(photo: pixabay)

This award-winning 2008 Dutch film (trailer) sees the desperate, waning days of the Nazi occupation from the perspective of a 13-year-old boy. He despises his cautious father, the mayor of the village, for being friendly with the Germans and idealizes his uncle Ben, a member of the Resistance. When the boy finds a downed RAF pilot in hiding, he has to discover how much courage lies within himself, and the movie is a “complex exploration of the theme of heroism,” said Washington Post critic Michael O’Sullivan.

As directed by Martin Koolhoven, the movie is tension-filled, with the lead performance by Martijn Lakemeier a convincing portrayal of the mixed bravado and uncertainty of adolescence. It’s so beautifully photographed, with a thin icing of snow over everything throughout, I had to stop and think whether it was black and white or color (the latter). Based on a novel by Jan Terlouw. Nominated for an Academy Award. Rotten Tomatoes critics rating: 73%; audiences 78%.