During World War II some people were stuck in the middle. While the Nazis occupied Antwerp, Belgium two locals had been granted some authority with the police force. They were supposed to do what their Nazis superiors requested. At the same time most of their sympathies lay with their fellow country citizens. But some of their fellow citizens were collaborators and anti Semitic. This led to lots of awkward situations and mixed loyalties. Who can be sure who will win the war? The stress resulted in a number of suicides from Jews anticipating Nazis horrors and Belgians who could not stomach what they were expected to do. Betrayal was common in order to survive.
You will feel some of the stress of several characters. You hope they will do the right thing, but you are also afraid they will. The cast and crew that created that feeling deserve some recognition.
Tim Mielants directed the film and also co-wrote the script. He has directed Oscar winners Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy (in his first post "Oppenheimer" film). He has 17 directing credits, 5 for writing and 1 for producing.
Carl Joos was a co-writer with 25 writing credits.
Geert Hellings wrote the music. Surprisingly the music included Swing music, which Hitler disapproved of. He has 5 film credits.
Robrecht Hayvaert handled the cinematography. He has 40 credits for cinematography and 9 for camera and electric department.
Bert Jacobs did the editing. He has 44 editing credits.
Stef Aerts played the title character Wil (short for Wilfried). He was a founder of a theatre group, FC Bergman. He has 24 film credits.
Matteo Simoni played the second police officer, Lode. At the Berlinale Film Festival he was chosen Shooting Star 2018, one of the 10 most promising European actor. He has 43 film credits.
Annelore Crollet played Yvette, Wil's girlfriend. She has 14 acting credits.
Karina Smulders played Myriam who tried to escape. Fro 2002-2012 she was an ensemble member of a theatre group performing in many plays. She has 28 film credits including "Bride Flight" (2008). Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/11/dutch-movies-are-hidden-gems.html There is one paragraph about "Bride Flight" and sorts some of the confusion between Dutch and Flemish.
Jan Decleir played a character known as the Professor who tried to defy the Nazis. Jan is the Belgian Sinterklaas (St. Nicolas) since 1993. He has 143 film credits including "Antonia's Line" (1995) and "Character" (1997), both Oscar winners. Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/02/antonias-line.html
I cannot recommend this to those of you who might have a weak stomach for physical violence or emotionally stressful choices. Otherwise it is thought provoking if you have ever wondered how people do react in stressful situations.
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