Wow! Such a good movie.

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

sure, it is not the right word. but it is a word who could suggest the force of image, the tensione of the fight scenes, the great choreography and the patriotic emoțion the slices of romanticism and the feminist message. the basic virtue - to discover a different Holland, behind the dry lesson about the Spanish domination or about the Low Contries miracle. because it seems be a folk fairy tale. a women army and the leader of impresive resistance. the moral victory and the hidden truth . and an universal message. about duty more than about courage. a film with many sins. and with a small virtue - to remember basic, fundamental values.

In this movie about the Dutch revolt against the Spannish crown, the dramatic story of the siege of Haarlem is been told. The main characters are giving a decent performance and the movie is build up well. The story and plot however, are a disaster. The viewer only sees the story from Dutch perspectives. The motives of the Spannish opponents remains rather vague. They are the bad (or even evil) guys and their only role is to be scammed by the captious Dutch women, lead by the heroic Kenau. The movie is almost a propaganda film for the Dutch Revolutionaries. A lot of great plots could be made by the story of the siege of Haarlem and the Dutch Revolt, even without abusing history. In that way the movie is truly a missed chance.

Without knowing about the movie, I went to see it. First I was a bit set back by the fact it was Dutch; not much Dutch movies are to my liking. But I was really surprised by how well the movie was, in terms of the characters, the story, the believability and special effects. These were all quite good! I don't know if there are Dutch movies who can top this kind of production, with lots of action and fights.The story was interesting too, as a historical fact. Of course, it's been made more romantic to be appealing, but it was interesting to see Dutch history on the big screen in a movie that I would normally expect only from studios in bigger countries. I found it beautifully shot, it captured my attention and took me on a journey through a dark piece of history for the Dutch, when the Spanish people ruled parts of Holland. The characters were fine, there might have been more depth, but it was certainly good enough, enjoyable without big drawbacks.