Black Book (film)

Infobox Film
name = Black Book


caption = Film poster
director = Paul Verhoeven
producer = Jeroen Beker San Fu Maltha Frans van Gestel Jos van der Linden Teun Hilte
writer = Gerard Soeteman Paul Verhoeven
starring = Carice van Houten Sebastian Koch Thom Hoffman Halina Reijn
music = Anne Dudley
cinematography = Karl Walter Lindenlaub
editing = Job ter Burg James Herbert
distributor = A-Film
released = flagicon|Netherlands September 14, 2006 flagicon|UK January 19, 2007 flagicon|USA April 6, 2007 flagicon|Germany May 10, 2007 World Premiere: September 1, 2006 (Venice Film Festival)
runtime = 145 min.
country = flagcountry|Netherlands
awards = 3 Golden Calves
language = Dutch English German Hebrew
budget = €17,800,000
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:334955
imdb_id = 0389557

"Black Book" ( _nl. Zwartboek) is a 2006 Second World War film directed by Paul Verhoeven, and starring Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, and Halina Reijn. The story is about a young Jewish woman in the Netherlands who becomes a spy for the resistance during World War II, when tragedy befalls her after an encounter with the Nazis. The film had its world premiere on September 1, 2006 at the Venice Film Festival and its public release on September 14, 2006 in the Netherlands.

The press in the Netherlands was divided about the film, but with three Golden Calves "Black Book" was the most awarded film at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2006. The international press responded positively to the film and especially to the performance of actress Carice van Houten. It was the Dutch submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007, but the film was not nominated.

At the time of its release, it was the most expensive Dutch film ever made, and commercially also the Netherland's most successful, with that country's highest box office gross of 2006. By January 12, 2007 1,000,000 people had seen the film.

Plot

In the scenes which bookend the film, a schoolteacher is shown living in 1950s Israel. By chance, she has encountered Ronnie, a wartime friend and colleague, who is now married and on a tourist package trip in Israel. The film flashes back to 1944, during World War II, and begins the story of Rachel Stein (Carice van Houten), a Jewish singer who lived in Berlin before the war and who is then living in hiding from the Nazi regime in the occupied Netherlands.

After the house that she had been hiding in is destroyed, Rachel visits an attorney named Smaal, who provides her with some of her father's money so that she can flee. Rachel reunites with her family and tries to flee by boat with other Jews. The goal is to escape from the Nazi-occupied part of the Netherlands to the liberated southern part of the country. However, they are ambushed by uniformed SS men on the river. Rachel survives, but does not manage to escape from occupied territory.

She becomes involved with a resistance group and assumes the alias Ellis de Vries. She seduces SD officer Ludwig Müntze (Sebastian Koch) and is offered a job at the Gestapo headquarters in The Hague. She recognizes Günther Franken (Waldemar Kobus) as the SS officer in command who had ordered the massacre of her fleeing refugee party, and manages to bug his office. She falls in love with Müntze, who in contrast to Franken is not abusive or sadistic, and becomes friends with her Dutch colleague Ronnie (Halina Reijn), who has acquiesced to the occupation; Ronnie works for the Germans, has lots of sex with them, and has accepted stolen gifts from them. Her introduction in the film portrays her as being sexually loose, supposedly without reaction to the Nazis’ brutality in her country, and towards its citizens, except to find it dull.

Rachel's resistance cell debates the likely reprisals if they kill the Dutch Nazi collaborator who caused the death of her family. One member asks how lost Dutch lives compare to lost Jewish lives. Although they decide to abduct the collaborator instead, the plot goes wrong and he is killed. After Müntze is discovered to have been negotiating with the Dutch resistance "terrorists," he is sentenced to death. Some members of the resistance group are imprisoned. Rachel only agrees to participate in a rescue attempt on the condition that they free Müntze too, and reluctantly the other members of the group agree. However, the attempt fails due to an ambush and most of the prisoners and rescuers are killed.

Rachel is subsequently arrested and jailed by the Gestapo. It turns out they have known about the bug all along, and they now use it to make the resistance group believe she is the Nazi collaborator, and frame her for the catastrophic failure of the rescue operation. With Ronnie's help, she and Müntze escape and the two of them hide in the countryside.

