Based on a novel written by Dutch writer Simon Vestdijk immediately after the liberation of Holland from German Occupation in May 1945, Pastorale 1943 observes the reaction of a rural population thrown into an entirely abnormal situation with the Occupation. The film follows five unlikely heroes-a teacher, a florist, a restaurant owner, an engineer, and a piano-tuner-who become involved in the Resistance, undertaking in their unheroic way dangerous espionage activities under the noses of the Germans. Among the women's roles is a strikingly sober portrayal by Sylvia Kristel of a courageous courier.
"Wim Verstappen has succeeded most convincingly in creating an atmosphere which is representative of the situation in the Netherlands during on of the grey and grim years of enemy occupation.... This is no war adventure story in the traditional manner, but an authentic picture of the anxiety and rebellion of a little group of anti-heroes in a colorful chronicle. The undertone is a cautious irony, which also betrays a somewhat skeptical view of the entire historical situation...." --Dutch Film 1978