Soldier of Orange

Soldier of Orange
Soldier of Orange
	American film poster
Directed by	Paul Verhoeven
Written by	Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema; Kees Holierhoek; Gerard Soeteman; Paul Verhoeven
Produced by	Rob Houwer
Starring	Rutger Hauer; Jeroen Krabbé; Derek de Lint; Edward Fox
Cinematography	Jost Vacano
Edited by	Jane Sperr
Music by	Rogier van Otterloo
Production; companies	Excelsior Films; The Rank Organisation; Film Holland; Rob Houwer Productions
Distributed by	Tuschinski Film Distribution (Netherlands); The Rank Organisation (United Kingdom); The International Picture Show Company (United States)
Release date	1977;
Running time	149 minutes
Country	Netherlands
Languages	Dutch, English, German
Budget	ƒ 5 million (€2.3 million)

Soldier of Orange (Dutch: Soldaat van Oranje, IPA: [sɔlˈdaːt fɑn oˈrɑɲə]) is a 1977 Dutch film directed and co-written by Paul Verhoeven and produced by Rob Houwer, starring Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbé. The film is set around the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, and shows how individual students have different roles in the war. The story is based on the autobiographical book Soldaat van Oranje by Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema.

The film had a budget of ƒ 5,000,000 (€2,300,000), at the time the most expensive Dutch movie ever. With 1,547,183 viewers, it was the most popular Dutch film of 1977.^[1] The film received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1980.^[2] At the 1999 Netherlands Film Festival, it was voted the second-best Dutch film of the twentieth century.

Plot

Set during World War II, the film is about students in Leiden, the Netherlands, amongst them Erik Lanshof, Guus LeJeune, Jan Weinberg, and Alex. Robby Froost is Erik's friend; Esther is Robby's girlfriend. Some collaborate; others join the Dutch resistance.

It begins with a flashforward: a post war newsreel with a voice-over. Queen Wilhelmina is accompanied by Erik returning to the Netherlands from London. The film then moves to the late 1930s in Leiden, where freshmen undergo the initiation rites of their fraternity. Erik is picked out by Guus, the chair, who throws a bowl of soup over his head and injures him. Guus apologises, they become friends, and Guus offers a room in his student house. There, the students (Erik, Guus, Jacques, Jan, and Alex) drink to their friendship.

In September 1939, an English radio broadcast interrupts their tennis, announcing the declaration of war against Germany. Initially, they are unalarmed, believing the Netherlands will remain neutral as in World War I. Jan, a Jew, and Alex, who is half German, join the Dutch Army. In May 1940, Germany invades the Netherlands and Erik and Guus try to join up, but are rejected by a traumatised army officer. Soon, the Netherlands capitulates after the Rotterdam Blitz. Erik has an affair with Esther.

Robby has a radio transmitter in his garden shed to contact the Dutch government-in-exile. He arranges for Erik to fly to London. Jan, a boxing champion, gets into trouble by challenging two anti-Semitic collaborators bullying a Jewish salesman and Erik offers his seat to Jan. However, in departing, they get into a fight with soldiers: Jan is captured while Erik escapes.

Erik meets Alex during a military parade and discovers Alex has joined the Waffen-SS. Later, Erik is also captured. In prison, he hears from Jan that a man called Van der Zanden is the traitor in London. Jan is executed at the Waalsdorpervlakte dune area. Robby's radio is discovered, and he is blackmailed by the Gestapo into working for them because Esther is Jewish.

Erik and Guus try to flee again, this time on the Swiss cargo ship St. Cergue.^[3] In London, Erik meets Van der Zanden (modelled after general François van 't Sant) and tries to kill him. However he is not a traitor, but head of the Dutch Central Intelligence Service and a trustee of Queen Wilhelmina. Guus begins an affair with Susan, a British servicewoman. Erik and Guus agree to a mission to rescue resistance leaders who could be valuable after the war. Firstly, Guus is dropped on the beach and crashes a party at a nearby stately home.

Erik then follows to pick up Guus and the resistance leaders by sea. However, Robby is with them on the beach and the Germans have followed them. Erik tries to warn them about Robby but cannot reach them. On his way to the beach, Erik sees Alex at a party and dances ballroom tango with him. Erik leaves the party and meets the others on the beach. When Robby realises Erik knows about his collaboration, he fires a signal flare and flees. The group tries to escape, but the resistance leaders are killed. Guus escapes by swimming, but only Erik is able to reach the ship.

