Bert Luppes Movies
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)
- 2001
In this provocative melodrama from the Netherlands, Sammy (Christel Oomen) is a 15-year-old who has recently become very keenly aware of her sexual needs and her allure to men. With her parents away, Sammy and her older brother Jakob (Dragan Bakema) have to look after themselves, with Jakob bringing home the bacon (literally) working in a meat-packing plant. Sammy thinks that her brother is overly attentive and wants him out of her life; she goads him by seducing his best friend's dad, and when that isn't enough, she begins to make advances on Jakob, much to his distress. The first feature from director Michiel van Jaarsveld, Drift was shown in competition at the 2001 Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hans Hoes
- 1999
- NR
A reporter is caught in troubling relationships with both his son and his lover in this drama from Holland. Alexei (Valery Kuchareschin) is a Russian journalist on assignment in Rotterdam whose relationship with his teenage son Pavel (Boris Khvoles) has been going through a rough patch. Alexei is researching a story on Russian women who have been indentured as sex workers in Holland. He meets a prostitute named Anja (Vlatka Simac) and tries to free her from her dead-end lifestyle, despite pointed warnings from her employers to mind his own business. While Alexei's life becomes darker and more threatening, Pavel begins to move into the world of adults, finding it exciting and colorful. Vaarwel Pavel (Farewell Pavel) was shown at the 1999 Rotterdam and Berlin Film Festivals. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valery Kuchareschin, Boris Khvoles, (more)