When the country is liberated, Rachel is imprisoned by the Dutch and publicly humiliated as a traitor. Because of an Allied occupation order that allows the German military to discipline its own soldiers, Müntze is executed by a German officer who opposed his decision to not execute hostages. Rachel is rescued by physician and fellow member of the resistance Hans Akkermans, who had in fact not only been a traitor, but also responsible for the brutal death of her family at the hands of the Nazis. Akkermans, in a bid to cover his tracks, murders Franken and Smaal, and also tries to kill Rachel with an overdose of insulin, but as it begins to send her body into shock, she manages to survive by eating a bar of chocolate to counteract the drug, and escapes (the chocolate was given to her by Akkermans in the previous scene).

Rachel proves her innocence to resistance member Gerben Kuipers with the titular black book, in which Smaal had detailed all of his dealings with the Jews he helped. Mentions of his bringing many of the Jews to Akkermans for medical help just prior to their murders provides enough circumstantial evidence to implicate Akkermans as the traitor. Together they intercept the fleeing Akkermans, who is hiding in a coffin in a hearse that a mortician is driving, which he also filled with stolen money and jewels. Rachel seals the coffin's air vents, suffocating him. This scene refers back to Rachel's earlier escape by being made up as a typhoid victim and hiding in a coffin.

After the war, instead of being imprisoned and publicly shamed as a collaborator and Nazi whore, Ronnie manages to get herself a key spot in the victory parade and falls in love with and marries a Canadian liberator. It is implied that the currency and jewels in the coffin with Akkermans were recovered by Rachel and used to fund the kibbutz where she lives and has re-encountered Ronnie. An idyllic scene of Rachel and her family is interrupted by explosions heard in the distance; an air raid siren goes off, and soldiers take positions in front of the kibbutz: It is October 1956, and the Suez Crisis has started.

Cast

*Carice van Houten as Rachel Stein, alias Ellis de Vries
*Sebastian Koch as Ludwig Müntze
*Thom Hoffman as Hans Akkermans
*Halina Reijn as Ronnie
*Waldemar Kobus as Günther Franken
*Derek de Lint as Gerben Kuipers
*Christian Berkel as General Käutner, superior of Günther Franken and Ludwig Müntze in the Sicherheitsdienst
*Dolf de Vries as Mr. Smaal, an attorney that keeps the black book
*Peter Blok as Mr. Van Gein, police man that betrays the people that try to cross
*Michiel Huisman as Rob, sailor that helps Rachel Stein
*Ronald Armbrust as Tim Kuipers, son of Gerben Kuipers, a Communist, and a member of the resistance group
*Frank Lammers as Kees, member of the resistance group
*Matthias Schoenaerts as Joop, member of the resistance group
*Johnny de Mol as Theo, devout Christian and member of the resistance group
*Xander Straat as Maarten, member of the resistance group

Production

Writing

After 20 years of film making in the United States, Paul Verhoeven returned to his homeland, the Netherlands, for the making of "Black Book". The story for the film was written by Verhoeven and the screenwriter Gerard Soeteman, with whom he made successful films such as "Turkish Delight" (1973) and "Soldier of Orange" (1977). The two men had been working on the script for fifteen years,cite news
last = Berkhout
first = Karel
coauthors = Blokker, Bas
title = Kan niet bestaat niet
work = NRC Handelsblad
language = Dutch
date = 2006-09-08
url = http://www.nrc.nl/kunst/article475612.ece
accessdate = 2006-10-07 ] but they only solved their problems with the story in the early 2000s, by changing the main character from male to female. According to Paul Verhoeven "Black Book" was born out of elements that did not fit in any of his earlier movies, and it can be seen as a supplement to his earlier film about World War II "Soldier of Orange".

