Review of Black Book (2006) by Rameshwar I — 21 Apr 2016

Wonder how this stayed under my radar for so long while having so many things in excess - runtime, dramatization, graphic content be it sex or violence, production values, contriving, the number of characters and tragically failed missions. But what was hard to believe was the text that said in the beginning - based on real life events. Were they just referring to WWII in the backdrop? Though Carice van Houten gives her best shot, this multidimensional dream character was never converted to an Oscar vehicle.

Backdrop is Denmark has come under Nazi rule and Jews are fleeing the country. Carice van Houten (Rachel Stein) is a Jew living in hiding. When her hideout is blown, she tries to make a run out of the country. She gets together with her family and gets on a boat. Rachel alone escapes a ruthless slaughter when a German patrol boat intercepts them. After she smuggles herself back into the city helped by a resistance group, she decides to fight for their cause. Her role is to setup a honey trap to a German Captain and assumes a new identity as Ellis de Vries.

Carice van Houten fits the role perfectly upon her looks where she has to be equally cute, sexy and generous on nudity. Production values were extravagant for bringing an authentic feel to the period. With too many melodramatic moments and a highly commercial approach to presentation has not done enough justice to live up to the words in the beginning 'Based on real life events'. The resistance group is full of caricature characters you will find in any sort of group - an aggressor, a thinker, a comedian, a guilt driven paranoid etc. The dilemmas, perspectives and consequences that happen on the immediate aftermath of German surrender to the Allied Forces has never been dealt before - that too this period is not just a commentary based factual display but a proper thriller thread is induced here. Background score found wanting of elevation at certain moments, the action sequences look dated for its time.

Seduce you through sex, violence and drama.