User reviews

Times are hard in the German-occupied Netherlands, not least for young Tuur. He's worried that his parents seem to be working for the resistance movement and he can't get his head around the ambivalence of his peers to the occupying force. At the same time, he has to stick up for his best friend Lambert, whose family are Nazi sympathisers.

To crown it all, when he falls in love with the new girl in town, Maartje, she reveals a dangerous secret to him...

This isn't the most sophisticated of World War II movies, though it has an entertaining and engaging plot. What makes the film notable is the portrayal of the two principal boys by Maas Bronkhuyzen and Joes Brauers. The interplay between the cheeky and wonderfully expressive Tuur and the stoical but tender-hearted Lambert creates magic that saves this film from mediocrity.

The central themes of loyalty and courage will appeal particularly to younger viewers making this a good bet for family viewing.

A movie that is both powerful and yet gentle. Superbly acted by all concerned, especially the younger cast members, this movie is simultaneously heart-warming, suspenseful, clever and a damning indictment on war. You will smile and you may shed a tear or two. I have friends who refuse to watch movies which require subtitles. It means that they miss out on simple gems like this.

To explain myself here. The overall movie is mediocre. Once you start watching it gets kinda boring for some time. The real score would be 5/10 but the very ending of the movie is quite shocking/exciting/terrifying etc. which gets the overall score up to 7/10.

I am blown away. I won't give away the plot or outcome.

For folks familiar with that time, they will understand.

While fiction i can just imagine this is a reflection of the truth that happened to millions caught up in the maelstrom of those days inflicted on the world by Hitler and his willing evil henchmen.

I am glad i found this film.

So very well done.

Innocence meets reality of children coming of age.

Not your typical war film, this takes the story of the impact of the war to a very personal level.

Highly recommended video!

Very well done film. The child actors are impressive. I took my two teen daughters to a screening and they agreed it is one of the best movies they've seen. Most WWII movies center on soldiers or governments or strategy. This one shows the simplest situations of daily life for children and how huge consequences come of adult error, cowardice, and prejudice. Rather than simply demonize all supporters of Hitler's regime, the film does show with subtly how some were acting out of ignorance, others appeasement, yet others desperation--but it never excuses or dismisses the depth of consequence and responsibility, even for children.

Touching, evocative, affecting but not pretentious. This is what art should be like today. Secrets of War is scheduled for a US release in December 2015. Watch for it.

There are a number of "cutsie" coming-of-age films about WWII that have surfaced, specifically since the 1980s. Although focusing on a town divided (there was a large pro-Nazi sentiment in the Netherlands during the war), this particular story doesn't really say anything new. It's maybe a good "intro" about the war for younger children in the Netherlands so they can have some background as they further their study. But beyond that, it's just entertaining.

This is the kind of movie you wish would be made more often today. Instead of relying on CGI and comic book type characters to carry the film, this movie places all the importance on character development and a poignant story line to maintain your interest.

And that it does very well.

The two main protagonists Tuur and Lambert, played by Maas Bronkhuyzen and Joes Brauers are best friends at one of the worst times in human history. It takes place in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation of World War II. The two school boys are inseparable and spend all of their spare time together including fighting off school bullies who pick on Lambert because of his family's collaboration with their German overlords.

This relationship continues until a new girl arrives at school, Maartje, played by Pippa Allen. Lambert befriends her almost immediately, but Tuur is reluctant to allow her to become a part of their relationship, which he sees as singularly a duo and definitely not a trio.

Gradually, Maartje wins Tuur over and before long, Tuur finds he'd rather spend his spare time with Maartje than with his long time friend. It gets to the point where he lies to Lambert about getting together him after church in order to see Maartje. Maartje reveals a secret about her true identity to Tuur that she pleads with him not to tell anyone, including Lambert. This complication leads to betrayed trust and lands Maartje in trouble with the Nazi sympathizers, for which Lambert receives the blame, thus destroying a once best friend relationship and a new budding young romantic one.

The film concludes with all the poignancy one should expect from a well written, well developed story line, that has war as its central theme coming between young men and women who at any other time would enjoy long lasting and special friendships.

There is no violence, no nudity and no profanity. In short, it is a wonderful film with timeless themes for all ages and well worth the watch.

This coming-of-age story is acted and executed brilliantly. With WWII is looming over their heads, the three central characters in this story continue to live a fairly normal childhood--mastering the art of friendship, experiencing first love, and catching glimpses of enchantment and make-believe only available to the very young. One small act of jealousy, however, changes everything, and they are forced to grow up far too soon.

The plot is so believable it breaks your heart; the loyalty that endures throughout makes this movie a timeless classic. As for the subtitles (for us English speakers), I hardly noticed them, and my three-year-old daughter understood what was happening without any decipherable words at all.

I stumbled upon this film as I was searching under the war genre, and although it is the main theme, this is a very moving story centered around the strong relationship of two little boys and how their friendship is put to the test as the war begins to affect both them and their families.

I can't stress enough how much I enjoyed the performances of those two kids.

So well acted for boys so young. I hope they both go on to further their careers in the movie industry.

I ran across this movie while going through Amazon Prime movies. I have never been a real fan of Dutch movies, but this is absolutely the most incredible movie I have ever seen -- my new no. 1 favorite. It had me sobbing at the end. So sensitively done. Shows how friendship -- enduring friendship -- can continue whether separated by place or even death. I'll never forget this one.

I have no other choice but to give it a 10. It is a beautiful movie. Yes, the theme is "war" but the subject isn't. I saw it as a movie purely about friendship and nothing else. Yes, both boys lost their innocence due to the cruelty of war. Yes, their friendship got to be tested quite a few times throughout the movie but at the end it was their friendship that saved both boys.

Both boy actors, Maas Bronhuyzen and Joes Brauens were terrific. They conveyed their feelings and emotions in a way a seasoned actor would do. Dialogs were short and to the point without wasting viewers time with lengthy conversations trying to convince viewers about main characters feelings, emotions and thoughts. In three specific scenes the facial expressions, the emotion and the acting in general felt very real and convincing. The ending scene sealed the movie and the friendship and with no doubt it became obvious that both friends have their hearts set in the right place.

If you haven't seen it yet, make an effort then.

It is not easy to combine war environment and children's daily life and activities, particularly under any occupation, air raid or other events incompatible with "normal" childhood. On the other hand, these are the times when friendship, common interests, rivalry matter most, and all this - plus other important factors - have been here capably depicted. Child actors provide particularly good performances, but due to their character's age, one can not blame them for not understanding "global realities", e.g. holocaust; moreover, Nazi occupation in Holland was not so harsh as in Eastern Slavic areas, for example. Providing different undertones or scenes would have meant moving beyond children's film concept, towards aware/knowledgeable deeds, but the main characters were about 10 years old!

All in all, a good combination of World War II history and life in an occupied township. Not all films should deal with "correct" attitudes towards Jews...