The Assault (1986) User Reviews

Oscar winning Dutch classic

[TheOtherFool · 7/10 · 23 December 2004]

Movie based on the famous novel by Harry Mulisch, who also wrote the Discovery of Heaven. In the center is Anton Steenwijk (Derek de Lint), who sees his parents shot and his house burnt after a shooting that killed a collaborator of the German Nazi's in World War II. All his life, Anton is curious about what really happened that night, but when he finds out, will that truly satisfy him?

Interesting story, well played and directed by Rademakers (director of 'Als twee druppels water' and 'Max Havelaar'), which won the 'Best foreign language' Oscar back in 1987. And although some viewers won't like the 'coincidental' ending, it's probably one of the best pictures ever to have come from this country... 7/10.

Great Dutch drama.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 8/10 · 17 January 2004]

The Dutch are not great at making movies but when they make a WW II movie it often is a little masterpiece. "De Aanslag" is a movie like this.

"De Aanslag" isn't necessarily about WW II but more about the effects of it on a persons life and why things happen the way they do and how little things can effect a persons life for ever. Most of the movie's story is set in the years after WW II and uses flashbacks of things that happened in WW II to make more things clear and to show things from a different perspective from different individuals that were involved in the incident were the movie is about. It becomes more and more clear what happened at the night that collaborator Ploeg was killed but the Dutch resistance and more importantly why things happened the way it happened. The story also shows a detailed view of the Netherlands and their citizens the years and decades after WW II and how it still affected many.

There are many great returning characters in the story and the acting is for especially Dutch standards pretty high. Derek de Lint who now is better know world wide for his role as Derek Rayne in "Poltergeist: The Legacy" is a great leading man that really carries the movie.

The cinematography from Theo van de Sande who later did the cinematography for the movie hit "Blade" is great and sets a nice mood. The directing by Fons Rademakers is done wonderfully and it never makes the movie hard to follow even though at times it gets a bit complicated.

Great Dutch Oscar winning drama with some memorable moments and a fantastic ending were everything comes together and gets clear.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Wide and Deep

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 7 July 2017]

In January 1945, during the second world war, the Dutch resistance kills a collaborator in the street where the 12 year old Anton Steenwijk lives. The man was shot in front of his neighbors house, but is moved by them to the house of the family Steenwijk. Because of this, his father, mother and brother are killed by the Germans, and their house is set to fire. During his life, Anton meets several people that tell him more about what really happened on the night of the assault.

What really makes this a great film is how it covers so much of the 20th century, at least the major war events. Vietnam, Stalin, Hungary and more... this is not just a story about the Netherlands in World War II, but really a larger tale of Europe. The balance between the personal and the international is what makes it such a notable film.

classic war movie

[steenvreter29 · 1 September 2000]

One of the highlights of Dutch cinema. A very moving story about a young boy whose parents are murdered by Germans after a German officer had been shot in front of their house. Actually, the man (Ploeg) was shot in front of the neighbours' house, but was moved by the neighbours so they would survive themselves.

It's not just the well-told story that is impressing about this movie. It is also the lot of symbolical themes that gives 'De Aanslag' more strength. Like the man who killed Ploeg makes clear, later on in the movie: 'we could also have shot Ploeg in another neighbourhood, but then I would be talking to someone else right know.' Fate is an important theme. Symbol for fate: dice, returning several times during the movie.

A well-known source of criticism about this movie is the lot of coincidences in the movie. I will not argue about whether or not it is realistic, because it is simply not. But.. who cares? It's just a way to tell the story.

About as good as Harry Mulisch' novel this movie is based on. 8 stars out of ten.

excellent movie, but chance meetings are not credible

[massjim · 6/10 · 29 June 1999]

I found this movie to be very thought-provoking, particularly its insights into the experiences of the residents of Holland during the Nazi occupation.

