Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageWinter in Wartime (2008)
Director: Martin Koolhoven
Movie review
From Time Out London
There are an awful lot of films about boys playing at war, forced to grow up as they learn that conflict is no leisure pursuit. That’s the message here, too, but what with the silly story and Martin Koolhoven’s gooey direction, viewers could be forgiven for thinking that war is a game, complete with slow-motion chases, feats of derring-do and Germans popping out of the woods at exactly the moment you’d expect a diversion. Michiel (Martijn Lakemeier, pictured) is a 13-year-old Dutch boy living under occupation in January 1945. He’s ashamed of his father’s cosying up to the conquerors, and delighted when, after an abortive resistance mission, he finds a wounded RAF soldier’s hiding-place; naturally he resolves to help the hero. Novice Lakemeier is terrific; everyone else overacts as if trying to overpower the violin-soaked score by dint of sheer emoting. But it’s the story’s inevitable twist – as if war needed sexing up – that undermines a potentially interesting look at the tensions and horrors that combat visits on the young.Author: Nina Caplan
Time Out London Issue 2060: 11-17 February, 2009
Cast & crew
Director: Martin Koolhoven
Cast: Martijn Lakemeier, Yorick Van Wageningen, Jamie Campbell Bower
Genre(s): Drama
Rated: 12A
Duration: 104 mins
UK Release: Feb 12 2010
Top Stories
Ridley Scott interview
Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback
Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report
Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke
What do you think?
Post your review now