Grenzeloos verraad

I was very curious about Betrayal (Grenzeloos Verraad). In the cinema I saw some people from the cast and crew for a meet and greet and they have explained how much budget they had to make this movie. This movie is also the first movie who tells the story of Operation Amherst. (Important history to know)

After watching the movie I was surprised about the result. The camerawork is really bringing you into te story and the music is bringing the tension you are feeling. I have seen good work from the actors.

Specially from Ludwig (Peter Nilessen) and Martin (Dirk Gunther Mohr). The acting and the tension between the two was phenomenal. A movie to watch!

Drenthe is one of the 12 Dutch states. And it's a place where the people look out for each other. There isn't much happening daily. But what Peter Nillesen and his crew did with Betrayal is something extraordinary. Just with a budget of 300.000 euros, all in gifts and sponsorships from municipalities and the province Drenthe.

And if you look at the movie with that in mind you can only be surprised with what they made. This isn't a big budget or Hollywood style film. Betrayal is made by volunteers. Something extraordinary.

Peter Nillesen plays the role of Ludwig Mengelberg a Wehrmacht officer who has seen it all. Death, destruction, the craziness of the Nazis and so on. On one day he gets an assignment to go to The Netherlands. A mission he will never forget. And it's Peter who carries this film. He plays the character so well that in your mind you believe that he's actually there.

The role of Maarten Schoonma played by Dirk Gunther Mohr is well executed. The obsessed SS officer does exactly what you expect from one in the Schutzstaffel. You really hate the man. Allard Geerlings plays the role of Lieutenant de Vries. An officer of the Prinses Irene Brigade. He has an authority aura that you respect immediately.

Betrayal zooms in on Operation Amherst. The operation who prepared the way for the 1st Canadian armed forces. Polish, Dutch, and Canadian men gave there lives to liberate the north. It's something that other films doesn't show. A welcome filmed piece of history.

The film is as I said made and played by volunteers. Many of the didn't had any acting experiences. And this fact is something that you can't forget seeing this wonderfully put together piece of film.

Being a fan of history movies, and being Dutch myself, this important and underexposed (in film) part of WW2 is a refreshing setpiece for an interesting tale of living on the border of nazi-Germany. Having met and talked with several actors and folks who worked on the film at a meet & greet I learned this film was, impressively, made with a low budget and mostly volunteers.

Yes, you notice this is a different kind of film than the big budget WW2 films we know and love, but it's just as 'edutaining' as the ones you might already know. Actors differ in skill, from obvious amateurs to raw talent; it makes the film all the more fun to watch instead of seeing the usual suspects in Dutch medialand.

There have been a couple of cuts in the film that I found somewhat haphazard and could be worked on to deliver somewhat more coherence; perhaps a director's cut?

Long story short: it's fun and nice to see new faces in a lovingly crafted film on an important part of Dutch-German history.

Last but not least: the guy that plays Roelfsjan has a face and style that should be in a Western- somebody hire that guy!

First off, it might be a low budget movie and played by volunteers, but that didn't bother me very much.

I enjoyed this more than some big ww2 blockbusters from the last few years (including Dunkirk and Midway and the remake of Sobibor).

It was a refreshing movie when it comes to new faces instead of the usual dutch "big" actors.

Some bits might not be very logical, but it's still a movie, sometimes certain cuts need to be made and it doesn't always work out perfectly. Its a good try

The only thing that really should have been cut is the short monoloque at the end, it adds nothing to movie.

There you are enjoying the movie (or not) and then there comes the jewish daughter as a kind of kindergartenteacher to close the day and telling you what to think and do. F*** that, i make up my own mind thank you very much.

This is clearly a small budget movie. It's great with how little money it was filmed, but the acting is very bad. The scenes are also not correct, so you quickly drop out of the film. This is a pity because the message of the film is beautiful.

You can see that the battle scenes were filmed with reenactors. The uniforms are good, but combat scenes are poorly executed. Perhaps a low-budget film without combat scenes would have been better. Too bad, but maybe next time a better film from this production company. I look forward to other reviews on this movie, I personally think the film is poorly acted and the storyline is not clear enough.