Der Anschlag

The film and the book, are really very much the same here. I read the book first and then watched the film and I have really not much to say about both. They are both of the same quality, for both book and film feature the same amount of accidental meetings which are after a while quite unbelievable and that is all the criticism I have. The film has of course certain things which are better than the book, for instance it is more exciting, but then again the film also has it's downsides, for sometimes the acting is not that great. But overall the better and worse things level each other out so my verdicts for book and film are the same: pretty good.

If you like Mulisch's books and are interested in World War 2 read De Zaak 40/61.

7 out of 10

The Dutch are not great at making movies but when they make a WW II movie it often is a little masterpiece. "De Aanslag" is a movie like this.

"De Aanslag" isn't necessarily about WW II but more about the effects of it on a persons life and why things happen the way they do and how little things can effect a persons life for ever. Most of the movie's story is set in the years after WW II and uses flashbacks of things that happened in WW II to make more things clear and to show things from a different perspective from different individuals that were involved in the incident were the movie is about. It becomes more and more clear what happened at the night that collaborator Ploeg was killed but the Dutch resistance and more importantly why things happened the way it happened. The story also shows a detailed view of the Netherlands and their citizens the years and decades after WW II and how it still affected many.

There are many great returning characters in the story and the acting is for especially Dutch standards pretty high. Derek de Lint who now is better know world wide for his role as Derek Rayne in "Poltergeist: The Legacy" is a great leading man that really carries the movie.

The cinematography from Theo van de Sande who later did the cinematography for the movie hit "Blade" is great and sets a nice mood. The directing by Fons Rademakers is done wonderfully and it never makes the movie hard to follow even though at times it gets a bit complicated.

Great Dutch Oscar winning drama with some memorable moments and a fantastic ending were everything comes together and gets clear.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

This film is based on the Harry Mulisch novel, and both have some distinguishing characteristics that go back - on purpose - to classic Greek tragedy theatre. The incredible co-incidence that carries the story is reminiscent of ancient literary 'vehicles' that carry a story. Thus, you should not look at the chance events as being part of the story, but as being the foundation for the story - they, in themselves, should not really be questioned.

Also, note that every chance meeting is preceded by a meeting with some kind of stone. The Dutch word for dice is 'dobbelsteen', or dicing-stone, so that the simile of dice and chance can be extended to stones and chance. This explains the significance of Anton meeting his first wife while visiting the Stone of Scones.

The book, more strongly than the film, is also constructed as a Greek tragedy, with a prologue, five acts and then an epilogue.

Anton Steenwijk is also interesting himself: he represses the events of the assault, but it keeps coming back at him. But he is an anaesthetist in more than one way - he puts his memories to sleep. Even in the final stages, when the story is already quite clear to him, he uses drugs at his house in Tuscany and seeks to ease a toothache in Amsterdam before going to the Ban the Bomb demonstration.

Personally, I think the book was translated into a film in brilliant fashion. My major qualm with it is the mediocrity of the sound and sound effects. Some pretty good acting and a fantastic storyline make this one well worth the watch.

In the long run non-violence eventually overcomes violence. It is extremely difficult not to become an extremist. Being the center of the wheel requires great patience and understanding, as one is always tempted to take shortcuts in life via violence. A senseless, ill-planned act of sabotage in the Netherlands gets an entire innocent family killed. This is a prime example of how violence eventually falls down upon itself.

This film deservedly won the best foreign film of the year for 1986. The performances are first-rate, especially that of the child actor and the adult actor of the main character. This film is both a mystery and a tragedy at the same time; not an easy combination to put together for a director. The direction is impeccable. The screenplay is beautifully written, and in the final analysis, all of the events that take place after WW 2 just do not have the same significance and power as that horrible event. Truly a film classic.

I saw this movie in school for an asignment and I was suprised by the fact that this was a Dutch movie. This is one of those movies wich can stand the test of time. A involving story is told about Anton Steenwijk who we will follow through out this film. A must see film that tells the story of a typical dutch family in war time.