Rinco Ennema
Poor acting and a thin story. Such a shame because the bombing of Rotterdam is a good subject for a great movie. Unbelievable script with situations that will never happen, therefore a bit hard to chew on. Maybe someone else is looking for a story to tell the right way, find your inspiration in Rotterdam!
Seoirse Ó Duíc
So many plot holes and such boring dialogues it is hard to watch the whole movie. I had to watch as my girlfriend decided she wanted to see a Dutch movie, but it was cringe-worthy at best. Watched it in Dutch with English subtitles, but it would probably have been better to watch it dubbed in a different language. The main character is supposed to come from Utrecht and living in Rotterdam, but doesn't have an Utrecht nor a Rotterdam accent. In fact, most of the actors don't have a Rotterdam accent which would be okay-ish if the supposedly German characters weren't speaking with the worst German accents ever. German grammar is murdered in the worst way and none of the alleged Germans have believable German accents. Eva, his main love interest, is supposed to be a German girl who grew up in Rotterdam, but somehow struggles speaking German and speaks Dutch with an Amsterdam accent. I have to say though that apart from the horrible accents the plot and the acting by the actors would make Dutch people ashamed to be Dutch. Though the story of the German bombardment of Rotterdam could have been a good story, it is being told in such a way that would might develop some sympathy for the Germans. The only good thing about the movie is that it is not very long and in 1,5 hours one can watch something good again.
Bert B.
The bombing of Rotterdam deserves a good movie as it is such a defining happening in Dutch history. This movie isn't it. In fact it is horrible.Jan Smit, a Dutch singer (who cannot sing) is not an actor (so he cannot act as well) and he is not from Rotterdam. So he does not know Rotterdams sentiment about the bombing. Why does he have the lead role?...Rotterdam was bombed by the Germans, early may 1940. Because of this bombing the Dutch army surrendered. Rotterdam was destroyed in under 15 minutes during the bombing and (in 2015) is still recovering). This movie is a love story during the days before and after the bombing. And it is horrible. Do not watch this movie.
martin-kooistra
Jan Smit is miscast as Vincent a poor, semi-orphaned bellboy/baker/boxer who falls in love with German girl Eva (Roos van Erkel), who's about to embark on a marriage of convenience with a powerful businessman to save her mentally handicapped brother Herman (beautifully played by Jelle Pelmaerts) from almost certain death at the hands of the Nazis. Although it is suggested that Vincent is illiterate (he only 'reads' a boxing magazine for its pictures) he somehow speaks fluent German which is pointed out, and then ignored. Moreover, Jan Smit looks far too squeaky clean to convince as a young man struggling to make ends meet in Rotterdam, just days before it is bombed to smithereens by the Germans. Nevertheless, Jan Smit does a very creditable job and handles the lighter scenes quite well, coasting on his seemingly natural charm which has made him the Dutch pop icon he is. There is also palpable chemistry between him and Van Erkel, who is also somewhat miscast as she is too plain-looking. Why would a shrewd, materialistic businessman - who is in a position to pick his women - settle for her? The voice-overs by venerable story-teller Aart Staartjes are disappointingly bland, and repetitive. The love story between the two leads, however, works surprisingly well, and is helped immensely by the stunning cinematography by Gabor Szabo, who creates some unforgettable moments. The bombardment of the title is well-designed and beautifully shot, and underlines the ambition of this film to be the Dutch answer to Titanic, which it has tried to emulate a bit too obviously. Not a great film, but quite entertaining and definitely worth watching.
AD
