The Assault
The Assault is a 1986 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Harry Mulisch. The film was directed and produced by Fons Rademakers. The main character is played by both Derek de Lint (in the present) and Marc van Uchelen (as a youth), whereas Monique van de Ven plays two different roles, one after the war (his first wife) and one in the war (a woman who participated in the assault and whom he meets later the same night in a dark police cell).
Plot
In January 1945, as the Second World War in Europe is reaching its end, much of the Netherlands remains under Nazi occupation. One night, a Nazi collaborator is shot dead on his bicycle. The family whose house he falls down in front of moves the body in front of the neighboring house, where the Steenwijk family lives. The Nazis, assuming that the Steenwijks killed the collaborator, execute the parents and older brother together with a large number of hostages. Burning the Steenwijks’ house to the ground, they imprison the younger brother, Anton. The other person in his unlit cell is an older woman. Anton can see only her mouth. She spends the next few minutes comforting him until he is removed from the cell.
Awards
More details
| author | Gerard Soeteman |
|---|---|
| award | Academy Award for Best International Feature Film |
| contentLocation | Netherlands |
| director | Fons Rademakers |
| editor | Kees Linthorst |
| events | World War II |
| keywords | burn end end of world kill nazi nazi collaborator nazi occupation older brother one night second world war war in europe |
| musicBy | Jurriaan Andriessen |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best International Feature Film International Submission to the Academy Awards |
| producer | Fons Rademakers |
| productionCompany | Fons Rademakers Produktie |
| publisher | Cannon Films |