Kenau

I'd say right off that in order to really appreciate this movie a person needs to have more familiarity with the Eighty Years War and the Battle of Haarlem that the movie depicts than I have. The battle of Haarlem was a siege of that Dutch city by the Spaniards in the winter-spring 1572-1573, with the events of the Protestant Reformation and the accompanying religious tensions very much in the picture. The movie is really a celebration of Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer, a widow who arganized the women of Haarlem into a fighting force to battle the Spanish troops. In the movie, Kenau was played by a Dutch actress named Monic Hendrickx, who was convincing enough in the role. The sets were authentic and the battle scenes were quite convincing. But being entirely unfamiliar with Dutch history, much of the historical material admittedly went over my head. And I was surprised to discover, in doing some reading about Kenau after watching this, that there are some who even doubt that she ever existed and believe her entire life to be the stuff of mythology.

It's a well done movie - but having some background in Dutch history and the historical setting of the story would be helpful to a viewer. (6/10)