Menno van Beekum Movies
A desperate criminal's delusions send him on a deadly chase in this Dutch thriller. Johan (Theo Maassen) is serving time for murder and sexual assault, but is convinced that he would go free if his mother would appeal to the parole board on his behalf. However, another hearing comes and goes without Johan being released, so he breaks out of prison and sets out to find his mom. Johan kills his grandmother when she refuses to tell him where mother can be found, and on the run from authorities he takes a hostage, a pretty teenage girl named Tessa (Lisa Smit). Despite her initial fears, Tessa begins to feel sympathetic towards Johan, but when a meeting with his mother takes a turn for the worse, Tessa is shocked into awareness of how dangerous her situation really is. TBS (aka Nothing To Lose) was screened in competition at the 2008 Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theo Maassen, Lisa Smit, (more)
Filmmaker Paul Verhoeven returned to the Netherlands after more than twenty years of success in Hollywood to direct this epic-scale war drama based on a true story. Rachel Steinn (Carice van Houten) is a beautiful Jewish woman living in German-occupied Holland during late 1944. Her family members - who have been falsely promised safe passage to Belgium (their names recorded in the 'black book' of the title) are instead robbed and slaughtered by the Germans on a premeditated basis; Rachel herself manages to escape by diving into the water and swimming away. She narrowly avoids capture, then joins the local resistance movement. With her hair dyed blonde, Rachel can easily pass for Aryan, and when the leader of the Dutch resistance movement learns his son has been captured by Axis forces, Rachel is asked to use her feminine charms to persuade a German commander to arrange for the boy's release. Rachel soon finds herself caught up in a dangerous double life as she becomes a sexual plaything for the Nazis while attempting to bring down their evil empire as a spy. Zwartboek was written by Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman, who collaborated on the 1977 international success Soldier of Orange. Zwartboek received its world premier at the 2006 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, (more)
- 1989
- R
Two terminal cancer patients break out of the hospital in a final attempt to enjoy their last days in this black comedy drama. Decker (Anthony Edwards) is an American ex-football player resigned to die. Bancroft (Timothy Dalton) is an attorney who is more optimistic and talks Decker into a journey to a Dutch whorehouse for a final fling. The unlikely duo steal an ambulance and head for Holland. They make a stop at the wedding of Bancroft's former flame -- who abandoned him with his terminal illness. Decker and Bancroft come across two women with car trouble, Maureen (Camille Coduri) and Hazel (Janet McTeer). Maureen and Decker immediately hit it off, but Bancroft considers the meeting an interruption of their quest. The women are unaware the two men are dying, and the men have no way of knowing Hazel is pregnant. They arrive at the bordello where they eventually learn each other's secrets. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Dalton, Anthony Edwards, (more)
