Pietje Bell left me with the same impression as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone, which is: nice images, good adventure, so-so acting of the leads and sometimes irksome dialogue.
The Rotterdam of the 1920s was convincingly portrayed. There was a cartoonesque feel to the decor, which made it easier to focus on the story. The nose of aunt Cato was hard to believe in though, and drew attention to the fact that I was watching a film. Also the newspaper manager acted too 'modern' for my taste.
I did have a bit of a hard time believing the sister wanting to date the gruesome Joseph. Which, in a sense, is a compliment for the two actors, because they managed to convincingly portray good and bad.
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