Of course there are slight niggles (dreary shots of Dutch highways, Amsterdam is almost a village) but why dwell on such minor things when the overall feel of the movie is lovely. The emotions are real and it's very easy to connect with many of the characters.

The jokes are there but what sticks best is the joy the film brings. It may not sound very critic-y, but i've yet to end a sentence with an exclamation mark, unlike my learned yet ill-literate fellow opnionator.

Carice van Houten is lovely, if frustrating. Paul de Leeuw can act! Who knew? (Who Cared). Daan Schuurmans is wonderfully understated. Many more actors will surprise you with their acting qualities, no doubt helped by Kim van Kootens convincing lines and scenes.

Go see this movie, you will not be disappointed. It will restore your faith in Dutch cinema, just like "Simon" did.

Honestly, there aren't many movies from my homecountry that i like, and if i hate one genre; it's sappy romances. This romance is however far from sappy! It uses humor, a grounded Dutch view on every topic, a good dose of sillyness and compelling characters to deliver a heartwarming story, full of important messages. Some cliché, some aren't, and some are plain in-your-face. The use of the Dutch famous holiday Sinterklaas makes it a movie that can be enjoyed with the whole family, although it is riddled with (sometimes not so) subtles innuendo's. There are a few things that maybe confuse foreign viewers, like what the Sinterklaas holiday actually is about. (no it's not santa clause) and little references to Dutch celebrity culture here and there.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In terms of Dutch mainstream movie-making this is as good as it gets. Writer Kim van Kooten excels in writing scenes. They're witty, no longer than necessary and often ending with a punchline. Structure wise she's slightly less solid, but overall she's definitely one of the best in Holland. The line "To him, it's an escape from reality" caused a roar of laughter when I attended. And there where more. There are a few points though. -In the final scene, how does Jan know that Kees is on his way to meet him? He surely behaves as if he's expecting him. And how does Kees know where to find him? -From one scene to the next suddenly there's snow everywhere. That's fine, but it would've been better if there'd been one shot in which the snow started falling. Dramatically, that could've been useful too. -The film could have used a scene which shows Kiki realizing that Valentijn won't show up on their date. -The group of 50 children cycles in front of a police car, there's even a close of the police officer showing his surprise. Cut to a news reporter saying that the children are missing and the police doesn't have a clue where they are. From the point of visual storytelling, that's inconsistent. -During the emotional reunion of Klaasje and Dennis we don't know if Sarah has left the apartment yet. The tension of the question if she'll suddenly show up during Klaasje's and Dennis' embrace, gets in the way of a full emotional response from the audience. -The snow flakes around Valentijn on his horse are CGI. That's fine, I suppose originally they weren't gonna use show in that scene. But overall, highly enjoyable and well done.