Soldier of Orange (1977) Reviews

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. In fact, in the Netherlands, it is a huge classic and it is broadcasted on TV at least twice or three times a year. Indeed, most of Paul Verhoeven's movies are more or less controversial but this one is usually considered a Dutch national treasure and it was, at the time, the most expensive Dutch movie ever made. Eventually, it is a really solid WWII feature but, to honest, after rewatching it so many years later, I thought the story was actually pretty messy. Sure, the beginning was pretty strong as you get a pretty good feeling on how it must have been to in live in the Netherlands just before the war started. However, instead of giving us a clear steady narrative thread, they actually went for something really episodic and kept jumping from one random event to another. The characters were all quite intriguing though and I thought they all seemed vulnerable and fairly complex but it’s a pity that, since there were so many of them, they were all barely fleshed out after all, even the main character played by Rutger Hauer. Finally, I still believe that the damned thing tends to be a little too patriotic for my taste but I guess that’s the reason why it has always been so popular with the Dutch audience as it always gave them a rather positive image of their past. Eventually, even if some stuff didn’t really work in this movie, I still think it is better than ‘Zwaartboek’, another solid WWII feature from Verhoeven, which was actually too straightforward. Anyway, to conclude, I really like the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.