Secrets of War

SECRETS OF WAR is one of the finest youth films made in recent years. Tuur and Lambert are 12 and live in a Dutch village. It’s the summer of 1943, and the boys play childish games, chasing each other and venturing into forbidden caves. There are rumors of a Resistance group in the village, and Lambert’s dad wants him to join the young Nazi group. One day a new girl comes to school; she’s called Maartje and dreams of being in the Olympics. Suddenly the village has many secrets. There are mysterious happenings at night; people are taken away, and the pastor is arrested. Tuur doesn’t understand. Why don’t the adults explain? What’s in the big trains that pass through the village? Why is Maartje hiding something in the hay loft? Thanks to the extraordinary talents of its young cast, SECRETS OF WAR provides a wrenching look at friendship and betrayal during wartime. (In Dutch and German with subtitles) – B.B.