This dark drama from the Netherlands won the 1998 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Dreverhaven (Jan Decleir), the most ruthless and intimidating bailiff in Rotterdam, is brutally murdered, and a young attorney, Katadreuffe (Fedja Van Huet), is arrested in connection with the crime. Under questioning, the angry young lawyer reveals a hidden motive for the killing -- he is Dreverhaven's illegitimate son. Katadreuffe's mother, Joba (Betty Schuurman) had an affair with Dreverhaven but refused to marry him, preferring to raise her son on her own, despite her difficult economic circumstances. Eventually, Joba takes in a boarder, Jan Maan (Hans Kesting), and Jan becomes something of a father figure to the boy, urging him to improve himself and pursue new opportunities in business. As a young man, Katadreuffe takes Jan's advice to heart and obtains a bank loan to open a cigar shop. The shop soon fails, and Katadreuffe must negotiate terms with the bank to pay off his debt. The young man discovers that the bank is managed by Dreverhaven and learns that his father has no desire to help him. While obtaining legal advice on his problems with the bank, Katadreuffe becomes interested in the study of law, and after a great deal of struggle, he makes his way through law school and obtains a low-level position with a prominent legal firm. However, his father often appears along the way, berating Katadreuffe and convincing him that he's doomed for failure, until the young man becomes convinced that Dreverhaven controls his entire life and wants nothing more than to destroy him. Karakter was based on a novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk that was a major bestseller in the Netherlands. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
liked it.
Combining the dense texture of a Dickens novel with an almost existential outlook on life, Character seems at once a throwback of a story and a very modern tale. It begins with a murder and a police interrogation that easily yields a confession, so the emphasis is on why, not who. The viewer can sense that the victim -- a bull-necked man with penetrating gaze -- may in fact be an evil man, and as the flashback story begins to unfold, that does seem to be the case. But the strength of Character lies in its portrayal of Dreverhaven, brilliantly played by Jan Decleir as a man struggling with his own selfishness and greed. Driven to succeed, his one hope in the world lies in his illegitimate son, whom he pushes mercilessly. That his own son would grow up to be his undoing rather than his salvation is the story's supreme irony. Character is shot in muddy browns and muted grays, color schemes that suggest a world without brightness or hope. It is a grim story, but it's told with an almost exhilarating sense of style and purpose. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide