, ze is beeldschoon en steelt elke scène dat ze in zit en ze zit in 90% van de speeltijd. Het verhaal gaat alle kanten op en is daarom nooit volledig innemend, maar het blijft interessant en blijft verassend tot de laatste minuut. Hadden er…
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LLuspiller 7 月 27, 2026
Wtf el final
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P
mais um do paul verhoeven e mais um dele sobre a segunda guerra mundial com direito a espionagem, a agente h21 e conspirações contra a alemanha nazista. achei uma ótima adaptação baseada meio na pegada Mata Hari femme fatale. por ser um mais lado b achei q nao fosse gostar e me surpreendi, achei mais interessante e menos filme de hominho do que bastardos inglórios do sionistin tarantino. filmaço
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I
Paul Verhoeven’s genius Israeli government prequel film, back when it was called Nazi Germany. A lovely blend of moral ambiguity, serious war film and B-movie delights.
29 3 -
M
A beautiful Jewish woman in disguise having to meet the Gestapo guy who massacred her family; a climax at a Nazi shindig at the tail-end of the war; a lovelorn SS officer who comes to a sticky end; the heroine in a spectacular red dress – you can see how Tarantino might’ve seen this and thought he could do it better. One part though he did tellingly different. Verhoven shows triumph turning to fascoid humiliation of the collaborators, with Carice…
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G
Un sensual thriller de espionaje ambientado en la Segunda Guerra Mundial donde Paul Verhoeven vuelve a demostrar lo buen director que es, aunque el tiempo haya pasado. Excelente interpretación de Carice von Houten .
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K
Wow, wow, wow A real gem from the Netherlands 🇳🇱 Vind Nederlandse films vaak niks Maar dit is wel een goeie
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A
Paul Verhoeven doing a movie about WW2 and not holding anything, raw and impactful as you expected. Never has the sentence “they went trough so much shit” had that much meaning.
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E
Buena ambientación y trama fácil de seguir
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F
A jawdropping, twisty rollercoaster of a movie, set in the occupied Netherlands in the final year of the war. One surprise after another, most of them unpleasant, that kept me guessing and wincing. I’ve only seen a few of Paul Verhoeven’s films, but this one’s my favorite by a mile.
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C
The acting was sometimes not the best
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D
31 Days of Action – Day 24 A tight thriller. From a director known for Science Fiction/Dystopias no less. Let’s get into it! It can be said that W.W.II is a distinct dividing line for Spy films. Spy films set after the War are more neutral and globetrotting. The enemy could be anyone, more often than nought someone close. Spy films set during or before the War have a clear enemy. The Nazis, the Japanese, Fascists, etc. The dichotomy of…
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J
commendable job at making me want to pull out my hair in one moment, and then leaving me in begrudging awe at the layered twists in the next overall definitely entertaining for espionage film and does a really good job making one uncomfortable, ending shot is a nice touch on human hypocrisy, truly, when does it end?
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N
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N
J’aime beaucoup les films centrés sur les nazis où on apprend des détails L’action se passe aux Pays-Bas, je trouve intéressant de voir comment la lutte contre le nazisme s’est passé dans des pays qu’on n’a pas l’habitude de voir On suit une femme juive du nom de Rachel qui a perdu sa famille dans un guet-apens, elle a survécu miraculeusement grâce à des villageois. Elle s’engage au côté de résistants en tant qu’espionne Le film nous montre la face…
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B
“You have black hair.” “Blonde is all the rage these days.” “Maybe blonde hair helps you survive, if you happen to be Jewish.” “Yes. So what? Are these Jewish? Are these Jewish?” “Also blonde. You’re a perfectionist.” I’ll never understand what makes people think that their genetic makeup or location of their birth or skin color makes them better than someone else’s. Who gives a shit? You didn’t have any say in any of that to begin with. The fact that so many wars have been fought over such trifling bullshit, so many lives lost…
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L
que hijo de re mil putas maxi lópez TERMINE LA PELÍCULA Y JAMÁS ME DI CUENTA QUE ERAN MELISANDRE Y DAARIO NAHARIS que fan de papel que soy de got
1 1 -
R
Está no es tu típica película de nazis, esta tiene algo de camp, mucho erotismo y drama hasta para llevar. Todo lo que esperarías de una película de Paul Verhoeven.
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X
Gripping and well-composed. So many layers to this story thats constantly interrogating how much humanity we should show to war crime committing Nazis and their presumed collaborators. Looks like it will be a simple revenge film, but veers hard into its mysteries. Nuanced and brilliant meditation, but what else should we expect from Verhoven?
