Peter Faber Movies

It's late 1944, and the Allied armies are confident they'll win the World War II and be home in time for Christmas. What's needed, says British general Bernard Law Montgomery, is a knockout punch, a bold strike through Holland, where German troops are spread thin, that will put the Allies into Germany. Paratroops led by British major general Robert Urquhart (Sean Connery) and American brigadier general James Gavin (Ryan O'Neal) will seize a thin road and five bridges through Holland into Germany, with paratroops led by Lieutenant Col. John Frost (Sir Anthony Hopkins) holding the most critical bridge at a small town called Arnhem. Over this road shall pass combined forces led by British Lieutenant Gen. Brian Horrocks (Edward Fox) and British Lieutenant Col. Joe Vandeleur (Michael Caine). The plan requires precise timing, so much so that one planner tells Lieutenant Gen. Frederick Browning (Dirk Bogarde), "Sir, I think we may be going a bridge too far." The plan also has one critical flaw: Instead of a smattering of German soldiers, the area around Arnhem is loaded with crack SS troops. Disaster ensues. Based on a book by historian Cornelius Ryan, A Bridge Too Far is reminiscent of another movie based on a Ryan book, The Longest Day. Like that movie, it is loaded with more than 15 international stars, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Hardy Krueger, Gene Hackman, Maximilian Schell, and Liv Ullman. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., Rovi

Set in the tough, impoverished year of 1934 in Amsterdam, when people were desperate for jobs and food, this sentimental story is based on a World War II novel by Piet Bakker about a streetwise, lonely kid named Ciske who lives with his harsh and shrewish mother and is raised without affection or gentleness. As directed by Guido Pieters, Ciske (Danny de Munk) has lost the persona of a basically innocent urchin trying to cope and has become a more worldly-wise, modern youngster with a bent toward improvisation. This clash between the sophisticated present and the simpler past continues in other aspects of the filmed story as well, and along with disjunctions in the sequencing of scenes, perhaps due to heavy editing, undermines the charming and accomplished acting of the 14-year-old lead and the young supporting actors. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This Dutch crime thriller is based on a novel by popular detective writer Janwillem van de Wettering and follows the investigations of a pair of thoughtful and extremely cynical police detectives: middle-aged Grijpstra, who has serious marital difficulties, and the younger and more handsome De Gier, a bachelor who is extremely successful with the ladies, which is about the only bright point in a life full of disappointments. The two men are best friends and jazz musicians, who sometimes relieve tension by holding impromptu jam sessions. Despite their willingness to turn a blind eye to minor (and some not so minor) infractions of the law in order to keep their part of Amsterdam peaceful, they are forced to take action when murder threatens the status quo. Along the way they put an end to the careers of several bad cops and two Chinese drug gangs. They are assisted in their inquiries by the Commissaris, their enigmatic, arthritic and Buddha-like superior who runs interference between them and headquarters when he is not doing some undercover work on his own. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

An off-beat twist for its time on the classic story of a custody battle, Een Vrouw Als Eva stars Monique van de Ven as a housewife who jumps ship on her husband and children to pair up with Liliane (Maria Schneider). Eve meets Liliane while on vacation in the south of France and at first, she is simply entertained and attracted by Liliane's free-wheeling, back-to-nature existence but soon discovers that there is a sexual component to her attraction. Once the decision is made to divorce her husband, Eve spends some time with Liliane before going back home to fight over custody of her two children. From that moment on, the drama evolves around the complex emotions that plague two basically decent people as they argue over the children they both love. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This early Paul Verhoeven effort stars Monique van de Ven as a young Dutch hooker in 1881 Amsterdam who struggles to move up the community's social ladder. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Set in the late 1950s when children tended to disregard their parents' advice more than in the past, this tragi-comedy takes place in Amsterdam on December 5th, the feast of St. Nicholas in the Netherlands. On that holiday, adults behave like children (intentionally) and in this story, three families get together to celebrate the feast. It is a time to bridge the generation gap and reach out past barriers otherwise rigidly in place, and the adults make every effort as they mix in with the children. This film by distinguished Dutch director Fons Rademakers won the Silver Bear award at the 1961 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In the late 1920s a lower-class bricklayer and part-time accordion player became a kind of pariah in the small Dutch town where he lived because of his anarchic views and his inner upheaval in trying to reconcile his beliefs to his actions. He falls in love with a married woman (Marja Kok), and they eventually consummate their relationship when the husband is thrown in jail. The anarchist asks the woman to move in with him as his housekeeper, and she does so, sending her six children to the poorhouse. This act inflames the town's authorities, and legal orders are written up for her to return to her home and take care of her children. When she refuses to do so, four policemen arrive to bring her out by force, and that is when the anarchist decides to take matters into his own hands. The woman of this story was still alive when this film was released; she saw it, and testified that it was an accurate account of what had happened then. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A famous trial which took place in Ghent is the subject of this courtroom drama, which exposes the activities of an unabashed villain. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In 1948, novelist Hella Haasse published a novel based on her experiences in growing up in Dutch Indonesia. Oeroeg captures the dilemma of those caught between the pretensions and culture of their Dutch homeland and their respect and affection for the native people of the colonies, and it has became a classic, with many editions printed. In this story, Johan (Rik Launspach), a European boy grows up on a plantation running and playing with his best friend, the son of the foreman, a native boy called Oeroeg (Martin Schwab). He is only barely aware of the gulf that divides them, but gradually becomes more aware of it as he leaves to study back in the Netherlands. When he comes home, it is as a soldier in the army, who are in Indonesia to put down the local independence movement. Not only is Johan grieved to be taking arms against Indonesians in general, and distressed at the racism of his colleagues, but he has reason to believe that his old friend is now a leader in the forces he is obliged to fight. He goes on a mission into the jungle to find him. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this arthouse film, Heading for England seems to be the continental version of the complex English idiomatic expression "gone west," one meaning of which is someone who has gone away, never to return. Hans (Geert Lageveen) is a high-school student whose factory worker father wants him to become a university student. At the beginning of the film, he watches the brutal treatment of a transvestite barber by his fellow students, which results in injury of several students by the aggrieved cross-dresser, and his committing suicide by walking into the ocean. Later, the boy and his father are involved in an unresolved conflict over whether he will go to the university. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi