Gaston's War

The pitch for this Belgian film goes something like this: "The true story of Gaston, a Flemish man who, with several countrymen, was manipulated by the ruthless British army during the Second World War to undermine the German war effort." Director Robbe de Hert's film was chosen to be the closing attraction at the Dutch Film Festival of 1997.

A closer inspection of the material goes something like this: A Belgian boy named Gaston is asked by Dutch Queen Wilhelmina to reorganize the resistance organization which has been infiltrated by the Germans. Becoming entangled in the "Englandspiel" he is finally betrayed by the English. It has little to do with historical truth or the original book Concerning Gaston's War, the true story of a man's disputed career in the resistance written by the Belgian historian and journalist Hilde Eynikel. Surprised that her name appeared on the end titles, she said, "After the first screenplay reached gridlock, I was asked to do historical research for the film. I did that, but I was not informed that my name would be used on the credits. I am not too happy about that because now it now gives the impression that the film is based on actual fact." The real-life Gaston also made a point of removing himself from the created tale and demanded that the more heroic first scenario be filmed. Werner De Smedt appears as Gaston, the boy who survives against all odds, Sylvia Kristel appears as a member of the resistance in a long raincoat, and Gert- Jan Droge gives up the day job as Dutch host to the celebrities to do his part for the homefront too. Peter Firth is thrown in for good measure as the evil (almost German) English major in charge of the security services. Now I ask you, is this any way to fight a war?

The pitch for this Belgian film goes something like this: "The true story of Gaston, a Flemish man who, with several countrymen, was manipulated by the ruthless British army during the Second World War to undermine the German war effort." Director Robbe de Hert's film was chosen to be the closing attraction at the Dutch Film Festival of 1997. A closer inspection of the material goes something like this: A Belgian boy named Gaston is asked by Dutch Queen Wilhelmina to reorganize the resistance organization which has been infiltrated by the Germans. Becoming entangled in the "Englandspiel" he is finally betrayed by the English. It has little to do with historical truth or the original book Concerning Gaston's War, the true story of a man's disputed career in the resistance written by the Belgian historian and journalist Hilde Eynikel. Surprised that her name appeared on the end titles, she said, "After the first screenplay reached gridlock, I was asked to do historical research for the film. I did that, but I was not informed that my name would be used on the credits. I am not too happy about that because now it now gives the impression that the film is based on actual fact." The real-life Gaston also made a point of removing himself from the created tale and demanded that the more heroic first scenario be filmed. Werner De Smedt appears as Gaston, the boy who survives against all odds, Sylvia Kristel appears as a member of the resistance in a long raincoat, and Gert- Jan Droge gives up the day job as Dutch host to the celebrities to do his part for the homefront too. Peter Firth is thrown in for good measure as the evil (almost German) English major in charge of the security services. Now I ask you, is this any way to fight a war?