Soldier of Orange

Reviewer: Craig Phillips
Rating (out of 5): **** ½

With Paul Verhoeven's new film, Black Book, also centered around the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, and his first film shot in his native country in decades [read David D'Arcy's review of the film which premiered in Toronto], it seemed a good time to revisit Soldier of Orange.

Epic in length and scope, but also a character-driven piece, Verhoeven's masterfully entertaining WWII film Soldier of Orange is the most polished of his early Dutch films (though the more subversive The 4th Man is perhaps his sharpest). It makes it all the more apparent how far he eventually fell in his more recent Hollywood forays (B-movie masterpiece RoboCop notwithstanding). Soldier also catapulted Rutger Hauer to stardom, charismatically playing real life heroic (and, eventually, flying) Dutchman Eric Lanshof, a bit of an anti-hero who was initially apolitical during WWII but eventually found himself figthting in the resistance after Holland was overtaken by the Germans. The recognizable, always solid Jeroen Krabbe plays Lanshof's longtime friend who gets caught up along with him in trying to save the country they love, long after their Queen (whom they eventually meet) has fled to England.

With a rousing score by Rogier Van Otterloo, the film races through an array of breathtaking events over several years as Verhoeven aptly mixes the surreally humorous and touching with the disturbing and suspense scenes that would make Hitchcock proud. While Soldier is a bit overlong, with a protagonist far more interesting than Saving Private Ryan's Captain Miller, the film ranks up there with the great war movies of all time.

Verhoeven also provides enjoyable running commentary on the DVD which alternates between illuminating and rather obvious. The quality of DVD picture could be better (some color fading and occasional
lack of sharpness) but it's more than adequate and the film's sweeping scope remains as clear as ever.