Yet, Rachel's bid for freedom is terrifyingly problematic; it's one impossible close call after another as she finds herself back in the Netherlands, this time under the protection of resistance leader Kuipers (Derek de Lint) and his fiery lieutenant Akkermans (Thom Hoffman).

Taking note of Rachel's considerable survival instinct, Kuipers recruits her for an undercover operation: to seduce the head of the local German security police (Sebastian Koch). Verhoeven relies on Hollywood-style pacing to quickly relay a tale that spares almost no one, as he puts his naive heroine through hurdles of escalating flagrant dramatic vulgarity. At the end of the saga, for an extreme example, Verhoeven stages a ghastly scene in which a mob pours septic waste on Rachel, who they think is a collaborator, explicitly questioning whether sadistic Dutch rabble are morally superior to their German counterparts.

But the twists, turns and “who’s-the-traitor?” angle will keep you glued, and who the heroes are exactly is never really clear until the end. But the story's many twists, turns and double-crosses are so carefully plotted and clearly told that Black Book is never confusing - or boring. Don't be put off by the movie's length of 145 minutes - the time flies by, bookended by two sections set in Israel in 1956 that add considerable emotional resonance, offering both a happy and an immensely sad ending for those paying careful attention.