Verhoeven has emphasized that the story does not show an obvious moral contrast between characters:

cquote|In this movie, everything has a shade of grey. There are no people who are completely good and no people who are completely bad. It's like life. It's not very Hollywoodian. [ [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,16373,1649586,00.html Homeward bound] in The Guardian]

"Black Book" is not a true story, unlike "Soldier of Orange", but Verhoeven states that many of the events are true. ["The events are true, the story is not.", translated quote of Paul Verhoeven from [http://www.nrc.nl/kunst/article470029.ece 'Zwartboek' heeft geen ruimte voor subtiliteit] in NRC Handelsblad.] As in the film, the German headquarters were in The Hague. In 1944 many Jews that tried to 'cross' (Dutch: "crossen" ) to liberated parts of the southern Netherlands were entrapped by Dutch policemen. As in the film, crossing attempts took place in the Biesbosch. [http://dewerelddraaitdoor.vara.nl/terugkijken.php?id=158 De Wereld Draait Door] - Paul Verhoeven talks about the film, September 7, 2006] The events in the story are also related to the life of Paul Verhoeven. Verhoeven was born in 1938 and he grew up in The Hague during the Second World War. [ [http://www.ethesis.net/verhoeven/verhoeven_deel_1.htm Een beetje oorlog, best spannend] ]

Financing

The initial estimate of the budget for making "Black Book" was €12,000,000. According to film producer Rob Houwer, who worked with Paul Verhoeven on previous films, it was not possible to get the job done for that amount of money. San Fu Maltha produced the film together with three other producers. He tried to economize on different parts such as the scenes in Israel, that could have been left out without changing the plot, but this was not negotiable for Paul Verhoeven.

Because of financing problems the filming did not start as planned in 2004 but was delayed until August 2005.cite web
title = Opnames Verhoevens Zwartboek uitgesteld
work = Filmfocus.nl
date = 2004-10-14
url = http://www.filmfocus.com/nieuws/6322-Opnames_Verhoevens_Zwartboek_uitgesteld.html
accessdate = 2006-10-07 (in Dutch)] [cite web
title = Shooting Paul Verhoevens Black Book will start end of August
work = Fu Works
url = http://www.fuworks.com/news.php?id=44
accessdate = 2006-10-07 ] In this month it was announced that Black Book received about €2,000,000 support from the Publieke omroep, the CoBO Fund, and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. [cite news
title = Zwartboek en Alles is Liefde krijgen financiële steun
work = De Telegraaf
language = Dutch
date = 2005-08-30
url = http://www.telegraaf.nl/prive/article24772501.ece
accessdate = 2006-12-04 ] There were also several foreign investors, which made the film a Belgian, British, and German coproduction. With a final estimated budget of €18,000,000 the film is the most expensive Dutch film ever, at the time of its release.

In October 2006 twelve crew members and businessmen started a lawsuit in which they demanded the bankruptcy of "Zwartboek Productie B.V.", the legal entity founded for the film. Some of them were already waiting for more than a year to get their money, in total tens of thousands of euros. Production company Fu Works settled the case and promised to pay the creditors. [cite news
title = Faillissement Zwartboek afgewend na schikking
work = De Telegraaf
language = Dutch
date = 2006-10-27
url = http://www.telegraaf.nl/prive/article52277951.ece
accessdate = 2006-12-04 ]

Filming

The shooting of the film was delayed in 2004 due to financial problems and Paul Verhoeven's health issues. [cite news
title = Paul Verhoeven ziek, opnamen Zwartboek uitgesteld
work = De Telegraaf
language = Dutch
date = 2004-10-27
url = http://www.telegraaf.nl/prive/article15086681.ece
accessdate = 2006-12-05 ] Because of the delay there was a lawsuit regarding lead actress Carice van Houten, who had agreed to act in a play. When van Houten was forced to return to the set, the theater company sued over the costly delay to their own production. The outcome of the lawsuit was that the production company had to pay €60,000 for her unavailability. [cite news
title = 'Zwartboek' moet betalen
work = De Telegraaf
language = Dutch
date = 2006-02-03
url = http://www.telegraaf.nl/prive/32894281/_Zwartboek__moet_betalen.html
accessdate = 2006-12-05 ]

