This article is written by Chuan Meimei
In fact, I have always been the title party, and when I see the three words "black book", I will not rush to click to watch the movie. Until there were successive introductions, saying that it was related to World War II spies, more large-scale and so on, I finally noticed, watched, and brushed it again. I was deeply shocked by the life of the heroine Jew and the fate of Duo Jie, and even more admired her righteous and awe-inspiring joining the Resistance Organization at the expense of going deep into the Cave of Virtue as a spy. This movie is so wonderful! Please understand me with five superimposed words, I want to say Iris, I love love love you too!
Black Book Thriller/War/2006/Netherlands. Director/Paul Van Hoeven, Starring/Carris van Hoden/Sebastian Koch/Tom Hoffman.
Paul Van Hoeven and his old partner Gerald Schuitman have teamed up again to concoct this World War II film that captivates people with its rare fast-paced, colorful sex and revenge, layered suspense. "Black Book" continues The Film Style of Verhoeven's humanistic care and horror and suspense atmosphere, which is different from the indictment and reflection of the war theme, without the dull depression and inability to get rid of the ideological baggage of the previous similar theme films, starting from a specific group of people to uncover a neglected historical truth. Eroticism and action have the inevitability of their use, and the effect is quite good, and the entertainment appreciation is also very strong, not vulgar and superficial. The only principle set by the two film masters in the weaving of the plot is to look as good as possible without being vulgar.
The usual methods that closely revolve around "reflecting on the war", "Dutch complex", "resistance movement", etc. have been completely set aside, and the entire story is concentrated on writing a melodrama with strong dramatic tension and strong action. Nazis, massacres, intrigues, mutinies, everything is a best-selling novel, enough to make you breathe fast, hot spy blockbusters. The story is all interlocked, and the plot suddenly changes to conquer the audience. The story style of good and evil is turned over step by step, accidents are one after another, and there is always a peak and a loop in the desperate situation. The complexity of human nature, the good and evil, true and false, beautiful and ugly in human nature, are vividly expressed in the film.
The film is based on real people and events, for which Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Gerald Schuetman conceived it for nearly two decades. After twenty years of precipitation, it is no wonder that it is deep and thick super weight.
Originally known as Rachel Rosen Tarr and renamed Alice Fries (Carris van Houden), the heroine grew up in a wealthy Jewish family, with outstanding looks and a talent for singing, and was a singer. But the Germans invaded the Netherlands, and it was 1944 that she and her parents and brother were separated from each other and went into hiding. On that day, her residence was bombed by the Germans, her passport and all her documents were gone, and she accidentally met the young sailor Rob (Johnny de Moore), who also took in the homeless girl. That night, a man who calls himself Van Hen (Drake Delin) says he is a resistance organization and is willing to send them across the River Besbos to the Liberated Zone. So she finds her lawyer, Smar (Dolf Dever), and the lawyer gives her some diamonds. She unexpectedly met her parents and brother before getting on the boat, and she said happily that our family would never be separated again.
But who would have thought that they would encounter a German Nazi patrol ship, and a ship of Jews would be killed by machine guns. Rachel cleverly jumped into the river and hid in the aquatic vines to retrieve a life, and she watched as the Nazis threw the bodies of a boat of Jews, including his parents and brother, into the river, and kidnapped the US dollar jewelry they had bound, as well as the treasures in the box. She remembers that the Nazi leader's face was scarred by Franken (Peter Brock). She cried bitterly and couldn't cry.
She was rescued by dutch resistance men, disguised as a female corpse with typhus, and mixed with Nazi checkpoints. She joins the resistance group led by Kaibus Goebben (Drake de Lint). In order to rescue his son Tim (Mihir Huyren Siman), the latter asks her if she would like to contact the German officer Munz, and she is silent for 2 seconds, firmly saying that I can do anything if Muntz is willing. She infiltrated the German headquarters and became a female spy.
She meets German Captain Muntz (Sebastian Koch) on the train, and the scene is so wonderful that she slaps Hans (Tom Hoffmann) a member of the Resistance, a doctor and sharpshooter, in front of the Nazi inspectors checking the luggage, "Stay away from me!" Carrying a radio box into the box of SS Captain Muntz, she evaded inspection and won the favor of Muntz, who talked about stamps and seemed to be very close.
Muntz, an anti-war-weary German, later told Iris that he had a happy family, destroyed by the war, a pair of children and his wife had died in Allied bombing, and he was now living alone in pain. The biggest breakthrough of this film, I think, is to set up a "middle ground" for the shaping of the characters. The complexity of human nature is more reflected in this German soldier, that is, there is also a good side in the Nazi officer, which is very valuable, not the simple thinking of black and white.
He was secretly negotiating through lawyer Smar and the Dutch resistance group, hoping that each would refrain from less bloodshed and less conflict, and protect human life to the greatest extent possible. This has rarely been shown in some anti-war films in the past, but in fact, it is more in line with human nature. Germany and the Netherlands were at war, and both sides would have bloody sacrifices, which would be good for both sides to reduce the death toll.
No wonder Iris later fell hopelessly in love with Muntz. The first time they spent the night together, he noticed that the roots of Iris's hair were black. "Your blonde hair is dyed", "You are blonde here too". He stared at the part of Alice and said seriously, It was perfect.
