Zwartboek , known as Black Book in English, is the most expensive film ever made in the Netherlands and was also one
of nine final contenders to be selected for last year''s Oscars. The money was a good investment.
Black Book is set in Nazi-occupied Holland and follows a young Jewish woman named Rachel (Carice van Houten) who is forced to go underground after the Nazis murder her entire family. Determined to find the people responsible and seek revenge, she joins the resistance and infiltrates the enemy, seducing an SS officer (Sebastian Koch) in the process. As she gets deeper and deeper involved, however, the danger grows and loyalties are questioned.
The film succeeds with great acting, a solid screenplay and a flowing story that never loses its pace. Paul Verhoeven, who has directed such films as Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers, Showgirls and Hollow Man , has finally delivered his first good movie in fifteen years. While I wouldn''t call Black Book a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, I can''t really think of many, if any, flaws in the picture. The movie is almost consistently tense and, especially in the last act, there are several developments that keep you wondering what could possibly happen next to this poor woman.