Called “Oorlogswinter”, this Dutch wartime film is a fresh look at the acts conveyed in WWII. As a hugely successful film in the Netherlands (out grossing Twilight and The Dark Knight so say Wikipedia) I was surprised to only be seeing promotion for it’s international/ UK & US release in 2010-2011.
It shows the view of a 14-year-old boy, Michiel van Beusekom (Martijn Lakemeier), who in turns demonstrates and is exposed to many defining features of Wartime. His family is conflicted between resistance and collaborating. When he finds a British solider (Jamie Campbell Bower) stranded in the forest he fights to get him to freedom with huge sacrifice. It is in his struggle that the typical themes of a war film come to a new level of emotional context.
With such natural drama and tension fused with gorgeous cinematography this is one of the best war films I have ever had the pleasure of watching.
Simon Robinson's Culture Review 