One drawback in this movie was the totally incongruous chance meetings that Anton has with key individuals. e.g.: Ploeg's son just happens to be shoved into Anton's doorway during an anti-communist riot, Anton, while in a crowded cafe, just happens to be sitting right next to the man who shot Ploeg, and finally, in an anti-nuclear demonstration in which hundreds of people are marching, he just happens to be walking abreast of his long-ago next door neighbor!

Classic Greek Tragedy

[Schimanski · 9/10 · 27 June 2001]

This film is based on the Harry Mulisch novel, and both have some distinguishing characteristics that go back - on purpose - to classic Greek tragedy theatre. The incredible co-incidence that carries the story is reminiscent of ancient literary 'vehicles' that carry a story. Thus, you should not look at the chance events as being part of the story, but as being the foundation for the story - they, in themselves, should not really be questioned.

Also, note that every chance meeting is preceded by a meeting with some kind of stone. The Dutch word for dice is 'dobbelsteen', or dicing-stone, so that the simile of dice and chance can be extended to stones and chance. This explains the significance of Anton meeting his first wife while visiting the Stone of Scones.

The book, more strongly than the film, is also constructed as a Greek tragedy, with a prologue, five acts and then an epilogue.

Anton Steenwijk is also interesting himself: he represses the events of the assault, but it keeps coming back at him. But he is an anaesthetist in more than one way - he puts his memories to sleep. Even in the final stages, when the story is already quite clear to him, he uses drugs at his house in Tuscany and seeks to ease a toothache in Amsterdam before going to the Ban the Bomb demonstration.

Personally, I think the book was translated into a film in brilliant fashion. My major qualm with it is the mediocrity of the sound and sound effects. Some pretty good acting and a fantastic storyline make this one well worth the watch.

Book / Film, what is better? In this particular case, it is easy to say.

[stamper · 7/10 · 31 August 2000]

The film and the book, are really very much the same here. I read the book first and then watched the film and I have really not much to say about both. They are both of the same quality, for both book and film feature the same amount of accidental meetings which are after a while quite unbelievable and that is all the criticism I have. The film has of course certain things which are better than the book, for instance it is more exciting, but then again the film also has it's downsides, for sometimes the acting is not that great. But overall the better and worse things level each other out so my verdicts for book and film are the same: pretty good.

If you like Mulisch's books and are interested in World War 2 read De Zaak 40/61.

7 out of 10

such a clever suspensful movie with adult implications of childhood experience

[jbarth4851 · 10/10 · 25 December 2003]

I have seen this movies so many times that the subtitling has become irrelevant. Smarty movie with worldwide appeal. A growing up MD is subconciously living a life that has been dramatically changed by an incident during the WWII. such powerful characters. I walk out the movuie stunned at the way the movie works for me. go and see it for yourself

If you ever see only ONE Dutch film, THIS IS THE ONE!

[Gavno · 10/10 · 30 May 2004]

WARNING - SPOILERS WITHIN!!!

I first became familiar with THE ASSAULT through the Book of the Month Club. In the package with my book was a slim paperback volume that I hadn't ordered... I suppose they were clearing out the warehouse, and a copy of THE ASSAULT got tossed into my order as a freebie.

It sat around ignored for a few months, and then one afternoon I got bored and needed something to read.

Wow. Straight through in one sitting.

Some time later, with no advertising or promotion of any kind, THE ASSAULT showed up in a local theater.

Because of the total lack of promotion, this film is probably the greatest "sleeper" of the decade. It probably only played in the US at Art houses and a very small number of other theaters.

Anyone who has encountered the work of Satre or Camus will find themselves right at home with this film. It's deep, involved, and engrossing... it shows that no one, no matter how close they are to an event, knows EVERYTHING about it.

Young Anton Steenwjik is the sole survivor of the brutal murder of his entire family by German troops, and the burning of his home in Occupied Holland. The troops did it as retribution for a killing of a collaborator carried out by the local Dutch Underground Resistance cell in front of the Steenwjik home.

