Paul Verhoeven Returns to Directing, Gains Psychic Powers

Everybody's favorite nutjob Dutch filmmaker (I mean that in the best way, of course), Paul Verhoeven is on his way back to the screen after a four year break from directing according to /Film and we couldn't be happier. True to form, Verhoeven's pièce de réemergence sounds fairly wacky: an adaptation of the Dutch book De Stille Kracht, a.k.a. The Silent Force, that concerns a colonial official whose Western sensibilities clash with the culture of mysticism of the native East Indies citizens. Here's what the director had to say about the story on the Dutch program Zomergasten ("Summer Guests"):

“[The movie is about] rebellion against colonial rule, the emergence of fundamentalist Islam, the behavior between people, adultery and psychic powers. It is a story about things that we do not understand but it does happen."

Oh my, the words "fundamentalist Islam" and "psychic powers" are in the same sentence there, aren't they? The Dutch haven't had as bad luck as, say, the Danes in their dealings with the Islamic faith, but at first glance there's some serious potential for stereotyping. Well, the source material was published in 1900, but I trust Verhoeven and frequent collaborator Gerard Soeteman have given it a 21st century tonal upgrade that eschews any religiously insensitive or Little Black Sambo-esque material. If that kind of thing does creep in, perhaps Verhoeven can balance it by portraying his colonial officials wearing giant windmill uniforms and constantly smoking weed. Yeah, that oughta do it.