Blackbook

I was very curious to see what the guys on Spill were talking about when they mentioned Blackbook during their Resistance review, so I started doing some searching.

00:20
Goddamn it. I know that shit like this happened all the time, and I should've expected this, but I didn't. And I feel a serious loss for the characters. Great characters. Great direction. I attatched myself immediately to the story, and I felt a certain amount of despair to see them die.

00:41
This looks very much like an A&E or History Channel original, where the costumes are historically accurate, but fresh and pristine, like they're straight from the closet instead of having been worn for weeks in a row. I'm fine with this, and I'm actually glad, because a grittier appearance could make me forget elements of the story. Realism is not overlooked, luckily, because the script and appearance of the movie work together, unlike other supposedly accurate retellings like Lost Battalion, whose script was intended to TEACH its audience rather than ENTERTAIN.
I also like that the lighting seems natural for its setting, instead of an auto-correct image. You know, reflections of light off of natural surroundings give hues of blues and yellows in our eyes that aren't present for the camera lenses (vice versa, depending on the light source), so I appreciate that it appears someone took the necessary measures to make the scenery appear natural.
What does bother me, so far, is that I don't understand Hebrew, German or Dutch. I have finally found a WWII-era movie that stays true to lingual boundaries (I didn't mean to forget Tora! Tora! Tora!), but it's my own fault to have to rely on subtitles.

00:43
Very nice falshback sequence. Didn't linger, to the point. Every revenge flashback should be like this.

00:57
First time I've ever seen a sequence that cross sectioned for drowning. Mostly, we see a back and a face-shot from underwater. Wouldn't it be something if they'd panned from a backshot to a cross section seamlessly?

01:11
The fight could've been handled better. Flailing fists and shaky face-shots help bring on the effect of the moment, but how can I appreciate the violence if I don't take a step back, even for just a second or two? The shot of Theo firing down to the front of the camera is a great visual, though. Brief and touching, like his moment of dissillusion.
I also want to take the moment to give thanks for the lack of over-expository dialogue. THANK YOU! One of the few European espionage thrillers that doesn't hold my hand and cradle me through the experience, like English spy movies.

01:29
Rachel/Ellis should not have been out of focus when appearing in the background of the arrest scene. Her witness of the event is every bit as important as its execution.
I wasn't so surprised to see the German ambush, with the underplayed barrage. The lack of dramatic impact in the action scenes in the middle third of this movie gives me the impression that our director, here... wait. This man made Robocop and Starship Troopers, and he's slipping up on action in THIS? What the fuck, Paul?
And the guards in the party... oh my. The German military would not abandon its faith in uniformity to accept these cats who don't know how to run with rifles. Minute flaws are becoming much more pronounced, but it may be because I am trying to find SOMETHING to criticize, which gives a reflection of a great movie.

02:00
I don't give a shit WHAT anyone says, Nazis' got style, motha fucka! Those boots, that pants, the coats... that is the SHIT!
Ha, ha! I love the way the doctor looks like Hitler adressing from his office balcony. Perfection.

Ugh, that was such a wonderful film! I loved it. LOVED it! Even though it had the feeling of a teleplay, I feel like I've finished watching an epic.

SCRIPT: amazing
ACTING: amazing
DIRECTION: respectable
CONTENT: amazing