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      The Assault

      PG Released Feb 6, 1987 2h 28m Drama List
      Reviews 79% Audience Score 250+ Ratings One fateful night in 1945, the Dutch Steenwijk family sit down to dinner when shots are heard next door. Moments later, Nazi soldiers invade their home and hold young Anton's (Marc van Uchelen) father, mother, and older brother responsible for the murder of a Nazi collaborator found dead outside their door. Anton's family is shot before his eyes, and he is sent away to family in Amsterdam. As an adult, Anton (Derek de Lint) desperately seeks answers to the night that changed his life. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com This engaging melodrama about the effects of Nazism on a young boy was the Netherland's nominee for the Foreign Langauge Oscar. Rated: B Jun 28, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member The Assault won the 1986 Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, which fulfilled some of the dreams of Menahem Golam and Yoram Globus, but they only distributed the film instead of producing it. An adaption of The Assault by Harry Mulisch, it's a story about the end of World War II and the evening that a Nazi collaborator is shot dead on his bicycle. He falls in front of a house, but the family there moves it to the Steenwijk house. The Nazis assume they are the killers, so they kill Anton's (Marc van Uchelen as a child, Derek de Lint as an adult) parents and brother in front of him. Over the rest of his life, he comes to grips with what happened that night. His memories are filled in and he tries to get past the horror that he's lived through, even as he becomes a successful doctor. This movie — and the book — were inspired by a real event. Fake Krist, a Dutch police officer and national-socialist who helped the Nazis hunt Jews and resistance fighters was killed in 1944 and in retaliation, Nazi forces executed ten inmates and torched four houses. The way that the man is shot on his bike by a man and a woman was taken from the death of W. M. Ragut, which inspired The Girl with the Red Hair. Director Fons Rademakers also made Because of the Cats and Lifespan, one of the first mainstream movies to show shibari bondage. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member A movie about how one traumatic event can haunt a person for the rest of their life. The titular assault takes place at the beginning of the story, when the main character is but a young boy. The rest of the movie deals with the consequences, as he slowly comes to grip with the details over the course of many decades. While there is some mystery to it, the main attraction is definitely the emotional journey. The scars of that fateful night might be invisible most of the time, but they can surface again in an instant when a character from the past suddenly appears, or sometimes for seemingly no reason at all. To overcome our past we must first understand it. A well made film in every aspect, with some strong performances allround. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member underrated, good acting for a Dutch movie Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review david l The Assault definitely has its moving moments, it's well made, acted and ambitious, but ultimately overly ambitious for its own sake, way too rushed at times, but also sometimes prolonged with an overlong runtime. It needed better characterization and its structure is problematic. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the best Dutch World War II films. A traumatic experience in the final months of the year emerges through the years of Anton Steenwijk's life. Winner of the Oscar for best foreign film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Great Dutch film based on a novel by Dutch writer Harry Mulisch. We got to learn Anton Steenwijk, a boy who lives in occupied Holland. When a German Nazi is killed, his neighbours drags the body in front of Anton's house. Because of this, Anton got 'arrested' and taken away. His parents and brother are getting killed. What follows is the rest of Anton's life. With flashforwards and flashbacks we get to learn the real reason of all the things that happened that night when his family was killed. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

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      The Assault

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis One fateful night in 1945, the Dutch Steenwijk family sit down to dinner when shots are heard next door. Moments later, Nazi soldiers invade their home and hold young Anton's (Marc van Uchelen) father, mother, and older brother responsible for the murder of a Nazi collaborator found dead outside their door. Anton's family is shot before his eyes, and he is sent away to family in Amsterdam. As an adult, Anton (Derek de Lint) desperately seeks answers to the night that changed his life.
      Director
      Fons Rademakers
      Producer
      Jos van der Linden
      Screenwriter
      Gerard Soeteman
      Distributor
      Cannon Film Distributors
      Rating
      PG
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Dutch
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Feb 6, 1987, Original
      Runtime
      2h 28m
      Sound Mix
      Surround