The letter for Sinterklaas (2019)

Directed by: Lucio Messercola | 81 minutes | family | Actors: Bram van der Vlugt, Pamela Teves, Edo Brunner, Lieke van Lexmond, Bo Burger, Joshua Albano, Maaike Bakker, Jelle de Jong, Kylian de Pagter, Erik de Vogel, Roel Dirven, Aaron Groeneveld, Wesley Mutsaars, Liz Scholten, Chris Taten, Marga Van Praag, Jimmy van Schaik, Aad van Toor, Marcella Westen

Just like Sinterklaas himself, a film about/with Sinterklaas has been a tradition for years now. This Sinterklaas will be kicked off with ‘The letter for Sinterklaas’, in which the fixed pattern of Sinterklaas is followed. We see a main character who gradually learns something, a Saint who doesn’t seem to know everything, but in the end turns out to be all-knowing and some silly caricatured bad guys.

In ‘De letter voor Sinterklaas’, main character Sem is bullied, to the chagrin of his single mother (Lieke van Lexmond). But despite all the setbacks, Sem is still enthusiastic about the call from Sinterklaas, who is struggling with a drastic shortage of Pieten. Anyone can sign up for a Pietendag, but somehow all the letters with registrations don’t seem to arrive. As long as that works out, because without Pieten there would be no Sinterklaas party.

The fact that anyone can register to become a Piet indicates that the film clearly seems to be making a choice in the Piet debate (now just as much a tradition as Sint and his film). Why there seem to be real Zwarte Pieten remains unnamed. Another strong point is the acting of some. Pamela Teves and Edo Brunner put down nice slightly exaggerated bad guys. In addition, Sinterklaas was advised (as the producers themselves call it) by Good Old Bram van der Vlugt, which is a warm bath especially for the parents who will be watching.

However, there are also less points. The story is not very exciting and quite predictable. All developments in the story can be seen miles in advance and the moral lessons are a bit thick (just like the sponsorship). As a result, the whole thing feels sweet and unsurprising. The question is, however, whether these factors make this a lesser film. If one looks purely at the film, the answer is “yes”, but who actually goes to a film like ‘The letter for Sinterklaas’? These are generally children who believe in the Good Saint and for them the film is probably pleasant because of the unsurprising story.

Of course everything will be fine and of course the Sinterklaas party will continue as usual this year (unless the Sinterklaas news takes a completely different tack this year…). Children will therefore appreciate ‘The letter for Sinterklaas’. It will take a while for the parents, but doesn’t that apply to the entire Sinterklaas period?