Return to the Hiding Place

This is a well thought out film of a very difficult time in history. The story is very well written, and includes a lot of detail not normally see in movies. It was presented from a very personal level. Casting and acting is excellent. Each actors character was very well developed and was very well presented. The German soldier was especially well done and very believable. I especially enjoyed the cinematography, being a photographer myself, I could appreciate the challenges that were met in the filming of the movie. A few of the scenes that could have been very grotesque were very well done in the fact that they presented what happened without the very gory details, the lamp shade is an excellent example of this. An excellent film for anyone that has an interest in the details of the Nazi / Jewish conflict in Holland and Cory Tim Boom's youth core should see this film

Being a WW2 movie buff (totally bonkers, actually) I simply had to buy this flick without knowing much about it. Honestly, I'm very sorry I ever wasted my money on this. I had to check the credits to make sure it wasn't directed by Uwe Boll.

The story's supposedly a true one. In a script it probably looked much better than on film. Well, it couldn't have looked any worse, really. The acting is non-existent, scenography not there at all, characters are ridiculous. For example, one of the main characters insists on shouting practically all the time - even in most secret of scenes where being unnoticed is vital. There's even a scene of 4 hostages being shot by a firing squad of 3!!! Casting is dreadful, direction... Well, enough about that, I'm sure you get the picture.

In short: my fault entirely. On two accounts: for buying this movie in the first place and for insisting on watching it through (as I always do, sadly enough). Stay away from this one, you mark my words. A true story could have - and should have - been told in at least a semi-professional manner as anything less is a disgrace to the memory of true heroes it depicts. I'm sure they were great men and they deserve a lot more than this rubbish.

I don't know what stars to give the movie. It is okay, and some actors are very good, like the guy who plays the Nazi colonel. But because he plays his role so well you'll notice that other actors in the movie are not so talented/experienced. Sometimes you see some actors just standing there like they don't know what to do until it's time for them to say a line. Also the director could make some more cuts. The story is too slow here and there. The story is good, but maybe the screenwriter could focus more on how the resistance could stop the 'rabit hunt' on Jewish children and keep some parts that didn't have anything to do with that out of the story to keep the movie going. But nevertheless it's a fine movie with historical value. It's about the Christian resistance in the Netherlands during the second world war and how they fought against the evil national-socialist empire of Adolf Hitler.

I found it quite hard to digest that the lighting, coloring, brightness, costuming, etc. was so bright. Usually war-time movies have that tinge of muteness in tone and brightness, giving an older feel and look. OK, no matter. One thing I noted was, as another wrote above, some of the SS were too old, and heavy set one mentioned, however not all German soldiers were thin. One big faux-pau was the doctor in the concentration camp who wrote the medical slip for Hans (stating he had TB) had a gold wedding ring. No camp inmate would have had a gold wedding ring on, needless to say, any piece of jewelry or personal item-they were all taken from people when they arrived to the camps! During the movie I thought perhaps some of the stories and characters were just story, but since there was some portrayal of the Tan Boom family and their actions, it seemed perhaps to be real. Only until I read about the movie on this website did I realize that many of the stories and characters were factual. Also, everyone was so darn clean, clean shaved. I mean, after being in prison, or running around doing clandestine operations, one would expect to see people pretty dirty and for men, unshaven? As one survivor told me, movies, even some of the big and provocative films as Schindler's List, always white-wash the Holocaust, never do justice as to the brutalities and harsh conditions endured. One question: the Nazi commandant, who was a crazed hunter--did he actually have a lampshade made out of the little Jewish orphan with the large birthmark on his chest, the shade he showed to Hans, when Hans was being questioned in his office? I know about lampshades and soap being made out of dead Jewish bodies from the camps, but have never seen such a topic being shown in a movie. I wonder if this was actual fact or fiction. Sickening either way. And there are those that say the Holocaust was a myth. What fools!

I looked forward to viewing this movie with its theme, including Nazi Germany, and hoped it would awaken people to the world around them today. This movie fell deeply short in many areas. It uses the title of the book, "Return to the Hiding Place" by Hans Poley, and yet that is where the similarity between the book and movie ends. Read the book for yourself.

Stass Klassen as the sinister German Colonel and John Rhys Davis in the all too small role of Eusi, were a welcome presence and offset to the weak and one dimensional portrayal by many of the other actors. It was apparent which actors were theatrically trained versus movie actors and which were there as "scenery" and lacked experience and training.

This was basically a family backyard production. Looks to be a directorial debut with scant seasoned movie production professionals involved. The screenplay had some good points. The editing was a hack job. The story lines were disjointed, it was difficult to follow the characters and which storyline they pertained to and many scenes were far-fetched.

It's apparent the directors and production didn't know what they were doing. I've seen too many "low budget" quality indie films and yet their quality was far superior to this movie. It doesn't compare to "The Hiding Place" made in 1975 either.

Those who gave this film a 10 rating, were obviously involved with the making of the film, know people who made it or were in it. As such, they chose to be "overenthusiastic" and obviously, grossly exaggerated its quality. Passion of the Christ, Schindler's List & Forrest Gump deserve a high rating. This film does not. When a movie is good, be honest and say so. When it is not of decent quality, be truthful and say so! I saw this movie in one of the few places they actually previewed it. The ever changing release date, including postponing again until February 2015, and the many free previews they've done, lends more to the case that it is not a quality film worth your very valuable money and very valuable time.

Perhaps someone else will create a movie which will give those who lived courageously and stood up for the cause of humanity, the quality production their story deserves. I pray so as theirs is a story worth telling rightly.