Black Book (Dutch; German)
What if Paul Verhoeven, director of tawdry fare such as "Basic Instinct" and "Showgirls," had made "Schindler's List"? It sounds like the premise of a "Saturday Night Live" sketch, but Verhoeven has beaten them to it. He has made a film called "Black Book," which has the social significance of a Holocaust film while also featuring a Jewish woman revealing her breasts to a Nazi officer and saying, tauntingly, "Are THESE Jewish?" This is a film that wants to be cheap and tawdry, but in a thoughtful, solemn way. It wants you to be moved and inspired, but it wants you to smack its butt and call it Susan, too. Paul Verhoeven wants us to treat his movie like a dirty whore all night, but respect it in the morning. I'm afraid I'm not up to the challenge. There are many things I like about the film -- it's certainly the most accomplished and mature work that Verhoeven (who also made "Starship Troopers" and "Total Recall") has done, and the lead performance is remarkably brave -- but when all is said and done, it's a cheap, gratuitous film about sex and the Holocaust. I found myself shaking my head and chuckling a lot. "Oh, Verhoeven!" I'd think. "You scamp, you!" And I don't think that's the reaction one should be having to a Holocaust movie.
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