The Assault (film)
| The Assault | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Fons Rademakers |
| Produced by | Fons Rademakers |
| Screenplay by | Gerard Soeteman |
| Based on |
The Assault by Harry Mulisch |
| Starring |
Derek de Lint Marc van Uchelen Monique van de Ven |
| Music by | Jurriaan Andriessen |
| Cinematography | Theo van de Sande |
| Edited by | Kees Linthorst |
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Production
company |
Fons Rademakers Produktie
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| Distributed by | Cannon Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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144 minutes |
| Language | Dutch English German |
The Assault (Dutch: De aanslag) is a 1986 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Harry Mulisch. The film was directed and produced by Fons Rademakers. The main character is played by both Derek de Lint (in the present) and Marc van Uchelen (as a youth), whereas Monique van de Ven plays two different roles, one after the war (his first wife) and one in the war (a woman who participated in the assault and whom he meets later the same night in a dark police cell).
In January 1945, as the Second World War in Europe is reaching its end, much of the Netherlands remains under Nazi occupation. One night, a Nazi collaborator is shot dead on his bicycle. The family whose house he falls down in front of moves the body in front of the neighboring house, where the Steenwijk family lives. The Nazis, assuming that the Steenwijks killed the collaborator, execute the parents and older brother together with a large number of hostages. Burning the Steenwijk's house to the ground, they imprison the younger brother, Anton. The other person in his unlit cell is an older woman. Anton can see only her mouth. She spends the next few minutes comforting him until he is removed from the cell.
After the Netherlands are liberated from Nazi occupation, Anton remains shaken by what has happened. The story moves between the end of World War II and the 1980s, following Steenwijk's often reluctant quest for the truth about the events of that traumatic night.
The film won the 1986 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the Golden Space Needle of the Seattle International Film Festival.
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