The East

The East (De Oost, 2021) is a Dutch war drama you can watch online on iFILM. Young soldier Johan ships out to Indonesia, where the Netherlands sent troops to crush the colony's push for independence in the years right after the world war.

At first the posting feels straightforward to him. Then he's pulled into a special unit led by Captain Raymond Westerling — a real and still-disputed name in Dutch history. As the commander's tactics turn crueler, Johan is caught between two pressures: the order he's meant to obey, and the conscience that refuses to stay quiet. The film never sorts events into neat good and evil; it walks its lead, step by step, to the point where staying silent means taking part. Martijn Lakemeier and Marwan Kenzari star, with Jim Taihuttu directing.

It pries open a chapter of the colonial past that the Netherlands long preferred not to discuss out loud. At over two hours it asks for patience — this is cinema for anyone drawn to a heavy war drama with a moral edge rather than action. Stream The East (2021) online on iFILM.