The shooting of the film was from August 24 until December 19, 2005 [cite web
title = Business Data for Zwartboek
work = The Internet Movie Database
url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389557/business
accessdate = 2006-12-04] on locations in the Netherlands, among which Hardenberg, Giethoorn, The Hague, Dordrecht and in Israel. In the opening scene a real pre-war farm was blown up in the municipality Hardenberg. The farm was already declared uninhabitable and ready to be demolished.cite news
title = Verhoeven mag boerderij in Hardenberg opblazen
work = Algemeen Dagblad
language = Dutch
date = 2005-10-25
url = http://www.ad.nl/cultuurenshow/article46003.ece
accessdate = 2006-12-05 ] Some under water explosions are filmed in a lake near Giethoorn. [cite news
title = Verhoeven krijgt toestemming voor explosies
work = Trouw
language = Dutch
date = 2005-09-24
url = http://archief.trouw.nl/artikel?REC=TR_ART_00045388
accessdate = 2006-12-05 ] In the centre of The Hague they built bunkers to cover up modern day objects such as the entrance of an underground parking garage. [cite web
last = [http://flickr.com/people/photocapy/ Photocapy]
title = Entrance to a parking garage disguised as a bunker
publisher = Flickr
date = 2005-11-13
url = http://flickr.com/photos/photocapy/62773122/in/set-1355480/
accessdate = 2006-12-05 ] Great attention to detail was paid in the film. Several requisites (stage props) were reproduced from the 1940s, such as signs, posters and the black book itself. [cite video
people = Hoffman, Thom
title = [http://dewerelddraaitdoor.vara.nl/terugkijken.php?id=213 De Wereld Draait Door]
medium = talkshow
publisher = VARA
location = Netherlands
date = 2006-11-27 ] Furthermore, in one of the liberation scenes in The Hague, as many as 1100 or 1200 extras have a role. [cite news
title = Acteur Thom Hoffman laat mensen Zwartboek beleven
work = Dagblad van het Noorden
language = Dutch
date = 2006-05-04
url = http://www.dvhn.nl/nieuws/kunst/article518387.ece
accessdate = 2006-12-05 ]

During the shooting the general public was able to see "making of" scenes on their mobile phones or on the internet. [cite press release
title = Opnames Zwartboek via Vodafone op mobiel
publisher = Fu Works
date = 2005-11-01
url = http://www.fuworks.com/news.php?id=49
accessdate = 2006-12-05 ]

Media based on the film

Novelization

The screenplay by Paul Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman was turned into a thriller novel by Dutch writer Laurens Abbink Spaink. The book was published in September 2006 by Uitgeverij Podium, and contains photos and an afterword by Paul Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman. Laurens Abbink Spaink says about the book: "Black Book is a literary thriller. Its form is in between the typical American novelization, only describing what the camera sees, and a literary novel. The novelization adds something to the film. It gave Rachel Stein a past, memories and a house. In the film she did not have a personal space."cite news
last = Van Baars
first = Laura
title = De ‘verboeking’ van Zwartboek
work = NRC Handelsblad
language = Dutch
date = 2006-09-15
url = http://www.nrc.nl/media/article482829.ece
accessdate = 2007-01-10 ]

oundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was released on October 2, 2006 by Milan Records. The album contains four 1930s-1940s songs sung by actress Carice van Houten, as she also performed them as Rachel Stein in the film. Three of them are in German, one in English. The other tracks of the film score are written by Anne Dudley. The album is recorded in London and produced by Roger Dudley.cite web
last = De Bruijn
first = Joep
title = Review
work = [http://www.geocities.com/filmscorevisions/ www.geocities.com/filmscorevisions]
publisher = Filmscore visions
url = http://www.geocities.com/filmscorevisions/annedudley-zwartboek.html
accessdate = 2007-01-07 ]

Reception

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 77% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 132 reviews. [cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10007417-black_book/ |title=Black Book - Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=2008-01-06 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 71 out of 100, based on 34 reviews. [cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/blackbook |title=Black Book (2007): Reviews |accessdate=2008-01-06 |publisher=Metacritic]

Premieres and festivals

"Black Book" had its world premiere on September 1, 2006 in Venice, as part of the official selection of the Venice International Film Festival.cite news
last = Stigter
first = Bianca
title = 'Zwartboek' heeft geen ruimte voor subtiliteit
work = NRC Handelsblad
language = Dutch
date = 2006-06-02
url = http://www.nrc.nl/kunst/article470029.ece
accessdate = 2006-12-02 ] Here it was nominated for a Golden Lion and won the Young Cinema Award for best international film. [cite web
title = Awards for Zwartboek
work = The Internet Movie Database
url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389557/awards
accessdate = 2006-12-04 ] The film was also in the official selection of the 2006 Toronto Film Festival.

