''Het Bombardement'' (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

for ''The Bombing'') is a 2012 Dutch

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Ate de Jong Ate de Jong (born 1953) is a Dutch film and television director, film producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as the producer of '' The Discovery of Heaven'' (2001), nominated for a Golden Calf award, and '' Het Bombardement'' (2012). Fil ...

and produced by

San Fu Maltha San Fu Maltha (born 17 July 1958) is a Dutch film producer and film distributor. He founded the production company Fu Works and he co-founded film distributor A-Film. Biography San Fu Maltha was born on 17 July 1958 in Rotterdam in the Netherl ...

, starring Jan Smit and Roos van Erkel. The story line begins shortly before the Bombing of Rotterdam and concerns the impossible love between a young boxer (Smit) and an engaged girl (Van Erkel) as the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

reaches the Netherlands. The film was critically panned following its release.

Plot

The film is set in May 1940 in and around the city of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, where a young baker's assistant (and aspiring amateur boxer) Vincent de Graaf meets the wealthy Eva von Heerle, the daughter of German refugees who had fled

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Eva is engaged to Dirk Lagerwaard, a wealthy older industrial whom she does not love. In contrast, Vincent wants to emigrate to the United States to find a cure for his sick brother. The two fall in love. As German troops invade the Netherlands, Vincent offers Dirk to bring Eva and her parents to Rotterdam resulting in a dangerous journey through the frontlines as Dutch and German troops clash in bitter combat. As the two reach Rotterdam, an ultimatum is delivered to the Dutch troops defending the city in which they are summoned to surrender immediately or face destruction, the Dutch soldiers refused, but Rotterdam was declared an

open city In war, an open city is a settlement which has announced it has abandoned all defensive efforts, generally in the event of the imminent capture of the city to avoid destruction. Once a city has declared itself open, the opposing military will ...

. Unfortunately the German bombers were supposed to have been recalled resulting in the near destruction of the open city. Very traumatic – changing the future for everyone involved.

Reception

The film received negative reviews. Several critics attacked the film's plot, which was said to be a bad imitation of the story line of ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' (1997). Both concerned an impossible love between a lower-class boy and an upper-class girl already engaged to a wealthy but unloving older man culminating in a dramatic disaster. Others considered many of the characters to be stereotypes and criticized the film for its corny dialogues, bad acting and predictability, the ''De Telegraaf'' finding the romance plot to be as predictable as the bombing itself. The film also provoked a public outcry from several survivors of the Rotterdam bombing, who were offended that the bombing was used as a mere plot element for a simplistic romance film. The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' called the film poorly made and offensive to the victims of the bombing with a Belgian critic going on to say that watching the film was the worst experience in his life.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 2363219 2012 films Dutch drama films 2010s Dutch-language films Western Front of World War II films World War II films based on actual events Films set in the Netherlands Films set in Rotterdam Films shot in Rotterdam Films directed by Ate de Jong Dutch-language drama films