MAGGI PICAYUNE

Twenty-five years ago, this was the most anticipated movie of 1982 for me. Sure Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan turned out to be immensely better, but that flick didn’t have the hype or momentum. Tron was going to be Disney’s most daring film after The Black Hole with its computer graphics as a co-star to the more famous Jeff Bridges. Khan was more of an apology for the 1979 movie.

While I was recently sick, I watched the 20th anniversary copy Somara bought for me as a gift because it’s the 25th anniversary of its debut (I think I’ll try to find a couple more films hitting this landmark). Computer-based animation has improved dramatically yet the light cycles, tanks, Sark’s cruiser, etc. remain pretty impressive. The acting, plot and computer terms remain rather comical because they’re as mediocre as they are dated; the Internet was unknown to most, processing power was only starting to hit the MegaHertz range, Bridges and Warner are chewing the scenery and the last remnants of Seventies fashion were on their way out. I can’t help myself from genuinely enjoying it, not only for nostalgic reasons but how it remains a technical marvel.

Rumors have been going on about a remake or continuation. Even imdb.com gives a year, 2010. Disney is likely to forge ahead on a remake inevitably, just without Lindsay Lohan this time (see The Parent Trap or Freaky Friday). I hope they’re untrue, cheesy or not, it’s best to leave an “old” movie alone.

I think I will put this on a special shelf for the “evolution of computer-graphics” DVDs alongside all the Pixar flicks we have and maybe the rare non-Pixar ones that don’t insult my intelligence. Then maybe show it to the kids in my life for a marathon of progression. Worst case scenario is they understand all the jokes referenced from it in South Park, the Simpsons and every other animated comedy out today.

Hard to believe one of the guys behind Jimmy Neutron was involved with this yawner of a kid movie. Even children can tell this is just a weak knock-off of The Lion King minus the crown-prince cow living in exile with a meerkat and wild boar.

To be more positive, I’m glad my in-laws let me watch their copy as we were all killing time with our recently acquired crayon factory. Despite the adults being bored, the oldest nephew present (Hunter, age 8) was amused by the crazy antics of the hero Otis, all the animals dancing and Sam Elliott singing Tom Petty’s first solo hit, “I Won’t Back Down.” Still, this is a flick to keep kids pacified for 80 minutes while adults can take advantage of the distraction to take a nap, read a book, or anything else other than watching this turkey that makes The Ant Bully seem populated with complex characters.

When the name of Paul Verhoeven is mentioned, most people turn up their noses and go “ugh!” since they always recall his violent movies: Starship Troopers, Total Recall and Robocop; or his “adult” movies: Basic Instinct and Show Girls. I read that he was tired of Hollywood so he went back home to the Netherlands to make this film about the final months of Germany’s occupation during WWII. It ended up being distributed through Sony Classics which usually means only the art house circuit showed it (for Austin, the Dobie or Arbor Great Hills theaters) because of subtitles, graphic violence and “adult” situations. To be fair to him, I watched this for the story thanks to an interview I read. He was a little boy during Holland’s occupation and he had been working on this story for 20 years. It’s sort of a sequel, continuation or return to his previous flick on the Dutch Resistance Soldaat van Oranje. As for the nudity and nasty gun-shot effects, they’re not scenes for the faint of heart but they’re not gratuitous, they’re essential events to the plot’s progression. Besides, life in the occupied nations was messy and people were conflicted.

Black Book begins with the heroine Rachel Stein (van Houten) in Israel during the mid Fifties. A tour bus comes by the school she teaches at and one of the passengers is a Dutch woman who recognizes Rachel. They converse a bit, swap addresses and promise to keep in touch. The encounter leads to her reminiscing about the last year of Germany’s presence in the Netherlands and time rolls back to post D-Day 1944. Being Jewish, she is hiding out on a farm with a Protestant family until an Allied bomber accidently destroys the house, killing all the occupants but her. A Dutch policeman claiming to be with the Resistance comes by and promises to assist her, her family (hiding elsewhere) and other Dutch Jews safe passage to Belgium, now liberated by the Allies. The reunion is short lived because the Germans intercept the barge. Rachel then escapes in the ensuing chaos while everyone is murdered. The Resistance comes to her aid again, grants her the new identity of Ellis de Vries and hides her in plain sight with a job at a soup factory.

Months pass uneventfully until the Resistance calls in its favor. At first, what they ask of her is slightly dangerous but it mainly entails playing the girlfriend of an operative; the Germans tend not to harass couples. When a key German SS officer, Captain Muntze, takes a liking to her, the Resistance’s cell leader wants to know how far she’s willing to go for the liberation of Holland. Rachel figures she’s got nothing left to lose so she’ll do whatever it takes. Matters quickly get complicated as she grows fond of Muntze while interacting with the German officer who murdered her family at the German HQ and lastly, dealing with the other Resistance members’ ambivalence toward Jews; some consider the Jews expendable if a Dutch Gentile’s life is at stake.

I don’t want to give away anymore of the plot because it is suspenseful and tense. Even I was tricked several times. I also liked how the problems didn’t stop when the Germans surrendered which makes sense; all the liberated countries had reprisals against those branded as traitors, collaborators and sympathizers. The actors portraying the key German officers are excellent, they’re not cartoonish villains a la Hogan’s Heroes, they’re human beings with hobbies (collecting stamps, music), families, hopes, etc. but the horrific things they’re involved in are plain sight. Not surprising the Dutch still resent the Germans to this day.

Black Book is an excellent tale that takes a more honest, blunt look at the final days of WWII and its aftermath. Sometimes the truth hurts because all heroes have flaws, just some are unforgivable when they’re revealed. This includes the main character too.