DOZENS OF DUTCH MOVIES have been made about World War 2 against Nazi Germany. Dozens! And rightfully so, it is an important chapter in Dutch history and should never be forgotten! (plus the Nazi Germans were the bad guys).
NOT ONE DUTCH MOVIE had been made IN 70+ YEARS TIME about another WAR that was happening far away in the former Dutch colony Indonesia, yet it is an equally important chapter in Dutch history!
So what's going on here? How come this war has never before gotten the attention it deserves in the Dutch education system, schools and history books? Almost nobody knows what really happened there!
This movie, THE EAST (DE OOST) finally changes that and shows in a partial historically accurate way what happened over there during the BERSIAP PERIOD after the capitulation of Japan. We see this through the eyes of a rookie Dutch soldier, really bad things happen (on both sides!) and we gradually get to see his struggle with it all.
The fact that this movie is the first cinematic Dutch movie that sheds some light on this controversial and difficult period in Dutch history deserves praise + it gets extra points for showing courage for making this movie!
It's a fantastic movie, great acting, beautiful scenery, raw sense of reality - but please also understand that it's a MOVIE, not a documentary!
Rating: 10/10.
NOT ONE DUTCH MOVIE had been made IN 70+ YEARS TIME about another WAR that was happening far away in the former Dutch colony Indonesia, yet it is an equally important chapter in Dutch history!
So what's going on here? How come this war has never before gotten the attention it deserves in the Dutch education system, schools and history books? Almost nobody knows what really happened there!
This movie, THE EAST (DE OOST) finally changes that and shows in a partial historically accurate way what happened over there during the BERSIAP PERIOD after the capitulation of Japan. We see this through the eyes of a rookie Dutch soldier, really bad things happen (on both sides!) and we gradually get to see his struggle with it all.
The fact that this movie is the first cinematic Dutch movie that sheds some light on this controversial and difficult period in Dutch history deserves praise + it gets extra points for showing courage for making this movie!
It's a fantastic movie, great acting, beautiful scenery, raw sense of reality - but please also understand that it's a MOVIE, not a documentary!
Rating: 10/10.