De bunker
In memoriam Gerard Soeteman: De bunker
Reconstruction of the lengthy escape attempt by resistance member Gerrit Kleinveld (Thom Hoffman) from cell block 'The Bunker' in Amersfoort concentration camp. Directorial debut by Paul Verhoeven’s screenwriter Gerard Soeteman, who passed away this year.
A member of the resistance right from the start, Gerrit Kleinveld is arrested by the Nazi intelligence service SD following a raid on a distribution centre in Joure in 1942 and incarcerated in ‘The Bunker’, a prison complex within Amersfoort concentration camp. In a minimalist style, Gerard Soeteman filmed Kleinveld’s incredible escape from the heavily guarded cell block, making use of a hidden spoon, a cobblestone, pieces of fabric, the tubes from his bed frame and a piece of soap. With the exception of a short prologue, the film takes place entirely within the barbed wire fences of the camp.
With Huub van der Lubbe,Jack Wouterse, Dolf de Vries, Geert Lageveen, Johanna ter Steege, Rik van Uffelen, Cas Enklaar and Olivier Tuinier.
Screens on 35mm from the Eye collection
In memoriam
This summer, Eye pays tribute to the work of screenwriter and director Gerard Soeteman (1936-2025), who wrote the screenplays for Turks Fruit, Soldaat van Oranje, Max Havelaar and De aanslag, with screenings in September of Flesh+Blood (1985) and De Bunker (1992), Soeteman’s directorial debut.
This is part of
Details
Director
Gerard Soeteman
Production year
1992
Length
113 min.
Country
NL
Language
Dutch
Part of
Eye Classics
Eye’s collection includes a wealth of classics. With the Eye Classics series, Eye brings film history even closer. Every week, we screen at least three classics from the collection under one recognisable name: Eye Classics.
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