Review of Black Book (2006) by Nathan H — 01 Jun 2009

One of the more intriguing World War II films I've seen in quite awhile, "Black Book" finally questions the idea that all supposed Nazi resistance movements were pure and good-hearted (many, in fact, had agendas as despicable as the Nazi occupiers), and illustrates what became of towns and cities after the war ended and the Allies gained control. Here, we saw innocent people lash out and become sub-human once they have seen the Nazis defeated, shaving the heads of women who "collaborated" (nice word) with the occupiers, dumping human shit on them, killing men who profited from the war.

This is a movie where life is never safe for the "outsider" Jew, either...double-crossed by the Resistance, hunted by the Nazis, blamed for the war after the fact...

"Black Book" is a remarkable piece of work, relying not just on the tried and true Nazis to be its villains, but also challenging existing myths regarding World War II as a cosmic battle between good and evil, where all sides were clearly drawn, and creating villains or heroes out of people who might have once been categorized as the complete opposite (or, in the case of the Jewish protagonist, who might simply have been categorized as "victim"). Verhoeven completely redeems himself for "Showgirls" and "Starship Troopers.".