Iris calmly put Muntz's hands on her breasts, and "Here is the Jew" led his hand to slowly remove his underwear, "Here is also the Jew.". These two moves were so amazing that Muntz didn't say anything, hugged the beautiful girl and kissed her deeply. At this moment, what Germans, what Jews, they are just two bundles of dry firewood, they are real people.
By the way, the actor who plays Muntz is really handsome, with a clear eyebrow, and that face, even if he wears an SS costume, can't hide the goodness of his bones, part of the human character. I really appreciated the script and the director's three-dimensional treatment of the character.
If Muntz was a compassionate Nazi officer, Lieutenant Franken (Peter Blok) was the murderous demon who was loyal to Hitler. He and Van Hen had already made a deal, where Van offered wealthy Jews, pretended to help them, and then concentrated on killing and abducting money, and the two sides divided it.
The clever Iris became Muntz's lover and went on an errand at the German headquarters, secretly hiding the bugging device behind a portrait of Himmler on the wall of Franken's office. The Resistance was ready to keep abreast of the secrets within the German army. Alice heard in her voice that the man who had made the deal with Franken was van Hen, the executioner who had killed her entire family and the ship of Jews. Hans and other members of the Resistance decided to kill him.
Van Hen died, Franken became angry, and his cash cow fell. At this time, Muntz detected the identity of Iris's spy and interrogated her. Iris told Muntz about Franken's murderous actions and his solo annexation of Jewish property, and Muntz reported him to the upper peak. The cunning Franken snapped back and said that Muntz had dealings with the underground resistance, which was a crime of collaboration with the enemy, and Shangfeng ordered Muntz's arrest.
The situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and Franken set up a plan for Hans to take people to the prison to rescue Tim and three other members of the resistance team, and in his office on the other side of the wiretap, he deliberately shouted, "Ah Iris, you did a great job." Isn't this the public opinion that directs the failed prison robbery to Iris, and planted her as a traitor? The Resistance members were scolding "This bitch betrayed us, traitor!" "Actually, at the scene, Iris was tied up by Franken. He smashed the wiretap and scolded, "Go to trial with your Muntz of the Empire!" ”
Alice's female colleague Ronnie (Harlena Regkin) joins forces with one of Muntz's men to save Muntz, and he escapes from prison with Iris. They were gentle on the run, imagining that they could live together forever. Suddenly, an interstitial news on the radio shocked them: Germany has surrendered! Muntz encouraged Iris to go to a lawyer to wash away the suspicion of traitor, and they met with Lawyer Smar, who was shot and killed before he could say a word, along with his wife, in a pool of blood.
Muntz chased after the killer and mingled in the streets celebrating the freedom of the Dutch parade, where he was found and taken away by Franken, and Iris was subsequently arrested. She took the lawyer's black book when she went downstairs. The book contained detailed details about the negotiations between the Resistance and Muntz, about the many deals between Franken and Van Hen, about Hans (the doctor, the number two person in the Resistance), about the death of the Jews, and so on. Whose hands are stained with Jewish blood? The plot twists and turns, leaving you surprised and stunned...
Before it was over, among the crowd cheering victory, many of the social scum of the rogue prostitutes during the German occupation of the Netherlands attacked the German left-behind, Iris and other Dutch traitors who had done things for the Germans. This scene really subverts your three views and makes you choke your heart to suffocation. They were condescending, shouting, "Germans, Dutch prostitutes, traitors, you men take off your underwear, women show their breasts, we want to see!" Then a bucket of feces and urine was poured all over Iris's head, oh my God, this humiliation is unparalleled sadism. I could not bear to look directly at this handsome girl. Iris, a brave girl, once went deep into the cave, she sacrificed her body, dignity and everything to resist the Nazis, she died nine times, she was a meritorious man.
In this farce, the good and evil, true and false, beautiful and ugly, of human nature are vividly expressed. Such post-war reflections are deafening.
Did Iris finally clear herself of the charge of treason? What happened to her? Who the real traitor is, you've already guessed.
The end of the film echoes at the beginning and end, the Ronnie who works with her at the Nazi command, travels to Israel, she meets Iris, now her name is Rachel Rosen Tarr, she lives peacefully in her home country, teaching, with a bunch of children, she and her husband have a pair of children.
During that dark nazi period, her thrilling spy career, her former lover, unforgettable, can she forget?
Later, it is explained that Muntz was executed at the insistence of an SS general. Iris was so worried that he wanted to save him, but was told that Muntz was dead. At that moment, Alice's arrow pierced her heart, her whole body trembled and curled up in pain, at this time, a person injected her with a whole tube of insulin, and she almost died...
Well, finally leave a little suspense, you viewers to brush the movie themselves, you will be like me, for this legendary girl, the female spy who played the epic of war and fell for it. Fall in love with her as much as I did, she is a true national hero, and it is not too much to award her the Queen's Medal of Honor!
Finally, this movie is the Dutch version of "Color Ring", I dare say, much more wonderful and full than "Color Ring". The film also won several awards: the Best International Film Award at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival, and the paul Verhoeven award; 20th European Film Awards, Best Actress Nominee - Carris van Houden.
Well, well deserved!