Guy de Fraumeni’s Hollywod 1n The Hamptons
Verhoeven is back, and I don’t mean maybe! Paul
Verhoeven’s return to the Netherlands has resulted in his first
Dutch film in twenty years. It’s title, Black Book, is a registry
of the names of Jewish families who attempted to escape German-occupied
Holland in 1944, only to be betrayed. It resulted in their murder by
the Nazis, who also stole their savings and possessions. The film is
spoken in Dutch, German, English and Hebrew, however, the universality
of the storytelling moves it like a bullet and it is more piercing.
If Verhoeven’s name doesn’t ring a distant, clangorous bell,
it isn’t his fault. He was born in Amsterdam, and not long after
his arrival here, with quite a few impressive films under his belt,
the impudent, colorful Dutch director began painting Hollywood with
shamefully-exciting-at-any-cost films that were more and more brushed
with audacious, blue erotic tints and blood-red violence, like Arnold’s
Total Recall. Verhoeven also carefully staged the careless leg-crossing
of panty-less Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. Provocative Paul then
poked his finger into the eye of the stormy censorship controversy with
his off-the-charts NC-17-rated Showgirls. Showgirls is perfectly awful
and perfectly delightful. Teetering between terrible and grand, he staggered
the studio system with Robocop, Flesh+Blood and Starship Troopers. Unfortunately,
his 2000 Sci-Fi Hollow Man, about an invisible man, created an invisible
audience. He returned to Holland as a prosperous figure who had reshaped
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s lumpy figure into that of an icon, and
pulled the arcane Motion Picture-rating system into a twist.
The Netherlands have a lot of windmills, but none that Verhoeven had
to battle. The Dutch do not have the same contradictory prudery that
is displayed here. He relaxed. Then, he set to work on an early film
subject, which was about Holland’s World War II resistance.
I’ve provided the account of Verhoeven’s career to indicate
how Black Book came about. His early Dutch films include Soldier of
Orange, his 1979 heroic story of Holland’s resistance with screenwriter
Gerard Soeteman. Taking place in the final days of the underground war
against the occupying Germans, Verhoeven goes over-the-top again with
shaping a series of skirmishes, battles, spying, murder, love, breathless
escapes, underhanded poisoning and over-drawn heroics, but we’re
talkin’ Verhoeven. Yes, Black Book also seethes with eroticism.
The movie’s real hero is a Jew desperately attempting to evade
the Germans. She is Rachel Stein, brilliantly performed by Carice van
Houten (certainly bound for stardom). Rachel sees her home demolished
and her family annihilated. She manages to get away with a spectacular
dive to safety. Ms. van Houten’s Rachel bristles with hatred and
revenge. She enlists with the Resistance fighters, who want her for
espionage. They have her dye her hair blonde to look Aryan. She complies,
completely. Verhoeven, being Verhoeven, shows her dying the hair everywhere
on her body. Well, with that done, she assumes the persona of a singer
to entertain the Nazis and, there, she meets and beds a Nazi Gestapo
chief, Ludwig Muntze, played by the incomparable actor of the Oscar-winning
film, The Lives of Others, Sebastian Koch. This is more dangerous than
her first job smuggling guns. She goes to work at Nazi headquarters
and wires it to inform the Resistance of their plans. This ignites a
chain of explosive reactions and action scenes with multiple incidents.
But percolating beneath is the truly hot love affair of van Houten and
Koch – it veritably sizzles, as does the plot that uncovers profiteers
and traitorous horrors within the Resistance itself. Prisoner abuse
is incredibly stomach-turning (Abu Ghraib, an easy reference). Plot
twists and turns pile up almost uncontrollably, but Carice’s Rachel
keeps us nailed to the screen.
Black Book’s opening scenes begin in 1950 in Israel. Rachel has
found a satisfactory haven there. Though she bravely faced the trials
of the war years, she could not have dreamt of peace, even as her German
officer lover, Ludwig, attempted to avoid further deaths by arranging
a truce. Now in an Israeli kibbutz, memories flood back to her, beginning
with the onset of her extraordinary wartime experiences. It was the
day she impetuously sailed with a young man, only to be crushed by the
sight of German planes bombing her home to bits. The remainder of the
film unravels in flashbacks to its stunning conclusion and the surprising
significance of the Black Book. If it’s thrilling, Verhoeven will
exploit it.
Guy Jean de Fraumeni is the producer/writer/director of award winning
European and American feature films. He has been a judge at Major Film
and TV award competitions, including the Oscars, the Emmy’s and
various film festivals. Sarah Halsey assists him.
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