HRH The Prince of Orange and his wife HRH Princess Máxima attended the Dutch gala premiere of "Black Book" in The Hague on September 12, 2006. Other prominent guests at the premiere were mayor Wim Deetman, minister Hans Hoogervorst, minister Karla Peijs, and staatssecretaris Medy van der Laan. [cite news
title = Zwartboek beleeft Nederlandse première
work = De Telegraaf
language = Dutch
date = 2006-09-12
url = http://www.telegraaf.nl/prive/article49837221.ece?rss
accessdate = 2006-12-04 ]

The film was nominated for four Golden Calves at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2006. It won in three categories: the Golden Calf for Best Actress (Carice van Houten), for Best Director (Paul Verhoeven), and for Best Film (San Fu Maltha). "Black Book" was the most awarded film of the 2006 festival.cite news
title = Zwartbroek grote winnaar Film Festival
work = NOS News
language = Dutch
date = 2006-10-06
url = http://www.nos.nl/nosjournaal/artikelen/2006/10/6/061006_gouden_kalveren.html
accessdate = 2006-10-06 ]

The United States premiere of "Black Book" was a gala screening at Palm Springs High School on January 5, 2007 during the Palm Springs International Film Festival. [cite web
title = Black Book
work = Palm Springs International Film Festival
url = http://www.psfilmfest.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=12412&FID=29
accessdate = 2007-01-08 ] On March 2, 2007, "Black Book" was the opening film of the Miami International Film Festival. [cite press release
title = Miami International Film Festival Announces 2007 Film Program
publisher = [http://www.miamifilmfestival.com/ Miami International Film Festival]
date = 2007-01-10
url = http://www.miamifilmfestival.com/releases/pdfs/MIFF%202007_Film%20Program_01-10-07.pdf
accessdate = 2007-01-13 |format=PDF]

The German premiere of "Black Book" was a gala screening at Zoo Palast in Berlin on May 9, 2007.

Critical reaction

Most of the Dutch press was not positive about the film. Dana Linsen writes in NRC Handelsblad: "In Black Book, Verhoeven does not choose for moral discourse but for a human measure and he has given new colour to his work with the non-cynical approach of his female lead and with love."cite news
last = Linssen
first = Dana
title = 'Zwartboek' walst grijs verleden uit
work = NRC Handelsblad
language = Dutch
date = 2006-09-13
url = http://www.nrc.nl/kunst/film/article480482.ece
accessdate = 2006-10-05 ] Belinda van de Graaf in Trouw writes: "Without breath we run along burning farms, ugly resistance fighters, pretty kraut whores, spies, traitors, and because the story has to go on the coincidences pile up until it makes you laugh. If Carice van Houten screams 'Will it never stop, then!' it is almost kitsch, and not surprisingly already a classic film quote."cite news
last = Graaf
first = Belinda van de
title = Carice van Houten als kleine krachtpatser in Verhoevens ’Zwartboek’
work = Trouw
language = Dutch
date = 2006-09-14
url = http://archief.trouw.nl/artikel?REC=TR_ART_00141542
accessdate = 2006-12-05 ] She compares this film to "Soldier of Orange" and explains why this film is not a stereotypical war film: "The war adventure is no longer based on the male character of the type Rutger Hauer, with his machismo and testosterone, but the small fighter Carice van Houten". Literary critic Jessica Durlacher, daughter of an Auschwitz survivor, describes the film in "Vrij Nederland" with the following comparison: "The reality of 1940–1945 as portrayed in Black Book compared to reality is like the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas compared to the original in Paris." [cite web
last = Durlacher
first = Jessica
authorlink = Jessica Durlacher
title = Zwartboek liegt
work = Vrij Nederland" (url is not the original source)"
date = 2006-09-16
url = http://www.leefbaarrotterdam.com/lr/archief/archief13.html
accessdate = 2006-10-07 (in Dutch)]

