The Star Beacon; Ashtabula, Ohio  November 16, 2012  ‘Black Book
has sex, violence, plus history   Star Beacon  — There are oh,
so many movies about World War II and Nazi Germany.  “Black
Book,” a 2006 film from the Netherlands, was expected to be
nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars but was
unfortunately edged out.  A film of almost epic proportions —
and not just because of its 145-minute  length — it offers a
huge historical backdrop, lots of violence, a bit of romance,
plenty of sex, deceit, betrayal, baby, it has everything.  The
film begins in Israel in 1956, where Rachel, a Jew, meets an old
friend at the kibbutz where she is working as a teacher. It
brings back memories of life in the Netherlands during the war.
Rachel, played by Carice van Houten, is living in a safe house
and must parrot the prayers of the Christian inhabitants.  A
former singer, she uses her windup phonograph to play music
while sitting beside an adjoining pond. A looker herself, she
engages in conversation with a man on