San Francisco Chronicle

Koolhoven is able to strip away both visually and mentally our idealized cinematic notions of how the resistance fighters lived. It's a lonely existence. It's stark and it's scary. And it makes for a compelling movie.

Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer

Nothing in this film approaches the boy's-eye view of war that, say, John Boorman achieved in "Hope and Glory," but it's an affecting, if somewhat flavorless, journey.

New York Post by Kyle Smith

May serve as a useful way to introduce teens to what World War II in Europe was like.

Observer by Rex Reed

We know about Anne Frank's diary and Paul Verhoeven's masterpiece "Black Book," but director Martin Koolhoven has shed new light on what happened in Holland with a powerful and touching film.

San Francisco Chronicle by Leba Hertz

Koolhoven is able to strip away both visually and mentally our idealized cinematic notions of how the resistance fighters lived. It's a lonely existence. It's stark and it's scary. And it makes for a compelling movie.

Portland Oregonian by Marc Mohan

Director Martin Koolhoven doesn't take many narrative chances, but the somber, steely cinematography and convincing performances help to carry the day.

Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan

The most compelling thing about Winter in Wartime, the Netherlands' official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Oscars, is not the story. And the story is pretty darn compelling.

Orlando Sentinel by Roger Moore

It's a sturdy World War II yarn, with harrowing and heart-breaking moments sprinkled throughout.

Tampa Bay Times by Steve Persall

Nothing about Koolhoven's film is stunning, but it's a solid piece of work, occasionally feeling as tense as life-and-death situations with Nazis should be.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Joe Williams

It's got a grown-up artfulness, but Winter in Wartime could become a lot of boys' favorite movie.

The New York Times by Stephen Holden

Winter in Wartime turns into a moderately gripping thriller with predictable plot twists and reversals.

Village Voice by Ella Taylor

An efficient, absorbing example of the form framed in a boy's coming-of-age story set in a snowbound rural Holland in 1945.

Boxoffice Magazine by Richard Mowe

Koolhoven manages the difficult balance of entertaining as well as offering a high emotional impact, with considerable agility. Pino Donaggio's soaring and powerful score intensifies all of the drama.

Los Angeles Times

Straightforward and solid but only mildly involving.

Time Out by S. James Snyder

A fresh twist on a familiar fog-of-war story.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen

View the Second World War through a child's eyes and the result isn't hard to predict: a loss-of-innocence tale. Winter in Wartime is the boilerplate version, with the already dramatic facts of the era ramped up to melodramatic levels. Little wonder it rings so false.