Het bombardement

The bombing of Rotterdam deserves a good movie as it is such a defining happening in Dutch history. This movie isn't it. In fact it is horrible.

Jan Smit, a Dutch singer (who cannot sing) is not an actor (so he cannot act as well) and he is not from Rotterdam. So he does not know Rotterdams sentiment about the bombing. Why does he have the lead role?

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Rotterdam was bombed by the Germans, early may 1940. Because of this bombing the Dutch army surrendered. Rotterdam was destroyed in under 15 minutes during the bombing and (in 2015) is still recovering).

This movie is a love story during the days before and after the bombing. And it is horrible. Do not watch this movie.

Knowing the bombardment of Rotterdam is a brutal tragedy, in the beginning I was surprised by the light hearted teenage love story as the main part of the film. But as it progresses, so many casual moments and tiny things gradually make sense. The war is there, the huge casualties and lifetime loss is there, how do you deal with it? As the boy tells the girl to laugh instead of fear, and the girl later tells the boy to do boxing with waltz, I think that is the message how people could endure the war and achieve love. Some German characters here may be snobbish, but the war tells them what is truly valuable; Dutch people may be considered victims, but some Dutch characters show their speculative minds in the warfare. After all, love without boundaries, save those you love, live with those survived by your side. I think it's a good movie about love at wars.

The movie takes us back to the Netherlands during the Second World War, showing different perspectives (rich, poor, etc) and different cities.

I saw a lot of negative reviews here and felt I should put in some positiveness after actually seeing it.

We should not compare it with box office Hollywood productions, in particular when looking at the special effects.

The lead actor Jan Smit is charismatic and there is good chemistry with the lead actress.

In summary I think there is an audience for this movie and some people will indeed appreciate it!

As a Brit, I found this very watchable and don't really identify with the negative comments. I welcomed this insight into the Rotterdammers experience of German invasion, enjoyed the storyline and the writing and thought the acting perfectly fine. It was a gentler take (e.g.12) which suits lockdown viewing fine.

The movie is well worth seeing. The story itself it quite elaborate, with a love story and action sequences synchronized with the short-lived war in the Netherlands in May 1940. Many facts about the war are well interwoven with the story-line and give some interesting historical background. The back-grounds of the two main characters are defined by their having to do something important in their lives which they do only out of altruism for a brother, and the love they are starting to experience is jeopardizing their former resolve. The main characters are quite believable and show real chemistry, the action stunts grip you, and the photography sublime. Roos van Erkel really shines. Many critics are far too easy and harsh. They try to frame it as a Titanic-me-too, but ever heard of the age-old story of Romeo and Juliett? Because Jan Smit is known for being a singer, that doesn't mean he can't act. I could go on. If you are willing to let the actors and the story move you, this is a moving experience for the whole family.