The international press however, wrote mainly positively about the film and specifically about the performance of Carice van Houten. [cite news
last = Stigter
first = Bianca
title = Carice van Houten slaat in als een bom
work = NRC Handelsblad
language = Dutch
date = 2006-09-04
url = http://www.nrc.nl/kunst/article471232.ece
accessdate = 2006-10-07 ] According to Jason Solomons in The Observer: "Black Book is great fun, an old-fashioned war movie in parts, but with deep undercurrents about fugitive Jews, the Resistance, collaborators and the messy politics of war. This being Verhoeven, there's lots of sex and a scene in which the extremely attractive star (Carice van Houten) dyes her pubic hair blond. That aside, hers is a star-making performance, putting even Scarlett [Johansson] in the shade." [cite news
last = Solomons
first = Jason
title = Water, water everywhere - and a flood of tears
work = The Observer
date = 2006-09-03
url = http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1863687,00.html
accessdate = 2006-10-07 ] In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Dirk Schümer says Carice van Houten is not only more beautiful, but also a better actress than Scarlett Johansson. Furthermore he writes in his review: "Europe's Hollywood can actually be better than the original. With his basic instinct sharpened in California, Verhoeven demonstrates here the cinema as a medium of individual tragedy." [cite news
last = Schümer
first = Dirk
title = Basisinstinkt: Paul Verhoevens „Schwarzbuch“ in Venedig
work = Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
language = German
date = 2006-09-01
url = http://www.faz.net/s/Rub8A25A66CA9514B9892E0074EDE4E5AFA/Doc~E4229221808F54307A87FD18872255E01~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html
accessdate = 2006-10-07 ] Jacques Mandelbaum writes in his review in Le Monde: "This lesson about humanity and about fear can be situated in the wake of several rare masterpieces, that are solemny confronted by this story" [cite news
last = Mandelbaum
first = Jacques
title = "Black Book": Paul Verhoeven brouille les pistes du bien et du mal
work = Le Monde
language = French
date = 2006-11-28
url = http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3476,36-839532@51-780194,0.html
accessdate = 2006-12-01 ] where he compares "Black Book" with classics like "The Great Dictator", "To Be or Not to Be", and "Monsieur Klein".

"Time" magazine's Richard Schickel named the film one of the Top 10 Movies of 2007, ranking it at #5, calling it a “dark, richly mounted film”. While Schickel saw the film as possibly “old-fashioned stylistically, and rather manipulative in its plotting”, he also saw “something deeply satisfying in the way it works out the fates of its troubled, yet believable characters.” [ [http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686244_1692270,00.html Schickel, Richard; “The 10 Best Movies”; time.com] ]

Commercial success

Before the film was released, the rights for distribution had been sold to the distributors of 52 countries. [cite web
title = Official website
url = http://www.zwartboekdefilm.nl/
accessdate = ] According to the production company Fu Works these sales make the film "Black Book" commercially the most successful Dutch film production ever, at the time of its release. [cite news
title = Zwartboek nu al succesvolste Nederlandse film ooit
work = De Telegraaf
language = Dutch
date = 2006-08-21
url = http://www.telegraaf.nl/prive/48640481/Zwartboek_nu_al_succesvolste_Nederlandse_film_ooit.html
accessdate = 2006-12-02 ]

"Black Book" received a Golden Film (100,000 tickets sold) within a record breaking three dayscite web
title = Zwartboek bekroond met de Gouden Film
date = 2006-09-18
url = http://www.goudenfilm.nl/films/zwartboek.html
accessdate = 2006-10-05 (in Dutch)] and a Platinum Film (400,000 tickets sold) within three weeks after the Dutch premiere.cite web
title = Zwartboek bekroond met de Platina Film tijdens Gala van de Nederlandse Film
url = http://www.fuworks.com/news.php?id=65
accessdate = 2006-10-05 (in Dutch)] The film had its millionth visitor on January 12, 2007. [cite news
title = Zwartboek passeert de 1 miljoen bezoekers
work = De Telegraaf
language = Dutch
date = 2007-10-12
url = http://www.telegraaf.nl/prive/56744391/Zwartboek_passeert_de_1_miljoen_bezoekers.html
accessdate = 2007-01-14 ]

"Black Book" had the highest box office gross for a Dutch film in 2006, and over all in 2006 coming third in the Netherlands after American films "" and "The Da Vinci Code". [cite news
last = Goodfellow
first = Melanie
title = Verhoeven leads Dutch resistance
work = Variety.com
date = 2006-12-22
url = http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117956293.html?categoryid=1043&cs=1
accessdate = 2007-01-14 ] As of 2006-12-31 the box office gross in the Netherlands was €6,953,118. [$9,125,272 = €6,953,118. cite web
title = Netherlands Box Office. December 28–31, 2006
work = Box Office Mojo
url = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/netherlands/?yr=2006&wk=52&p=.htm
accessdate = 2006-01-06 ]

Top ten lists

The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.

