Not deserving of its reputation

soldaat van oranje is bloody amazing, probably my favourite movie of all time. also, it's not an 'autobiographical piece', as jean pierre melville was in the free french forces, not the french resistance - the two were wildly different. if captured by the germans, free frenchmen were treated as prisoners of war. however, resistance members were considered unprotected by the geneva convention and were harshly beaten and executed. However, he based the film on Joseph Kessel's novel of his time in the resistance (Kessel is the fictional Philippe Gerbier).

say what ? either its good or its ludicrous. it can't be both !

This is NOT autobiographical. It is based on a novel.

just saw this at the local art cinema.

it was compelling, visually enthralling. on the history, however...

it seemed rather flat. showing the resistance, outside of the context of the collaboration, did not ring true.

there can be no doubt that some people of enormous courage operated in such dire circumstances. just wish the palette was full. it would show their heroism more distincly.

but a damn good film.

I think Mathilde was too human for you ! Sorry, but she was a mother, a wonderful woman, yes, BUT a mother, it was her weakness. RIP Mathilde.

I just saw the film and was enthralled by it's spareness and noir mood.

The reality of the film is obvious to those who know their history of WW2. The resistance was plagued by paranoia and betrayal, yet many brave souls continued to participate, and many died. Their exploits are largely unknown, since anonymity was essential to survival, as this film made clear. If you were known, if you made a name for yourself, you were arrested and/or shot by the Nazis occupying France.

I was also impressed by the raw and real feel of the film... some truly horrifying acts were played out as they might have really been... without Hollywood bombastics. No need to show torture... you saw the results and all else could be imagined [if modern audiences still have the capacity for using theirs].

Human history is mostly mundane and heroes often die unheralded. This film allows us to understand that reality. I think it's stunning.

I saw this film two or three decades back, before I knew it had a "reputation" and it's remained vividly with me ever since.

That tells me it's a pretty damn good movie, at the very least.

No heroics, just heroism.




I used to want to change the world. Now I just want to leave the room with a little dignity.

It's funny that he didn't tell his comrades what he was doing

Because they would have stopped him.



I used to want to change the world. Now I just want to leave the room with a little dignity.

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