Leiden during the German Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Students Erik cooperates with his friend Jan, a boxing champion, to help him flee to England, but on the beach, the Nazis arrest and later execute Jan. Erik, who was also in prison, is released and spied on by the Nazis, so he and his friend Guus board a ship to England. In London, they meet Dutch Queen Willhemina, who gives them the assignment to smuggle Dutch resistance members to England. Guus has a relationship with a British military official, Susan. Erik returns to Leiden, but then finds out his friend, Robby, who communicates with the Dutch government-in-exile via a radio transmitter, collaborates with the Nazis who pressured Robby that they will otherwise deport his Jewish girlfriend Esther. They fall into a Nazi trap, but manage to escape. As a revenge, Guus later shoots Robby on the street, but is caught and executed. Erik returns to England and becomes a RAF bomber pilot. After the end of World War II, he returns to the Netherlands with Queen Willhemina.
Based upon memoirs of Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema and his experiences in World War II, "Soldier of Orange" is a little bit overrated, but still an overall very good motion picture, miles better than a majority of Dutch films which have no sense for cinema, while also delivering one of the best roles for its leading actor Rutger Hauer who plays said Erik. The director Paul Verhoeven restrains his style a little bit this time around, to show respect towards the resistance members of his country, but still luckily finds moments of wacky humor and bizarre ideas. The story is a bit uneven: the first half, which shows the social effects and upheaval of the Nazi occupation of the Nethelands, is excellent, but the second half, which follows Erik who flees to England and then gets a minor assignment to secretly smuggle a few resistance members to London, is a bit overstretched and insipid. The opening act shows Erik as a student freshman enduring an initiation rite at a University, where the older Guus pours a bowl of soup on his bald head, while a dozen students sit at a table, having to feed the guy next to them with a spoon.
The outbreak of the war breaks several cliches, avoiding patriotism: Erik and Guus volunteer to fight for their country against the invasion, but the drafting officer tells them to return in ten days, implying the people at the top already decided to give up on any resistance. The invasion ends in four days, and soldiers protest against their superior who informs them of their capitulation: "But we were just getting started!" Several wacky details are present: for instance, in one beach sequence, Erik unknowingly places a gasoline canister on a nail while trying to hide it in a box, and closes the lid, which presses the canister on the nail, causing it to leak the gasoline, which later ignites. In prison, Erik writes anti-Nazi slogans on a toilet paper roll, and wraps it back inside, so he gets summoned for interrogation by a Nazi official: "What did you write that with?" - "Sir, with shit, sir." In London, Erik applies to be a RAF bomber pilot, but glasses aren't allowed for such a job, so he simply cheats on his eye vision test—he holds a hand in front of his right eye, but hides a glass lens behind it, to open his fingers a bit and clearly see the letters through it. Some moments seem clumsy or rushed, some far fetched, but overall, the story is engaging, gripping and flows smoothly, and the characters feel alive. "Soldier of Orange" is impressive, but it is not the best Dutch World War II film—ironically, it was surpassed by Verhoeven himself when he directed the excellent "Black Book" 29 years later, proving that in Dutch cinema only he can be his own match and do even better.
Grade:+++
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