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C
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B
Buenas y le sube pq aparecen nazis
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A
C’était un collabo ou pas du coup l’notaire ?
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N
Paul Verhoeven can just lock in with any genre and create a banger. My twin 🤞
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J
Whenever I watch one of these nazi movies I think to myself “how do we know this happened? Is it cuz they got caught? Or cuz they wrote a book later?” I appreciate they answer that question in the synopsis lol Very funny scene when she dyes her hair. I assume she had to do that every 2 weeks but they only show it the one time. Love Verhoven.
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Q
Buena película, pero con propaganda sionista lamentablemente
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J
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A
achei muito corrido em algumas partes (especialmente no início) o que acabou deixando ele arrastado em outras em comparação (especialmente no final). acho que mais meia horinha de filme pra equilibrar isso teria sido perfeito, pq o filme é MUITO bom no final das contas! é uma história de espionagem na segunda guerra contada de uma perspectiva super inusitada, com bons personagens, uma boa trama, e super intrigante num geral. enfim, gostei muito, mas tinha potencial pra ser realmente uma obra prima
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L
no entendí ni vergas pero okei
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N
um filme pesadíssimo, impossível não se sensibilizar pela trajetória de Rachel Rosenthal, uma mulher judia vivendo em uma Holanda tomada pelos nazistas e que acaba perdendo tudo. não, tendo tudo tirado dela. esse filme teve tantas reviravoltas que eu simplesmente errei em todas as minhas teorias… mas não paro de pensar no personagem de Müntze… fazer uma mulher holandesa judia se apaixonar por um alemão (que pelo que sabemos é favorável até certo ponto à ideologia) nazista, foi realmente uma…
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J
oh mijn god
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R
Ho amato il mix drama/love story e thriller
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A
“Não pensei que teria medo da liberdade” A Espiã (Black Book) é um daqueles filmes que conseguem unir entretenimento e profundidade sem sacrificar nenhum dos dois. Paul Verhoeven constrói um thriller de guerra extremamente envolvente, repleto de tensão, reviravoltas e dilemas morais, mas que nunca perde de vista o lado humano da história. Baseado em diferentes acontecimentos reais da ocupação nazista na Holanda, o filme evita a visão simplista de “heróis contra vilões” e apresenta personagens complexos, movidos por interesses,…
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J
Apparently this film was voted the best Dutch movie ever made in 2008. If this is true, it a sad statement about state of Dutch films. The story is utterly implausible. Resistance fighters against the German Occupation appear like a bunch of teenagers with no impulse control. When the Germans threaten to shoot hostages, a group of fighters just wants to give themselves up. A Canadian colonel is bossed around by a captured SS officer, while another high ranking SS man somehow becomes a hero of the story. Don’t waste your time on this, watch The Army of Shadows instead.
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A
this is genuinely the best war movie i have ever laid my eyes upon and ive seen MANY. The constant plot twist, the notional torture & the way the movie has you feeling empathy for the ones you shouldn’t. I cannot put into words how beautiful this movie pictured personal change, sacrifice & the horrors of ww2. I’ve sobbed my eyes out in numerous parts in this movie. The ending was the most cinematic and correct awnser any ww2 has ever had. Ellis acting is incredibly talented, my god. I’m in absolute awe with this movie.
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K
“Does it never end?“ One of the best Dutch movies ever made.
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K
Whenever I feel like watching movies is getting a bit too predictable, Paul Verhoeven consistently gives me another great reason to love cinema as an artform. Coming into one of his Dutch films blind is always a treat, and 2006’s Black Book doesn’t disappoint as a war thriller or a textbook example of Verhoeven’s signature style. The panache here on display is unreal, dousing 1944 Holland with noir sensibilities (a similar approach to 1983’s The 4th Man) and delivering some…
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C
ARTE! Rico em drama, fatos e horror. Retrata através do olhar de diversas mulheres, as consequências da Segunda Guerra Mundial na Holanda.
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C
Love the 35 mm look of this .
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C
echt een goeie film dit!!! Typisch Verhoeven stijl en veel beter dan Turks Fruit vond ik, but still NOT a fan van hoe vaak vrouwen in zijn films worden geobjectiveerd/geseksualiseerd. It’s giving ‘kan (goede of slechte) vrouwelijke representatie in de media ook zorgen voor emancipatie’ van current themes lol. Als we nog een keer zo’n vak hebben schrijf ik een onderzoek over Verhoeven I guess
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T
Excellent Dutch language Paul Verhoeven resistance movie. With a/o Carice van Houten (Melisandre in Game of Thrones), Halina Reijn (here as an actress, but recent director of Babygirl with Nicole Kidman) and Matthias Schoenaerts.
