Sometimes I think it has to be something in the distance created by not knowing the language and having to rely on subtitles - the reason why Americans seem to think it's a genuinely good movie. But then, the acting is fine, that's not the problem, so it can't really be that... maybe Americans have an easier time swallowing over the top scripts. And that one is seriously way over the top. To be sure it raises some interesting points along the way, particularly perhaps for Americans who aren't too familiar with the dramas that happened immediately after the liberation to anyone who'd collaborated with the Germans, or dated one, and Carice van Houten is not only breathtaking but also a fine actress (and singer!), it's just that absurd a script that I have a hard time taking the movie seriously. Still, it might be more serious than Verhoeven's other movies...