Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Winter in Wartime Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 16, 2010

Selected to represent Holland at the Oscars, Martin Koolhoven's "Oorlogswinter" a.k.a "Winter in Wartime" (2008) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Kaleidoscope Entertainment. The only supplemental feature on the disc is the film's original theatrical trailer. In Dutch and English, with imposed English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

There is something in the woods

Based on Jan Terlouw’s novel, Martin Koolhoven’s Winter in Wartime is a terrific film about a true hero. His name is Michiel (Martijn Lakemeier), he is 14 years old and lives in a small town somewhere in Holland together with his father (Raymond Thiry), mother (Anneke Blok) and sister (Melody Klaver).

Michiel’s hometown is occupied by the Nazis. Most of the time the place is quiet, but occasionally members of the Resistance are executed in front of the City Hall. All residents are required to attend the executions.

A British plane crashes in the nearby forest. The Nazis immediately arrive at the scene and conclude that everyone that was on the plane must have died. To be perfectly sure, they do a quick scan of the area and then head back to the town.

A day after the crash Michiel and his best friend head to the forest to see the remains of the British plane. Once there, they discover a small watch. Before they can leave, however, a Nazi patrolman sees them. Michiel is captured and sent to the City Hall where he is asked to explain why he was in the forest and name his friend.

Michiel’s father, who is the town’s active mayor, manages to convince the Nazis to release his son. Outside of the City Hall, he warns him not to challenge the Nazis because he must work with them daily. Michiel is saddened and upset by his father’s advice but understands perfectly well what he means.

On the following day, Michiel heads back to the forest, alone. Not too far away from the crash scene, he meets Jack (Jamie Campbell Bower), a wounded British pilot, who has been hiding in a secret shelter ever since his plane was shot down by the Nazis. Jack is very weak, cold and hungry. Michiel agrees to bring Jack food and possibly even have his sister look at his wounds.

Meanwhile, Michiel’s uncle, Ben (Yorick van Wageningen), arrives in town. Michiel has a lot of respect for him because he suspects that he is involved with the Resistance, but is afraid to tell him about Jack because more than likely he will tell his father.

Shot on locations in Lithuania and Holland, Koolhoven’s Winter in Wartime is a beautiful coming of age film that was selected to represent Holland at the Oscars a year ago. Sony Pictures Classics own the distribution rights to Winter in Wartime in the U.S., but a release date is yet to be announced.

Koolhoven chronicles Michiel’s transition from boyhood to manhood avoiding just about all clichés that typically appear in similarly-themed films. Soapy melodrama, morality lessons and heroic speeches are also dropped, freeing the cast to be as relaxed as possible in front of the camera. Winter in Wartime also benefits from a steady dose of light humor.

Martijn Lakemeier’s performance is surprisingly nuanced for an actor of his age, and undoubtedly the key reason why Winter in Wartime is such a powerful film. Some of the best scenes in the film are the ones where the camera studies his big blue eyes.

Cinematographer Guido van Gennep’s (The Bird Can’t Fly) lensing is fantastic; it gives Winter in Wartime a gentle, dreamy look. The light blue tint favored by Koolhoven is also very effective.

Winter in Wartime Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Martin Koolhoven's Winter in Wartime arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Kaleidoscope Entertainment.

This is a very strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is excellent, clarity pleasing and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme is solid; the variety of different blues, greens, grays, blacks and whites look rich yet natural. The heavy bluish tint also gives the film a notably cold look. Furthermore, neither edge-enhancement nor macroblocking are a serious issue of concern. There are no disturbing traces of digital artifacting, banding, or heavy noise filtering. There are no serious stability issues either - from start to finish the high-definition transfer conveys terrific depth and tightness. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Winter in Wartime Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Dutch DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with portions of German and English). For the record, Kaleidoscope Entertainment have provided imposed English subtitles for the main feature. They split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The Dutch DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very strong. The bass is powerful and punchy, the rear channels not overly active but intelligently used, and the high-frequencies not overdone. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable and very easy to follow. There are no balance issues with Pino Donaggio either. While viewing the film, I also did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks or hissings to report in this review.

Winter in Wartime Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. In Dutch and English, with imposed English subtitles (2 min, 1080p).

Winter in Wartime Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

What a wonderful film! Holland has a true star in Martijn Lakemeier, and I cannot wait to see where he goes from here. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Kaleidoscope Entertainment, looks and sounds excellent. It is also Region-Free. I urge you to consider adding Winter in Wartime to your collections as soon as possible. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.