Anton was there and he saw it all... but it takes a 20 year odyssey that stretches across most of Northern Europe for him to learn the WHOLE truth about that night and it's horrendous events. Therein lies the tale. And it's a tale that's well worth watching.

Even tho I promised spoilers in this, I will NOT give you the BIG one... the most unexpected and ironic "Gotcha" I've ever seen in a movie.

A VERY HIGHLY recommended film! If you get the chance, SEE IT!

_________________________________________________________________

I'm updating my comments after the fact.

I recently saw the videotape version of the movie, and found myself somewhat disappointed... nay, OUTRAGED... by it.

In an attempt to trim the film to fit on standard length tape stock I suppose, the VHS videotape version makes a cut which for me is FATAL... they cut the entire end of Anton's chance meeting with Fake Ploog's son. That 30 second or so edit completely changes the feeling and meaning of the entire sequence, completely destroying the delicate balance that the director put into the theatrical release version.

If anyone reads this who is involved with a possible future DVD release of THE ASSAULT... I beg of you... PLEASE... NO EDITING!!!

This film is carefully put together like a fine watch. If you remove ANYTHING, it's not going to work right!!! ____________________________________________________________________

the woman's mouth

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 13 July 2005]

"The Assault", more than any other movie, shows that the Netherlands may have Europe's best output in terms of movies. In January, 1945, the Nazis are still occupying the Netherlands. One night, a Nazi guard is shot while on patrol. Immediately, the people in the house next to which he falls move him in front of the next house, where protagonist Anton Steenwijk lives. The Nazis kill Anton's parents and brother, and take Anton prisoner. In jail, he meets a woman, but can only see her mouth. She comforts him for a few minutes before they take her away.

After the war ends, Anton spends the rest of his life trying to come to terms with what happened that night, and every woman with whom he hooks up has the same sort of mouth as the woman in the jail cell. Then, at the end of the movie, while at an anti-nuclear march in Paris, he learns the full story of what happened that night.

"The Assault" is a movie that will truly blow you away. It will shake you, but it's also about hope. You have to see it to understand how great it is. I recommend it to everyone.

Interesting

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 23 March 2022]

The Assault won the 1986 Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, which fulfilled some of the dreams of Menahem Golam and Yoram Globus, but they only distributed the film instead of producing it.

An adaption of The Assault by Harry Mulisch, it's a story about the end of World War II and the evening that a Nazi collaborator is shot dead on his bicycle. He falls in front of a house, but the family there moves it to the Steenwijk house. The Nazis assume they are the killers, so they kill Anton's (Marc van Uchelen as a child, Derek de Lint as an adult) parents and brother in front of him.

Over the rest of his life, he comes to grips with what happened that night. His memories are filled in and he tries to get past the horror that he's lived through, even as he becomes a successful doctor.

This movie - and the book - were inspired by a real event. Fake Krist, a Dutch police officer and national-socialist who helped the Nazis hunt Jews and resistance fighters was killed in 1944 and in retaliation, Nazi forces executed ten inmates and torched four houses. The way that the man is shot on his bike by a man and a woman was taken from the death of W. M. Ragut, which inspired The Girl with the Red Hair.

Director Fons Rademakers also made Because of the Cats and Lifespan, one of the first mainstream movies to show shibari bondage.

De Aanslag or a jigsaw.

[dbdumonteil · 31 December 2003]

What is really fascinating in this Dutch movie is the way the past takes shape again,little by little,on a very long period:the hero is a middle-age man when he finally learns the final truth .What is less convincing in the implausibility of these situations and the main flaw of the work :each time a new character appears,outside of course of the two wives,his only purpose is to provide the hero with new facts about the tragedy he went through when he was 12.

And however the story is absorbing:the first scenes ,during the fateful night are harrowing,first in the parents 'house or in the icy landscape that surrounds it or in the dungeon where the young boy meets the female Resistance fighter.

