BreakawayDaily "Winter in Wartime" is not your typical "war" film full of guns, blood, and death. It is also not at all boring, like some war films sometimes can be. This one focuses on a boy who gracefully ages in front of our eyes in times of war, something I have never seen before in a war film. Very well done, moving story that you are highly involved in emotionally.Martijn Lakemeier and Jamie Campbell Bower both take your breath away on screen. This is a film no one talks about for Jamie, but it is definitely one of his best and most important pieces of work.You will find yourself yelling at your screen routing for the leads in this foreign masterpiece.Breakaway Daily www.breakawaydaily.com

Boba_Fett1138 This has always been a movie I expected to like but never one I expected to love. I don't know, the movie always seemed a bit too low-budget and narrow with its story, characters and settings and overdone with its drama and action. Dutch movies tend to be told a but clumsily at times, especially when its also involving some action. Most Dutch film-makers really don't know how to handle action but luckily Martin Koolhoven isn't a director who suffers from this and he also really got almost all of the other stuff right as well.It's really one great and slick looking movie. It has got a great visual style, that it manages to maintain throughout its entire running time. Looking at this movie you really wouldn't think that it only cost a few millions to make, which really isn't a lot of money in the movie business, not even for a Dutch movie of this size and caliber. They really did an excellent job with its budget and besides its visual look, it also convincingly takes you back to 1945 wartime- and winter struck Holland. Director Martin Koolhoven even subtly managed to put in his love for spaghetti westerns in this movie (which is probably also the reason why it stars Dan van Husen in it) with some of the sequences and camera-work, without it being obvious or distracting for the casual viewer.And the movie does really feature some great camera-work by Guido van Gennep, that doesn't only just capture the mood and atmosphere of the movie well but also makes the movie more dynamic with its movements and set-up. Same can be said for the nimble editing by Job ter Burg, which doesn't prevent the movie from having some pacing issues in it though.But guess you could really 'blame' the fact that this movie is based on a novel for that. The story doesn't always flow well or moves along fast enough and it has some characters that more or less get neglected, as the movie moves along. This is all because it's based on a popular and well known novel by Jan Terlouw, which is 164 pages long and of course features way too much stuff to all effectively put into one movie. This is something basically all movies based off on novels suffer from, so you can't really blame the film-makers, though I still wished they would had treated some of its characters better and more interestingly. Such as for instance the Schafter and Auer characters, that had far more potential in them and could had really added something more to the story, its themes and the depth of it all.But that are about the only things that could had potentially made this movie an even better one, fore it does basically everything else right.It's not just a typical Dutch movie that is involving WW II. It's more one that is somewhere between a serious and heavy drama as well as a tense and engrossing one, in a more thriller kind of way. What the movie also does well is appealing to both a younger and older crowd. This isn't specifically just a movie kids or adults, it's one for all ages.But the movie still could not had worked out as well as it did, if it weren't for its cast. For this movie it was very important that they had a good young main lead in it and with Martijn Lakemeier they really succeeded with this. But basically everyone's performance in this movie is real good. It also features some big and well known names in it, most notably Yorick van Wageningen. Though it needs to be said that he has been working and living in the United States for so long now, that he has actually grown a thick accent when speaking Dutch. Luckily it doesn't ever get that bad or too distracting and people who don't speak or understand Dutch will not be bothered by this at all of course. This (almost Oscar nominated) movie surpassed my expectations really!8/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Red-125 The Dutch film "Oorlogswinter" was shown in the United States with the title "Winter in Wartime" (2008). It was co-written and directed by Martin Koolhoven.The movie stars Martijn Lakemeier as Michiel, a teenager whose father is the mayor of the town in which the family lives. World War II is coming to an end, but the Germans are still firmly in control of the area. Martin's father is not truly a collaborator with the Germans, but he has established cordial relations with them in order to spare the town and its inhabitants from destruction. Michiel's uncle, Oom Ben, is in the Dutch resistance.The plot moves forward rapidly after Michiel discovers a wounded British airman, Jack (Jamie Campbell Bower). Michiel is caught up in a swirl of hazardous, terrifying incidents. "Oorlogswinter" is a coming-of-age film, but it's also much more. Director Koolhoven has captured the bleakness of the Dutch winter landscape, and the attempt by Michiel's family to maintain a semblance of normality in the face of ever-present danger.The German soldiers aren't presented as unremittingly evil, nor are the Dutch citizens presented as noble in every respect. Nonetheless, good and evil clearly exist in the world and in this film. Who chooses good, and who chooses evil, is at the heart of the movie."Winter in Wartime" is an outstanding film. I believe it is underrated with an IMDb rating of 7.1. I suggest you seek it out and watch it. If it's not commercially released in your area, it will work well on DVD.

Saad Khan WAR IN WINTERTIME – CATCH IT ( A ) War in wintertime is a gripping tale of a young boy "Martijn Lakemeier Aka Michiel", who accidentally becomes a part of resistance in Germany during the end of World War II. Michiel has to protect the British Soldier "Jamie Campbell Bower Aka Jack" who crashed in Germany and that's how the movie proceeds how he helps the Brit soldier by risking everything. The whole movie is extremely moving and gripping, it kept me on edge of my seat the whole time. Martijn Lakemeier was truly exceptional… his honest portrayal can be felt through the entire movie. I think, he has a great future ahead. I have heard a lot about Jamie Campbell Bower because of his small yet significant roles in Twilight Saga & Harry potter Deadly Hallows series but I have never saw his previous work, so while I was watching the movie I didn't knew that its Jamie Campbell Bower but then through IMDb I found out that its him… I was pleasantly surprised because he brought the utmost charm into his role and no wonder he is becoming one of the most promising British young lads in Hollywood. Melody Klaver as Michiel's Sister and Jake's love interest was compelling. All the other actors did their parts really well. The direction & cinematography of the movie is truly remarkable. I think it's also one of the best foreign movies I have ever seen. Highly Recommended.