This movie had something for everyone. The fact that the story is situated in the beginning of December and has a strong relation with the traditional celebration of Saint Nicholas' birthday, makes it very, VERY Dutch. In a way, you can compare it to 'Alles is Liefde' which is also unmistakably Dutch in its setting and theme. An important difference, compared to 'Alles is Liefde' is that Bennie Stout uses the story of Saint Nicholas in such a way that it is very credible for little children, whereas Alles is Liefde shows you the fictional side of the story. Bennie Stout has a beautiful story-line that is filled with entertaining details (such as the absence board on Saint Nicholas' boat that says 'Piet present/absent' ten times, the detailed pepernoten-factory, the raft constructed from taai-taai, the acrobatic stunts of the Pieten, etc) and humor on both children level and adult level. The setting in an old Dutch village about a hundred years ago is brilliant and gives the audience one beautiful scenery after another. People who love nice shots and beautiful pictures will really love this film. Not that it has many beautiful people (most of them are ugly), but the gorgeous Hanna Verboom makes up for all the others. She is very well chosen for the part of the tender, caring, beautiful but tormented young mother. Of all adult actors she undoubtedly gives the best performance. The child actors are also very good: Koen Dobbelaer (Bennie) is brilliant and very charming, he makes it very credible that he's not really bad, just a little clumsy. His 'enemy' Pieter Lossie (Roderick) is just as charming, though a little naughtier. For the role of Saint Nicholas there was only one serious candidate (Bram van der Vlugt) and I think Johan Nijenhuis was very lucky to have him for this part. One thing about the script that I liked very much is the fact that although the story has many strange and irrational elements, coming from the original myth (naughty children are really abducted by Saint Nicholas, all of his assistants are called Piet, the children are put into large bags, the Pieten climb in and out of chimneys) the actors act as if these things are completely normal. At night, the abducted children sleep in bags hanging from the ceiling, like it's completely normal and totally accepted. When the children are taken away, their parents react as if it's totally sane and inevitable. I like this absurdity a lot, it makes the movie really stand out. And I think it gives this movie a typically Dutch feel (see Alex van Warmerdam's Ober or Emma Blank or the two Paard van Sinterklaas movies). The last thing I want to mention is the music. I never heard so many variations of the traditional Saint Nicholas songs: jazz versions, classical versions, disco, opera, you name it. To paraphrase Saint Nicholas himself: "I can never get enough of Sinterklaas Kapoentje, it's such an evergreen".
Well, to make a long story short: there's something in this movie for everyone, it does not spoil young children's belief in the Saint, has a great story, it's very entertaining and very well crafted.