Then begins the child's adult life and while there are very strong scenes ,there are also some flaws: too much voice-over ("He spends his Easter holiday in London" "He gets married" are completely pointless:the picture is enough),and it's really difficult to follow the hero's psychological change (why for instance does he get divorce?) But its questionings (who are the heroes ? Who are the traitors?) sometimes recalls Jorge Luis Borges. One of the best scenes shows Anton talking with the collaborator's son:who is the victim NOW? Did this young man and his mother deserve what happened to them?"They 're living" replies Anton.

And is Anton's attitude -stay away from the events that shakes the world- so worthwhile? That's why the last scene is very revealing:finally he understood that responsibility is everywhere and should be shared by everyone.

In spite of its flaws,it's certainly one of the most interesting European movies of the eighties.

Class

[rob-1944 · 10/10 · 29 April 2007]

My family is from Haarlem and I feel very close to the places, scenes, characters and the atmosphere that the movie generates. The fact that there are only a view productions regarding the Dutch resistance is very sad to me as the Dutch resistance was on of the best organized during the German occupation. However the man that was shot dead outside Anton Steenwijk's house was an NSB participant. He belonged to the Dutch Nazi Party. As previously stated, by some people in this thread, he was not a German Nazi but a Dutch collaborator. A lot of my family were in the resistance during the Nazi occupation. Some of them were shut by the Germans, in the dunes near Bloemendaal a/Zee, the site of the "Ere Begraaf Plaats" where Anton takes his daughter to find Truus Koster's grave, in the latter end of the movie. When I was young we often spend time there, to visit friends and family that were executed during those troublesome years. I dearly love this movie and would recommend it to anyone.

The tragedy of war

[KobusAdAstra · 8/10 · 26 November 2015]

'De Aanslag' is an epic drama taking place in the final days of German occupation of the Netherlands in 1945.

A Nazi collaborator, Ploeg, was shot dead in Haarlem, and the corpse dragged to the front of a neighbouring house. When the Nazis arrived they assumed that the people in that house were responsible, arrested the occupants and set the house alight. Several other people were also rounded up and all executed. The exception is Anton, the 12 year old son of the family who lived in the house, who was taken to the military HQ and later sent to his uncle in Amsterdam.

These traumatic events had a serious psychological impact on Anton, particularly in his later life. Like a slow puzzle, the pieces began fitting together. As an adult Anton discovered who killed the collaborator, and who dragged the body to the front of their house, events that had such devastating effects.

It is an excellent film, but in my view a little too long. It loses momentum halfway through, but fortunately picks up again towards the end. Acting, cinematography and music score are top-notch. It brings a powerful anti-war message, and also explores the power of public mass protest to change the social order. I still score it a very good 8/10.

Best Dutch Film of All TIme - The Assault

[arthur_tafero · 8/10 · 11 October 2019]

In the long run non-violence eventually overcomes violence. It is extremely difficult not to become an extremist. Being the center of the wheel requires great patience and understanding, as one is always tempted to take shortcuts in life via violence. A senseless, ill-planned act of sabotage in the Netherlands gets an entire innocent family killed. This is a prime example of how violence eventually falls down upon itself.

This film deservedly won the best foreign film of the year for 1986. The performances are first-rate, especially that of the child actor and the adult actor of the main character. This film is both a mystery and a tragedy at the same time; not an easy combination to put together for a director. The direction is impeccable. The screenplay is beautifully written, and in the final analysis, all of the events that take place after WW 2 just do not have the same significance and power as that horrible event. Truly a film classic.

A very good dutch movie

[Carter_man · 23 November 2002]

I saw this movie in school for an asignment and I was suprised by the fact that this was a Dutch movie. This is one of those movies wich can stand the test of time. A involving story is told about Anton Steenwijk who we will follow through out this film. A must see film that tells the story of a typical dutch family in war time.