A new take on resistance during WWII, this movie is about a bunch of Dutch bankers who found a way to finance needy parties (being them workers on strike, ex soldiers stranded abroad or underground fighters).
After running their scheme for over two years, too many people got involved and some were bound to spill their guts to the Germans. Dramatic events ensue.
The tale is told by Gijs, brother of Willy van Hall, the banker who in 1942 set the scheme in motion in Amsterdam, shocked by the violent events around him. He built an efficient ring, managed under the pseudonym of van Tuyl. The pseudonym saved him for a long while, but towards the end of 1944, thinking the allied were going to liberate Holland any minute, van Hall got a bit reckless.
The narration avoids most cliches of the genre, showing van Hall as a family man and an ethical guy disgusted by senseless brutality. Most of the film takes place in desolated and/or dark locations to give a good idea of the cold and hunger suffered by most Dutch people during the war.
Inevitably, a narration about banking fraudes is bound to border on the boring, despite some action (mostly about ring members being captured and tortured) and a good 20 minutes could be edited to make a slender and gripping tale.
The actors are quite good with Barry Atsma as van Hall leading the cast. The end credits show clips of the real van Hall and you will notice that Atsma looks nothing like him, but since van Hall was not famous, the lack of resemblance is in no way relevant.
After running their scheme for over two years, too many people got involved and some were bound to spill their guts to the Germans. Dramatic events ensue.
The tale is told by Gijs, brother of Willy van Hall, the banker who in 1942 set the scheme in motion in Amsterdam, shocked by the violent events around him. He built an efficient ring, managed under the pseudonym of van Tuyl. The pseudonym saved him for a long while, but towards the end of 1944, thinking the allied were going to liberate Holland any minute, van Hall got a bit reckless.
The narration avoids most cliches of the genre, showing van Hall as a family man and an ethical guy disgusted by senseless brutality. Most of the film takes place in desolated and/or dark locations to give a good idea of the cold and hunger suffered by most Dutch people during the war.
Inevitably, a narration about banking fraudes is bound to border on the boring, despite some action (mostly about ring members being captured and tortured) and a good 20 minutes could be edited to make a slender and gripping tale.
The actors are quite good with Barry Atsma as van Hall leading the cast. The end credits show clips of the real van Hall and you will notice that Atsma looks nothing like him, but since van Hall was not famous, the lack of resemblance is in no way relevant.