Winter in Wartime (film)
Encyclopedia
Winter in Wartime is a 2008
Dutch
war film
directed by Martin Koolhoven
. The screenplay was written by Mieke de Jong, Paul Jan Nelissen and Martin Koolhoven and was based on the novel of the same name
by Jan Terlouw
.
The film was hugely successful in the Netherlands out-grossing competing films like Twilight
and The Dark Knight
. It was the highest grossing film in the Netherlands during Christmas 2008 and the first weeks of 2009.
It was also chosen by the Dutch Critics as the best Dutch film of 2008, it won the PZC Audience Award (best movie based on a novel), three Rembrandt Awards and three Golden Calf
awards. It was chosen Best Film by the Young Jury (14-18 years) at the Rome Film Festival and was shortlisted (with 8 other movies) at the Academy Awards
, in the section Best Foreign Language Film.
The movie was sold to many countries in the world, including the United States, where Sony Pictures Classics
will distribute the movie, beginning in March 2011.
by helping a British pilot stay out of German hands during the occupation of The Netherlands.
Michiel feels resentment towards his father, a mayor, seemingly only interested in maintaining the status quo between the town and the German Army. He worships his uncle Ben, an adventurer in contact with the local resistance. During the winter, Michiel's loyalties are tested.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
Dutch
Cinema of the Netherlands
Because the Dutch film industry is relatively small, and there is little or no international market for Dutch films, almost all films rely on state funding. This funding can be achieved through several sources, for instance through the Dutch Film Fund or the Dutch public broadcast networks...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
directed by Martin Koolhoven
Martin Koolhoven
Martin Koolhoven is a Dutch film director and screenwriter.Born as Martinus Wouter Koolhoven, Koolhoven graduated from Dutch film school in 1996 and almost immediately made an impact on the Dutch film industry with his 53 minute television film Duister Licht in which the slaughtering of a pig was...
. The screenplay was written by Mieke de Jong, Paul Jan Nelissen and Martin Koolhoven and was based on the novel of the same name
Winter in Wartime
Winter in Wartime is a novel written by the Dutch writer Jan Terlouw. The story is about a sixteen year old Dutch boy who lives through the last winter of the Second world war....
by Jan Terlouw
Jan Terlouw
Jan Cornelis Terlouw is a Dutch scientist, politician, and author.- Background :Jan Terlouw was born in Kamperveen, Overijssel. He was the eldest son in his family, he has two brothers and two sisters and grew up in the Veluwe...
.
The film was hugely successful in the Netherlands out-grossing competing films like Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
and The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight (film)
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
. It was the highest grossing film in the Netherlands during Christmas 2008 and the first weeks of 2009.
It was also chosen by the Dutch Critics as the best Dutch film of 2008, it won the PZC Audience Award (best movie based on a novel), three Rembrandt Awards and three Golden Calf
Golden Calf (award)
The Golden Calf is the award of the Netherlands Film Festival, which is held annually in Utrecht. The award has been presented since 1981, originally in six categories: Best actor, Best actress, Best film, Best Short film, Culture Prize and Honourable mention...
awards. It was chosen Best Film by the Young Jury (14-18 years) at the Rome Film Festival and was shortlisted (with 8 other movies) at the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, in the section Best Foreign Language Film.
The movie was sold to many countries in the world, including the United States, where Sony Pictures Classics
Sony Pictures Classics
Sony Pictures Classics is an art-house film division of Sony Pictures Entertainment founded in December 1991 that distributes, produces and acquires specialty films from the United States and around the world. Its co-presidents are Michael Barker and Tom Bernard...
will distribute the movie, beginning in March 2011.
Plot
The film is about a young Dutch boy named Michiel van Beusekom who tries to help the Dutch resistance during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by helping a British pilot stay out of German hands during the occupation of The Netherlands.
Michiel feels resentment towards his father, a mayor, seemingly only interested in maintaining the status quo between the town and the German Army. He worships his uncle Ben, an adventurer in contact with the local resistance. During the winter, Michiel's loyalties are tested.
Cast
- Martijn Lakemeier as Michiel van Beusekom
- Yorick van WageningenYorick van WageningenYorick van Wageningen is a Dutch actor.After acting in several Dutch plays, movies, and television series, van Wageningen was asked to come to Hollywood to appear in Steven Spielberg's Minority Report. Due to problems with his visa, he was unable to work on that movie in the United States....
as Oom Ben - Jamie Campbell BowerJamie Campbell BowerJames "Jamie" Campbell M. Bower is an English actor, singer and former model. Bower is best known for his role as Anthony Hope in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, his role of Caius in The Twilight Saga: New Moon and his role of King Arthur in the Starz original series...
as Jack - Raymond Thiry as Vader van Beusekom
- Melody KlaverMelody KlaverMelody Zoë Klaver is a Dutch actress.Melody played the part of Heleen in Diep, a movie from Simone van Dusseldorp, for which she got a Golden Calf nomination, one of the most important film awards in the Netherlands...
as Erica van Beusekom - Anneke Blok as Moeder van Beusekom
- Mees Peijnenburg as Dirk Knopper
- Tygo GernandtTygo GernandtTygo Gernandt is a Dutch television, film and voice actor. He has played in several Dutch movies, among them Van God Los, Eilandgasten, Schnitzelparadijs and De Dominee...
as Bertus - Dan van HusenDan van HusenDan van Husen is a German actor who has also performed in Hollywood films.-Career:Dan van Husen was born in Gummersbach. He has appeared in twenty Italo Westerns in six or seven years and then he branched out to diverse roles and genres...
as Auer - Ad van Kempen as Schafter
- Jesse van Driel as Theo
Reception
Around 900,000 people in the Netherlands and around 60,000 people in Belgium saw the film in cinemas.See also
- List of Dutch submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Cinema of the NetherlandsCinema of the NetherlandsBecause the Dutch film industry is relatively small, and there is little or no international market for Dutch films, almost all films rely on state funding. This funding can be achieved through several sources, for instance through the Dutch Film Fund or the Dutch public broadcast networks...