*3rd – James Coleman, The 213 [ [http://www.the213.net/php/article.php?id=913 Jason Coleman's Top Ten Films of 2007] (December 29, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-12.]
*5th – James Berardinelli, ReelViewscite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2007/toptens.shtml |title=Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists |accessdate=2008-01-05 |publisher=Metacritic]
*5th – Richard Schickel, "TIME" magazine
*8th – Nathan Lee, "The Village Voice"
*9th – Scott Tobias, "The A.V. Club"

List of nominations and awards

*Nomination Golden Lion (2006)
*Young Cinema Award for Best International Film (2006)
*Golden Film for 100,000 visitors in the Netherlands (2006)
*Platinum Film for 400,000 visitors in the Netherlands (2006)
*Golden Onion for Worst Actor (2006) for Johnny de Mol [cite web
title = En de winnaars zijn...
work = [http://www.degoudenui.nl/ www.degoudenui.nl]
url = http://intro.degoudenui.nl/sf/fe?page=sinxcms/display.sp&previsitor=1
accessdate = 2007-01-12 nl icon]
*Nomination Golden Calf for Best Supporting Actress (2006) for Halina Reijn [cite web
title = A-film oogst 27 Gouden Kalf nominaties
work = [http://www.a-film.nl/ www.a-film.nl]
publisher = A-Film
date = 2006-10-04
url = http://www.a-film.nl/nieuws.php?id=150
accessdate = 2007-01-07 nl icon]
*Golden Calf for Best Actress (2006) for Carice van Houten
*Golden Calf for Best Director (2006) for Paul Verhoeven
*Golden Calf for Best Film (2006) for San Fu Maltha
*Nomination London Film Critics' Circle Award for Foreign Language Film of the Year (2006) [cite press release
title = Dames get ready to do battle at film critics' awards
publisher = NSPCC
date = 2006-12-18
url = http://www.nspcc.org.uk/whatwedo/mediacentre/pressreleases/18_december_2006_ALFCC_wda41260.html
accessdate = 2006-12-25 ]
*The Hague Public Award 2006 for contributing to a positive image of The Hague [cite news
title = Zwartboek wint Haagse publieksprijs
work = De Telegraaf
language = Dutch
date = 2006-12-29
url = http://www.telegraaf.nl/prive/article56109981.ece
accessdate = 2007-01-11 ]
*Nomination British Academy Film Award for Best Film Not In The English Language (2007) [cite web
title = This year's nominees
work = [http://www.bafta.org/ British Academy of Film and Television Arts]
url = http://www.bafta.org/site/page287.html
accessdate = 2007-01-13 ]
*Dutch submission for the Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film (2007) [cite web
title = Black Book official entry from the Netherlands for Best Foreign Language film
url = http://www.fuworks.com/news.php?id=61
accessdate = 2006-10-05 ] , was on the shortlist, but not among the five nomineescite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2007/07.01.16a.html|accessdate=2007-05-03|title=Nine Foreign Language Films Seeking 2006 Oscar|author=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=2007-01-16]
*Diamond Film for 1,000,000 visitors in the Netherlands (2007) [cite press release
title = Eerste Diamanten Film voor Zwartboek
publisher = Nederlands Film Festival
date = 2007-01-29
url = http://www.filmfestival.nl/index.php?id=122&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=177&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=103&cHash=81b66b95f4
accessdate = 2007-02-02 ]
*Nomination Saturn Award for Best Actress for Carice van Houten (2008) [http://www.saturnawards.org/ Saturn Awards] . Retrieved on 2008-02-23.]
*Nomination Saturn Award for Best International Film (2008)

References

External links

* [http://www.blackbookfilm.com/ Official US website]
* [http://www.zwartboekdefilm.nl/ Official website] nl icon
* [http://www.a-film.nl/trailer.php?id=1194 Trailer] nl icon
*imdb title|id=0389557|title=Black Book
*rotten-tomatoes|id=10007417-black_book|title=Black Book
*metacritic film|id=blackbook|title=Black Book
*mojo title|id=blackbook|title=Black Book
*amg movie|id=1:334955|title=Black Book