Black Book

After narrowly escaping death, young Rachel Rosenthal (Carice van Houten) becomes part of the Jewish resistance, assuming the name Ellis de Vries. Her superiors order her to seduce a Gestapo officer named Ludwig (Sebastian Koch). Ellis is successful in her mission but soon finds herself falling in love with her mortal enemy.

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Black Book

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Black Book

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Critics Consensus

A furious mix of sex, violence, and moral relativism, Black Book is shamelessly entertaining melodrama.

Critics Reviews

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Joshua Rothkopf Time Out Rated: 5/5 Nov 16, 2011 Full Review Cliff Doerksen Time Out Rated: 2/5 Nov 16, 2011 Full Review Claudia Puig USA Today A hard-core war film with raw violence, intense action, graphic sexuality and a twisting plot that offers a series of surprises. Rated: 3.5/4 Sep 1, 2007 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Verhoeven cleverly avoids conventional wartime good-guy vs. bad-guy storytelling [. ] asserting that war makes people do things that may not be correct or righteous, but are compulsory to survival. Rated: 4/4 Mar 8, 2024 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand . a riveting World War II resistance thriller with a runaway pace and a gripping sense of peril. Jan 7, 2023 Full Review Leigh Paatsch Herald Sun (Australia) A genuinely epic war drama. Sep 8, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Mark N This film just happened to come on the TV when I didn't really have time or energy to watch, but after a few minutes, I couldn't leave it. I waited for a point in the film where I could make a conclusion, switch off and go to bed, but the moment never came. The plot keeps developing with new twists and turns. Totally captivating. I really enjoyed it. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/06/24 Full Review Trixie M The story was really absorbing; the actors were all perfectly in their roles; the action was excellent and, at times, horrifying. It seemed to have everything that real life offers. Left me feeling 'how on earth could one person survive with so much mental pain'. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/12/23 Full Review Gareth v Verhoeven loves to turn it up a notch even when not required as he has done yet again here on this WWII movie set in his homeland. Enjoyable enough. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Seamlessly blending the ordinary with the extraordinary, and the thrilling with the chilling, this war movie delivers drama from start to finish, with thanks to the exceptional talents of van Houten and Koch. as well as the vision of Verhoeven. It's not flawless, but it is worthy of your time. It certainly didn't feel as long as its 2h 26m runtime Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review keith w This is one of my favourite movie genres but I found the spaghetti junction nature of all the double crosses, the unpleasant graphic scenes and gratuitous violence not to my taste. I think the actors in this were better than their material. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review samuel l The story was unserious, unbelievable, unemotional, and predictable, with an awful ending. The chocolate foreshadowing was painful. There was unnecessary nudity to the point that the film was trying to be a porno. The characters were almost all unlikeable, and many could have been developed better, but the acting was reasonable. The gory action was entertaining, but it only made up a small portion of the film, with the runtime being too lengthy. The cinematography, editing, and visual effects were average, the sets/props/costumes were fine, and the soundtrack was forgettable but fit. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews