This movie, the first from the production company of Hollandia, is not a particularly prepossessing harbinger of things to come. The story is simplistic to the point of idiocy, the pacing is glacial, the cinematography is about five years behind the times -- and this in an era in which the art of cinema was dashing ahead like mad -- and the set design is shaky too -- indeed, the windmill whose burning makes up the alternate English name can be seen to shimmy in the fire like canvas. Which it is.
The one redeeming point of this movie, other than its historical interest is the decent acting that appears on the screen. Unfortunately, the sketchy plot does not fill in the length of the movie, so the actors need to do a bit of overacting to eke it out. Add in a bit of circus gymnastics -- albeit with some camera cheating -- and the movie is not a total dud, but it is not worth the close attention of the casual moviegoer either.