Guus later sees Robby in the street and shoots him. He attempts to cycle off, but is caught and later guillotined. On the Eastern Front, Alex is killed in a latrine by a hand grenade thrown by a boy Alex had insulted when the boy begged for food. Erik becomes an RAF bomber pilot.

Erik is appointed assistant to Queen Wilhelmina, and accompanies her home after the war. Erik meets Esther and finds that Dutch citizens cut off her hair as punishment for her and Robby's collaboration. She says she bears no grudge. Finally, Erik celebrates the end of the war with a fellow student, Jacques ten Brinck, who also survived.

Cast

Rutger Hauer as Erik Lanshof, a student in Leiden who joins the resistance.
Jeroen Krabbé as Guus LeJeune, a combination of Ernst de Jonge, Peter Tazelaar and Chris Krediet [nl], a student and friend of Erik who also joins the resistance.
Susan Penhaligon as Susan, a British soldier and secretary to Colonel Rafelli.
Edward Fox as Colonel Rafelli, the British officer who runs the missions Erik and Guus undertake to the occupied Netherlands.
Lex van Delden as Nico, another of the students.
Derek de Lint as Alex, a half-German student is first drafted into the Dutch army before joining the Waffen-SS after the German victory.
Huib Rooymans [nl] as Jan Weinberg, a Jewish student and boxing champion.
Dolf de Vries as Jacques ten Brinck, a student friend of Erik who continues his studies at Leiden University.
Eddy Habbema [nl] as Robby Froost,a friend of Erik who operates radio communications for the resistance.

Belinda Meuldijk as Esther, Bobby's fiancée who assists Erik on several occasions.
Peter Faber as Will Oostgaarde, who accompanies Erik and Guus to London.
Rijk de Gooyer as Gestapo-man Breitner.
Reinhard Kolldehoff as Sturmbannführer Geisman, the German senior officer who gives orders to Breitner.
Andrea Domburg as Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands.
Guus Hermus [nl] as Van der Zanden, head of Dutch Central Security Service and trustee of Queen Wilhelmina in London.
Bert André as local man Gekke Dirk.
Hugo Koolschijn [nl] as a Sicherheitspolizei-lieutenant.
Brûni Heinke [nl] as an NSB member.

Awards

The film won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Film in 1979.^[4] One year later, in 1980, it received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film,^[2] but the French-Italian film La Cage aux Folles won the award.

In the vote for best Dutch film of the twentieth century at the Netherlands Film Festival in 1999 Soldier of Orange won second place behind Turkish Delight, another Paul Verhoeven film.^[5]

The film was selected as the Dutch entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 50th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.^[6]

Musical

On 30 October 2010, the Soldier of Orange musical premiered in the Netherlands. It was shown in a special theatre converted from an old hangar at the former Valkenburg Air Base in Katwijk. Instead of having the sets changing on the stage, the area where the audience sits revolved to different stages (using a system named SceneAround), which included a set with a recreated beach and an artificial sea and a set containing a real Douglas DC-3 Dakota plane. The musical has since been performed in other cities, including London.^[7]

References

^ Soldaat van Oranje Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine at www.filmtotaal.nl
^ ^a ^b Soldier Of Orange at the website of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
^ ST. CERGUE History, swiss-ships.ch
^ Previous Years' Winners 1979 Archived 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine at the website of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association
^ "Turks Fruit gekozen tot Beste Nederlandse Film van de Eeuw". Nieuwsbank.nl. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
^ https://www.soldieroforange.com/

External links

Reviews

Review by Janet Maslin at New York Times
Review by Bill Warren at Audio Video Revolution (4.5/5)
Review by Scott Weinberg at Apollo Movie Guide (7.9/10) (79/100)

[filmtotaal-1] Soldaat van Oranje Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine at www.filmtotaal.nl

[hfpa-2] Soldier Of Orange at the website of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association

[swiss-ships.ch-3] ST. CERGUE History, swiss-ships.ch

[4] Previous Years' Winners 1979 Archived 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine at the website of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association

[eeuw-5] "Turks Fruit gekozen tot Beste Nederlandse Film van de Eeuw". Nieuwsbank.nl. Retrieved 2013-12-23.

[6] Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

[7] ttps://www.soldieroforange.com/

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]