OORLOGSWINTER

The Netherlands

Synopsis

January 1945. The last winter of WW II. In Holland, the earth is frozen. In the western part there’s a shortage of fuel and food. In the freezing cold many people are walking to the east of the country, where there’s still food to find. This is where our story takes place. WINTER IN WARTIME is the story of 14-year-old Michiel, who wants to be an adult and is longing to join the resistance. He regards his father - the mayor of the small village - a softie and adores his uncle Ben, who has joined the resistance. Michiels neighbour kid (Dirk) tells him that he is involved in an assault on an ammunition storage and asks Michiel to deliver a letter to the blacksmith Bertus van Gelder, in case something goes wrong. Michiel is glad; finally someone takes him serious. But there’s a betrayal of the raid. Dirk is caught and when Michiel is about to take the letter to Bertus, he is shot by the Germans. Michiel opens the envelope and finds a drawn map of the Dagdaler Woods, which leads him to a spot where an English pilot (Jack) is hiding. Dirk was to take Jack to a contact person in the town of Zwolle. Now that Bertus is not there either, it’s all up to Michiel. When Jack gets sick, Michiel is forced to ask for help from his sister (Erica), who is a nurse. Just after a failed attempt to reach Zwolle after all, a dead German soldier is found, who obviously has been killed. When the murderer is not found, the Germans in revenge arrest Michiel’s father. Michiel now desperately hopes that his uncle Ben will liberate his father... When the war is won only a few months later, Michiel has lost his innocence and will never be the same again.

Director's Statement

Ever since I started directing I wanted to make a movie, set in World War II. When adapting the similar bestseller by Dutch writer Jan Terlouw into a movie, I focused on the emotional journey the young main character went through. Experiencing his personal growth - ultimately leading to his complete loss of innocence - became the purpose of the movie. It became clear to me that OORLOGSWINTER needed an emotional involvement rather than a historical drama approach. In Holland, there is a huge tradition of WW II movies. Most of them are - I must consider sadly - not that emotionally engaging. I wanted to get away from the archaic style of acting and conservative cinematic approach. I wanted to make an emotionally gripping film by creating a vital approach to the material. I felt a slightly more contemporary idiom (using many point of view shots). This direct style of acting brought the story closer to me. It made the story look less like a history lesson and made me forget I was watching a movie which is set almost 65 years ago. Almost as if I became part of it. To make the movie the emotional experience I intended, I was aware the music was to be very important. I’m very proud I was able to convince my youth hero Pino Donaggio to compose the soundtrack. I think it’s among the best work he has composed and luckily, he agrees with me.
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Martin Koolhoven

Written by: Mieke de Jong, Martin Koolhoven, Paul Jan Nelissen

Produced by: Els Vandevorst, San Fu Maltha

Cinematography: Guido van Gennep

Cast: Martijn Lakemeier (Michiel von Beusekom)

Nominations and Awards

  • Feature Film Selection 2009