Redeemed By a Little Black Book; A Dutch filmmaker returns from self-exile.(Paul Verhoeven)

Byline: Esther Bintliff

In 1985, Paul Verhoeven left his home in the Netherlands on bad terms. The 48-year-old director had sold 9 million Dutch cinema tickets and won plenty of acclaim, as well as an Academy Award nomination, for the offbeat love story "Turkish Delight." But when he made "Spetters," the taboo-breaking feature about rebellious motorbike racers coming of age in a provincial Dutch town, public opinion turned against him. Angry at the lack of support from his compatriots, he abandoned the Dutch film world and headed to Hollywood. In the weekly Dutch newspaper Vrij Nederland, the director's longtime collaborator Rob Houwer expressed skepticism about his future: "As regards [his] making it in America, I'll believe it when I see it."

It didn't take long for Houwer to become a believer. Verhoeven's 1990 blockbuster "Total Recall" earned $109 million at the U.S. box office; he followed that up with the provocative--and lucrative--"Basic Instinct." Now Verhoeven has finally come home. His latest film, "Black Book," is a World War II thriller set in the Netherlands, and it has earned him back his country's affection--even though it portrays the Dutch Resistance in an unflattering light. After opening in September, "Black Book" became the highest-grossing Dutch film of 2006 and is the country's submission for the foreign-language Oscar. As it is rolled out around the world, the film is also winning international notice for its lush cinematography and skillful performances.

But for Verhoeven, domestic success is particularly sweet. The film mixes his legendary Hollywood brutalism with a slippery, character-driven plot that draws on the Netherlands' complicated history of Nazi occupation. Following the fate of a beautiful Jewish singer (the luminous Carice van Houten) who must seduce a Nazi officer, "Black Book" spotlights the double-crossing and treachery that crippled the real-life Dutch Resistance. The film is thrilling, provocative and surprisingly funny. Verhoeven himself says, ...