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R
Aparentemente um Verhoeven um pouco mais sóbrio, em que os usuais excessos parecem se concentrar em uma narrativa cheia de reviravoltas. Mas a ironia e o humor caustico ainda se fazem presentes em momentos cruciais, dando ao filme elementos muito mais interessantes do que aqueles comumente presentes em dramas de guerra convencionais.
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C
Love this movie, especially since my dad plays in it as well!!
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L
Entramos nos conflitos de espionagem durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial e vemos que a ganância prevalece em qualquer lado, culminando em traições imperdoáveis. O oficial alemão Müntze se apaixona pela protagonista porque demonstra mais sensibilidade do que os outros nazistas, mas o filme não tenta passar pano para suas escolhas. Afinal, permanecer ali também é um ato político.
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K
Lust, Caution > The Pianist > Black Book. Still excellent, but also epic in manner which leads to a lot of dramatic baggage (drawing away from acuteness of feeling/atmosphere). What I most want to remember is van Houten’s performance: lively and lovely despite heavy subject matter. While I’m at, while I can’t differentiate the male leads from one another (minus Kobus) physically nor in expressiveness, they were all charming.
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L
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T
خوش فلم عجبني
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Y
1、富兰肯栽赃瑞秋，从而引出她被两方抛弃的情感核心，那富兰肯的动机是什么？电影并没解释这个关键疑问，个人猜测是富兰肯为保汉斯，从而栽赃瑞秋，转移反抗军的注意力。 2、电影名就是关键道具，它轻而易举就揭穿本片的最大反转，这种写法过于顺拐和潦草。
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S
Carice absoluut baddie
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R
I watched this purely because it’s by the director of “Robocop”, “Starship Troopers” and the brilliant “Showgirls” … no I’m not being ironic, I think “Showgirls” is one of the best films ever made, it’s hilarious! Anyway, this is nothing like those other movies so i appreciated it as a more “serious” film, if that’s the right word, but I can’t say I loved it.
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B
An enjoyable war time thriller.
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P
The character of Rachel Stein/Ellis de Vries is never far from my mind.
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B
RCM26 – 21/48 🇳🇱 The last thing I expected to see in this movie was an up-close shot of a woman painting her pubic hair blonde. Also FUCK THEO, WDYM “You cursed God!” WAS THE REASON YOU SHOT?!?!? Anyways, this movie has INSANE production. Good picture too. I wasn’t hooked on the story until near the halfway mark. Shit got wild near the end. Jesus man that poor girl. Overall a good movie I’d say.
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E
Grade: 7,8
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P
Was in my watchlist for 20 years. Shouldn’t have watched it
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R
Rewatch because the last time I saw this movie was years ago. It still holds up, has so many layers to it, and iconic scenes. The beginning was a jump scare and the ending an ironic critique
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N
It’s a pretty good WWII film even in the Paul Verhoeven style. It’s long though.
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S
Was this every bit as crazy as I remembered? Yeah. Is it more a descendant of the Nazisploitation genre than serious WW2 cinema? I’d say so. Is it basically just a holocaust sex flick? Uh huh. Does a woman squeeze her boobies and ask an SS officer, “Are these Jewish?” You bet. Is she later deluged with human feces dumped on her from an industrial sized drum 20 feet above her head? It doesn’t not happen. Does the responsibility for all this ultimately lay at the feet of accomplished misogynist creep Paul Verhoven? You decide
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L
⚽ ¡Edición pelis del mundial! 🇳🇱 En esta oportunidad: Países bajos. Me sorprendió por la facilidad con la que cambia de tono sin perder nunca la tensión. Más que una peli de guerra, sentí que era una historia sobre la supervivencia y las decisiones imposibles. Nadie parece ser completamente bueno o completamente malo, y eso hace que cada alianza y cada traición tengan mucho más peso. Lo que más me gustó fue cómo mantiene el suspenso hasta el final. 📝…
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J
I found the plot and twists a bit confusing…? It had an overall engaging storyline but I mean, many of them looked the same! Half of the time I’m trying to follow who is who, and who did what. The girl is attractive alright, but the acting was also childish at times.
