There are a lot of technical and artistic aspects I really loved. I first must mention the acting. I really appreciate good child actors and all three of the leads in this film were incredible. You fell in love with each of the characters and felt for them. My favorite, though, and quite surprisingly, was Lambert. I feel like most people who would watch this film would identify the rebellious Tuur who only wants to do good and help his friends, or Maartje, the friendly girl who is trying her best to survive. Lambert is the son of the collaborating mayor, whose big brother is a very active Hitler Youth. Lambert feels ostracized from his two friends when they decide they cannot trust him, and yet he has no desire to be in the Hitler Youth like his brother. Joes Brauers performance was heartbreaking; you wished he could know the secret of Maartje's true identity and yet you fear for her safety.
This leads into another reason why I really liked Secrets of War: the cinematography and direction. There were just incredible moments that were captured on camera and I wish I could show some of them here but, really, you should just go watch the film! There are several montages during critical scenes where they switch between characters so you know what each child is doing during a certain event. I think it was very representative of the war. There will be a scene where Maartje is being taken away by the Germans, then we will see Tuur trying desperately to find her and figure out what is going on, and then we will see Lambert just happily playing with his trains. World War II affected people in so many different ways. Some were hurt directly, some had friends or family that were in danger but were not in danger themselves, and others did not seem to really know or care what was going on. In fact, it's almost like the world in general. While someone's house is getting bombed somewhere, we're over here complaining about slow Internet. But anyways, I digress. The cinematography and direction, in particular, were very critical to the storytelling in this particular film. There was one scene that really struck me. We see Lambert's side profile, staring straight ahead, and behind him are a bunch of out-of-focus Hitler Youth posters on a wall. (While they are out of focus, it is pretty obvious what they are). It is almost like we are looking inside Lambert's brain: his father's and brother's constant ravings for the Hitler Youth program are inescapable. Eventually he walks on and the posters come into focus.
If you know me, you'll know I really love a movie with good costumes. The clothes in Secrets of War were amazing. There was such variety and you could really see the difference in clothing between adults, teenagers, and children. In a war film, costuming is very important. The Stars of David and the Hitler Youth uniforms revealed the era and the conflict. The subtle differences between school clothes, play clothes and church clothes were also interesting. Basically, everyone just seemed to dress a little nicer back then!
There were so many things I loved about Secrets of War. The acting, the story itself, the writing, the cinematography - the list goes on. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. If you have seen that film or read the book, you'll know that childhood innocence during wartime is a central theme. It's the theme in Secrets of War as well. The adults in this film go to great lengths to keep the gritty details of the war from the children, but the children find themselves learning these things because the war directly affects them. We see a loss of innocence throughout the film. In one of the first scenes, we see Tuur and Lambert in a bomb shelter with the village during a German night raid. For the children, it is exciting. Every time a bomb drops, the adults worry more. Tuur and Lambert just smile and laugh. Later on, when Tuur discovers that the trains he always sees are carrying people and not rocks, the mood changes. It raises the question of how much should we keep from our children when they are all wrapped in tragedy, In Life is Beautiful, for example, the answer is "as much as possible." I think Secrets of War claims it is nearly impossible. Children are curious and smart and it is difficult to hide big, important things forever.
This became a very dark and deep discussion, but whatever you believe, I do hope you will see this movie. It will make you laugh and cry and think, and that's what you want from a movie, right?
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