Keetje Tippel is one of the few films that Paul Verhoeven was not entirely satisfied with and would love to remake. Usually Verhoeven’s brassy blond heroes appear on the screen more prepared to deal with the crass realities of life as opposed to seeing how they slowly became strong and transformed into a brassy blond hero. Instead Keetje Tippel reminded me of a meaner, period Hounddog-how a child is thrust into the adult world of sexual exploitation in order to survive. Survival is so stark that most people other than the titular character welcome sexual exploitation if it means getting a meal. I think there is some reality to the idea that a physical characteristic that should mean nothing, blond hair, is like a red flag to bulls-those who envy her and taunt her and those who want to sexually exploit her although she is just an innocent child. Keetje Tippel hammers home its theme: the abrupt death of childhood (warning: a puppy dies and a pretty awful shadow puppet show gone horribly wrong) and exploitation of those who do the real work, particularly women, even by their own mothers. Verhoeven presents the incongruity between patriotism and daily survival in songs, parades and flags. Only the flags are useful because they help if you need to steal bread. The film is a bit relentless in its victimization of the main character. When Keetje Tippel finally gets a break and/or wises up, while there are some beautifully nuanced and subtle scenes regarding the social complexities of adjusting to upward mobility and the focus of the film shifts from the titular to character to the two men competing for her attention, the earlier themes are lost, and it becomes a bit Pygmalion. Suddenly the film shows how Keetje Tippel’s paradise is another person’s extreme poverty. Just when Keetje Tippel has finally become a Verhoeven hero-unashamed and even proud of her origins, her sexuality and mobility, the film ends with a tantalizing scene that suggests she has become a kind of vampire who will survive. Keetje Tippel suffers from pacing issues. It lingers too long in some areas, but not long enough in others. Only a must see for Verhoeven fans.