Carice van Houten

Sebastian Koch

Thom Hoffman

Halina Reijn

Waldemar Kobus

Matthias Schoenaerts

Theo Maassen

Derek de Lint

Christian Berkel

Dolf de Vries

Peter Blok

Michiel Huisman

Ronald Armbrust

Frank Lammers

Johnny de Mol

Xander Straat

Diana Dobbelman

Timothy Deenihan

Nolan Hemmings

Skip Goeree

Bert Luppes

Marisa van Eyle

Garrick Hagon

Ronald de Bruin

Menno van Beekum

Marcel Musters

Gijs Naber

Pieter Tiddens

Hugo Metsers

Mike Reus

Merel Pauw

Paul Verhoeven

Gerard Soeteman

Karl Walter Lindenlaub

Job ter Burg

James Herbert

Jeroen Beker

Frans van Gestel

Job Gosschalk

Hans Kemna

Risa Kes

Yan Tax

Wilbert Van Dorp

Roland de Groot

Maarten Piersma

Galit Eshkol

Matt Western

Dulcie Scott

Kerstin Dyroff

Marco Mangelli

Lior Mordechai

Eljo Embregts

Astrid Poeschke

Ehud Segev

Eddy Joseph

James Harrison

James Boyle

Mark Taylor

Nigel Bennett

Paul Govey

James Seddon

Rick Wiessenhaan

Hans van Helden

Olaf Wendt

Willem de Beukelaer

Sebastian Meuschel

Jo Vermaercke

Jaap Vrenegoor

Ohad Romano

Tsvika Shahak

Christian Wehrle

Erik Van Wouden

Joost Brouwer

Stoffel Van Verrewegen

Helga van Beuningen

Tijn Heerkens

Ruben Cardol

Maryl Adler

Jana Kohlmann

Danielle Guirguis

Adrian Politowski

Nadia Khamlichi

Carl Woebcken

Marcus Schöfer

Andreas Schmid

Cornelia Ott

Anne Dudley

Heidi Alemans

Lutz Schleisner

Leo Zandvliet

Anne Marie Hilhorst

Baruch Schwartz

Hans Oosterhuis

Joke Geuze

Wolfgang Wrede

Teun Hilte

San Fu Maltha

Jos van der Linden

Jens Meurer

Karin S. de Boer

Marianne Huibers

Fieke Brokkelkamp

Liesbeth de Boer

Luc Heuckeroth

Judith Looye

Roy Manukiley

Bella Scholten

Marly van de Wardt

Patrick de Loor

Ziv Katanov

Winnie Gallis

Dick Naastepad

Jacqueline Hoogendijk

Lia van der Horst

Esther Ben-Noon

Arjen Tuiten

Mishmish Uri

Maggie Partington-Smith

Sarah Touaibi

Inbal Shuki

Elianne van Dorp

Marielle Vos

Lisa Spooren

Martina Fehmer

Anne Rodermond

Iris Satijn

Sabine Moojen

Drama

Thriller

Zwartboek

Fu Works

AVRO

VIP Medienfonds 4

Egoli Tossell Pictures

Clockwork Pictures

Studio Babelsberg

Motion Investment Group

Motel Films

Hector BV

ContentFilm International

Belgium

Germany

Netherlands

United Kingdom

_**Carice van Houten plays a spy working for the Dutch Resistance during WW2**_

During the German occupation of Netherlands in WW2, a Jewess singer turned spy (Carice van Houten) gains access to the Gestapo headquarters to help the Dutch Resistance. Sebastian Koch plays a sympathetic German officer while Waldemar Kobus is on hand as the heavy. Thom Hoffman plays an agent for the Resistance. 

“Black Book” (2006), aka “Zwartboek,” is a Euro WW2 film by Paul Verhoeven that balances drama, action, intrigue, romance and suspense. It’s reminiscent of contemporaneous flicks like “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) and “Valkyrie” (2008). It’s not great like the former, but it’s in the same league as the latter. 

Despite its length, the story movies along swiftly, albeit awkwardly on a couple occasions. Carice shines in the challenging key role and Koch is likable. There was one scene that I didn’t find convincing, but it was forgivable. Unfortunately there’s a twist in the last act involving a character that doesn’t gel with the character’s previous actions.   

The film runs 2 hours, 25 minutes, and was shot in the Netherlands with the bookend scenes filmed in Israel and studio work done in Brandenburg, Germany. 

GRADE: B-