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S
Kind of like the wind that shakes the barley, if that were made by Paul Verhoeven
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B
Paul Verhoeven remains one of my favorite filmmakers, although I kept putting this one off because WWII is the most played out genre and what is there left to say? Well, I shouldn’t have doubted the man, as this one is a sober, dynamic, mature, and yet undeniably entertaining exploration of an underexplored part of the war. The treatment of Nazis in the film was a pleasant surprise – they’re not shown as some evil geniuses, and nobody gives 10-page…
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J
Inspired by true events, Paul Verhoeven reminds you that war is hell… but is also thrilling, seductive, chaotic, and impossible to look away from. Black Book is a spy thriller, a wartime epic, a romance, and a morality play, all packed into one relentless ride that never loosens its grip. If Soldier of Orange was Verhoeven’s coming-of-age masterpiece, Black Book is its spiritual successor. Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, and Thom Hoffman are uniformly excellent, navigating a world where everyone…
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Ddashgirl 6 月 24, 2026
godverdomme
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S
Foi legal e a atuação da Clarice Van Houten carrega o filme.
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J
It’s always, RED lipstick this, RED nail polish that, RED dress draped over my RED rocket. Overrated color, YELLOW 💛 is where it’s at. As for where the movie’s concerned, boohoo I fell in love with a Nazi and he got executed. Cry me a river.
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N
6/10
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T
A film I felt was well made when I first saw it but reveal new layers of complexity & darkness with every viewing. Carice van Houten does the heavy lifting here is a role that requires her to be playful, sweet, sexy & strategic. There is a lot of underlying emotions she carries that the audience is wrapped up in. Director Paul Verhoeven has always understood how to use his camera to outrage & seduce the audience. Even when he missed the mark on some films, they’re all visually appealing & hard to look away from.
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R
Not a typical Verhoeven but it’s stylish, effective and I enjoyed it quite a bit
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B
This is my tenth Verhoeven so I have lots to go but he may have the most interesting filmography ever done.
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P
Verhoeven 2026 Marathon Verhoeven’s first movie after leaving Hollywood is a damn great movie. He returns to World War 2. It remains super violent and sexy but unlike his Hollywood movies. Black Book does not feel like He was doing Cocaine while filming. Everything is tone down and masterfully done. The cast is great especially the lead actress.
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T
It’s fascinating to see exciting WW2 resistance pulp mixed with all these moral ambiguities like Muntz as a humanised Nazi and the cruel treatment of collaborators after the war is won. And the moments where Verhoeven shows his thoughts of Israel, things like the prison raid where Nazi gunmen emerge from cells after it seems like the prisoners are freed or the ending where the only real glimpse of Israel we get is a kibbutz surrounded by soldiers ready to kill. I’d even count the “Jewish boobs” scene between Rachel and Muntz
2 -
H
電影背景設定在二戰末期的荷蘭，故事透過一位猶太女子的驚險歷程，逐步描繪占領區複雜情勢下的眾生相。 本片的劇情並不艱澀，保持著清楚易懂的通俗敘事。但導演卻極富野心地，將二戰期間納粹占領下的荷蘭，地下反抗組織或受壓迫平民之間的猜忌與相互出賣，帶進了電影之中。甚至，進一步延伸到道德的困境與價值觀抉擇的兩難。 雖然，或許是基於敘事流暢度與戲劇性的考量，導致本片在部分劇情鋪陳合理性，以及人物個性與關係塑造上，未必能全然說服我。但我仍佩服這部電影挑戰複雜人性與價值判斷的初心，以及那份堅持到底的耐心與毅力。 本片最讓我感到難受的，是戰後荷蘭志願維護秩序組織集體羞辱所謂「納粹合作者」的片段。當主角被視為罪惡的協助者，而被當眾脫衣毆打傾倒排泄物時，高高在上的是自認始終都站在絕對道德位置的喧鬧人群。而那近乎狂歡般的殘忍，反而讓我更感到不寒而慄。 那一幕讓我深刻意識到，當原本正常的社會被暴力硬生生分化成兩個非黑即白的極端時，平民彼此之間的相互迫害與殘忍，有時未必會比外來的壓迫力量及侵略者更仁慈。 我不禁去想，當人民作為極權統治之下的受壓迫者時，我們到底有多少的信心能在事後去判別所謂極權合作者的初始本意呢？又或者，如果那是一道由左至右的光譜，我們該如何決定從哪個位置開始是罪大惡極、需要在戰後予以羞辱懲罰？而從哪個位置開始又是情有可原、需要予以諒解與原諒呢？ 我不知道。 我想，我自認自己並沒有可以劃定那條審判好壞界線的信心。甚至，我也不知道如果自己身處那個暴力肆虐的二戰末期荷蘭土地上，我又會被判定曾站在那條光譜上的哪一個位置。 我真的不知道。
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C
o que eu aprendi com esse filme: mulheres deveriam ser autorizadas a cuspir em um homem todos os dias p. s: pulei de alegria do sofá quando a Rachel prendeu o Hans no caixão
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G
Sort of like an old fashioned war movie with touches of Verhoeven gratuitous sex and violence sprinkled in. Carice van Houten singlehandedly pulls this one out of the DVD bargain bin.
