IMDb RATING
6.8/10
7.1K
YOUR RATING
A young Dutch soldier deployed to suppress post-WWII independence efforts in the Netherlands' colony of Indonesia finds himself torn between duty and conscience when he joins an increasingly... Read allA young Dutch soldier deployed to suppress post-WWII independence efforts in the Netherlands' colony of Indonesia finds himself torn between duty and conscience when he joins an increasingly ruthless commander's elite squad.A young Dutch soldier deployed to suppress post-WWII independence efforts in the Netherlands' colony of Indonesia finds himself torn between duty and conscience when he joins an increasingly ruthless commander's elite squad.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 9 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe "Federatie Indische Nederlanders (FIN)" or Federation of Dutch Indonesians filed a lawsuit against the movie. FIN claims the movie is a fictional and overly evil depiction of the Dutch intervention in Indonesia, which was meant to put an end to waves of terror coming from local militia. Dutch veteran organizations were also dismayed by the depiction of Dutch soldiers spouting racial slurs and frequenting prostitutes, Special Forces wearing black "Nazi-like" uniforms (dark green in reality), and Raymond Westerling (Marwan Kenzari) sporting a "Hitleresque" mustache. The FIN asked for a disclaimer at the start of the movie, stating the film is fictional. The producer of the movie did not agree with adding such a statement (apart from the standard disclaimer at the end that parts of the story had been fictionalized for dramatic purposes), and the Dutch court finally decided an additional disclaimer was not necessary. Director Jim Taihuttu defended himself against the allegations, stating that the behavior and language of the soldiers was based on diaries given to him by an actual soldier in the war. He had also showed the movie to several Dutch veterans and army leaders, who all praised the film for its authenticity.
- GoofsThe Dutch called the capital of the Dutch Indies 'Batavia.' No Dutch soldier would call it by its Indonesian name 'Jakarta,' as one does in the movie.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Twee voor twaalf: Episode dated 7 October 2022 (2022)
Featured review
Most reviews are exemplary for society today: people choosing position at extreme ends based on the subject with no space for nuance or really talking about the actual matter at hand. Very high marks, or very low. Yes, it's an important subject, but the movie isn't good or bad because the subject is important.
The visuals are good and above par for Dutch movies. The narrative transcends Dutch standards of treating it's educated audience like children with baroque and derivative clichés in storytelling (i.e. Lobotomized Love Actually clones etc.). It's just that the movie is too long, or perhaps should have been longer but not as a movie but as a series, which would have allowed for different dynamics to have been explored more in depth. There are a lot of interesting things there to dig into, but due to the film format and limited time that means it can a little too feel superficial. That sense of superficiality to certain elements (or rather the desire to dig deeper) combined with the long length feel at odds with each other. The movie also seems not to be able to make up it's mind to be either a social commentary or war movie, which gives a sense of falling just shy of the mark in both categories. Still a valiant effort with strong casting, acting, directing and art direction and in any case important to raise a difficult subject of relatively recent history. Other than most reviews, the film can be commended for choosing nuance and showing there can be well intended albeit misguided reasoning (rooting out perceived evil) behind atrocious acts, and by doing so manages to steer clear of cheap morality.
The visuals are good and above par for Dutch movies. The narrative transcends Dutch standards of treating it's educated audience like children with baroque and derivative clichés in storytelling (i.e. Lobotomized Love Actually clones etc.). It's just that the movie is too long, or perhaps should have been longer but not as a movie but as a series, which would have allowed for different dynamics to have been explored more in depth. There are a lot of interesting things there to dig into, but due to the film format and limited time that means it can a little too feel superficial. That sense of superficiality to certain elements (or rather the desire to dig deeper) combined with the long length feel at odds with each other. The movie also seems not to be able to make up it's mind to be either a social commentary or war movie, which gives a sense of falling just shy of the mark in both categories. Still a valiant effort with strong casting, acting, directing and art direction and in any case important to raise a difficult subject of relatively recent history. Other than most reviews, the film can be commended for choosing nuance and showing there can be well intended albeit misguided reasoning (rooting out perceived evil) behind atrocious acts, and by doing so manages to steer clear of cheap morality.
- roderickvanderlee
- May 13, 2021
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- De Oost
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $180
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $46
- Aug 15, 2021
- Gross worldwide
- $160,187
- Runtime2 hours 17 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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