Have you read the book? If you did maybe you would understand why it was liked and successful.
A great deal of the film is 'real'. All the characters except for Griet and her family did exist, had the same names and are well-documented in Vermeer's history. The setting is real, right down to the meat market, the church and the star in the town square, it all existed. The Vermeers' house and street sets were built according to what we know of them historically. Vermeer's studio was recreated according to what we see of it in his paintings, right down to the carved lion heads on the chair. The birthing feast was a real cultural thing in that area for that time. Almost all of the furniture, clothing, food and props were very accurate to the location and time period. Even some of the plot is real, such as when the babies were born, Tanneke's life with the family, the Vermeers financial struggles and those of their neighbours, how Vermeer created his paintings, his relationship with his patron Van Ruijven. The portrayal of Maria Thins is very accurate to what we know of her.
We don't actually know who the girl in the titular painting is, or the story behind it. Theories favour her being one of his daughters, but some also speculate about it being a maid in his household who sat for him. The book author based the story around that theory, so who knows how real it is? She could be largely accurate for all we know. There could well have been a Griet.
The mirror... it's broken.
Yes, I know. I like it that way. Makes me look the way I feel.
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