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AamberyardaC 7 月 13, 2024
surprisingly perfect and stunning, probably one of the best movies about World War Two. I promise I will always come back watching it again!
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E
หนังสัญชาติ Holland เรื่องนี้ ตอนฉายอาจดูไม่น่าสนใจเท่าไหร่ ปัจจุบันมองย้อนกลับไปกลับรู้สึกน่าสนใจมากขึ้น สร้างโดยผู้กำกับ Paul Verhoeven (ที่ปีล่าสุด หนังเรื่อง Elle ได้ฉายในเทศกาลหนังเมือง Cannes และได้รับเสียงตอบรับล้นหลาม) นำแสดงโดย Carice van Houten (Red Woman ในซีรีย์ Games of Throne) เรื่องราวของหญิงสาวชาว Jewish ที่กลายเป็น Spy ตอนสงครามโลกครั้งที่ 2 ขณะ Nazi เข้ายึด The Hague, Netherlands raremeat.blog/black-book-2006/
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Z
哎，真是心疼女主，心爱之人都被害，还要在一群纳粹面前笑容满面，在付出之后，还被组织抛弃，被人民唾弃，最后连所谓的爱人也只是一个贪慕虚荣的小人罢了
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U
Very good film about Dutch resistance during WWII. Watched it on TVO, the last film aired on Saturday Night At The Movies before it was cancelled.
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U
Very good film about Dutch resistance during WWII.
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M
60/100 [tweets from 2007] Man, this movie goes straight into the toilet on V-E Day. Insulin and chocolate: worst Winston ever. (Winston = setup for future payoff. Named for Gandolfini’s tattoo in The Mexican.)
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C
Un thriller bélico que retrata la ocupación nazi desde una perspectiva moralmente ambigua. Con una narración de gran ritmo y personajes complejos, demuestra que, en tiempos de guerra, la frontera entre el heroísmo, la supervivencia y la traición nunca es clara.
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J
Back then, before this movie was released, there was a huge buzz about it in the Netherlands. Indeed, not only Paul Verhoeven was finally releasing a new directorial effort after 6 long years but he was also back in his homeland more than 20 years after ‘De vierde man’, his last Dutch feature. For Verhoeven, it turned out to be a successful comeback and, in the Netherlands, it was indeed a big success but, to be honest, I noticed that…
- Synopsis
- Israel, 1956: Jewish teacher Rachel Stein rather unexpectedly meets an old friend at the kibbutz. It brings back memories of her experiences in the Netherlands during the war, memories of betrayal. In September 1944, Rachel's hiding place is bombed by Allied troops; she makes contact with a resistance member and joins a group of Jews to be smuggled across the Biesbosch to the freed South Netherlands. Only Rachel escapes a massacre by patrol Germans, and is rescued by a resistance group under the leadership of Gerben Kuipers, whose son is captured trying to smuggle weapons. Kuipers asks Rachel to seduce SS-hauptsturmführer Ludwig Müntze, a mission that she will soon learn that the boat attack wasn't a coincidence.
- Director
- Paul Verhoeven
- Writer
- Paul Verhoeven, Gerard Soeteman
- Studio
- Fu Works, AVRO, VIP Medienfonds 4, Clockwork Pictures
- Country
- Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, UK
- Language
- Dutch, German, English, Hebrew (modern)
- Year
- 2006
- Runtime
- 145 mins
- Italy01 Sep 2006
- Netherlands12 Sep 2006
- Canada13 Sep 2006
- Greece18 Oct 2006
- UK23 Oct 2006
- USA09 Dec 2006
- Indonesia17 Dec 2006
- Serbia04 Mar 2007
- Argentina15 Mar 2007
- New Zealand13 Jul 2007
- Finland21 Sep 2007
- Russia18 Jan 2007
- Lithuania27 Nov 2011
- Norway25 Apr 2017
- Netherlands14 Sep 2006
- Netherlands Antilles21 Sep 2006
- Belgium29 Nov 2006
- Israel21 Dec 2006
- UK19 Jan 2007
- Greece01 Feb 2007
- Italy02 Feb 2007
- Portugal22 Feb 2007
- Poland02 Mar 2007
- Japan24 Mar 2007
- South Korea29 Mar 2007
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