Character (Karakter) (1997)

92% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
88% of users liked it
(3,197 ratings)

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.… More 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, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 5 min.
Directed By: Mike van Diem
Written By: Mike van Diem
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Apr 17, 1997 Wide
On DVD: Feb 4, 2003
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This powerful family melodrama from the Netherlands won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
A remarkably stylish, well-crafted film that constantly surprises on the level of cinematic creativity alone.
Maria Garcia, Film Journal International
Predictable and dreadfully misconceived.
Dan Fienberg, Zap2it.com
Very well shot, but narratively it's pretentious, wannabe Kafka, heavyhanded dreck. Not sure how it won an Oscar.
Brandon Judell, New York Theatre Wire
Dickensian in style, and not without a dash of Kafka, the film is beautifully shot by Rogier Stoffers and Mike van Diem's direction and screenplay are nigh perfect.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Van Diem uses cinematic technique to propel his story; he doesn't treat the story as an excuse to show off his technique

Read all 6 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bruce B

A Movie from the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival and again a awesome film from this collection. It was the 1997 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. One of the most powerful films I've ever seen. The film starts with a heated argument between two men, and when… More
A Movie from the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival and again a awesome film from this collection. It was the 1997 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. One of the most powerful films I've ever seen. The film starts with a heated argument between two men, and when the elder is found dead with a knife in his chest the younger man is arrested and revealed to be his son. The story begins in flashback: the father, Dreverhaven (Jan Decleir from Antonia's Line), is a fearless Scrooge-like moneylender who has cold-heartedly built his fortune by collecting debts and foreclosing on the poor. His son, Katadreuffe (Fedja van Huet), is the offspring of a single night's passion with his housekeeper--in an interesting twist he hounds her to marry him, and she leaves with the boy to raise him on her own. When she dies, father and son become locked in a fascinating battle: as Katadreuffe finds him calling in the law, Dreverhaven buys up his debts and attempts to drive him into bankruptcy. Katadreuffe eagerly takes up every challenge his father throws at him in a perverse show of strength and filial defiance. 5 stars can only wish I could give it more.
Daisy M

<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.tinypic.com/27yrew0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Dutch movies always had intrigued me to watch them. Specially one who… More
<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.tinypic.com/27yrew0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Dutch movies always had intrigued me to watch them. Specially one who had win the Academy Award as Karakter. It was one of the best period movies I have seen,due to the very interesting aspects in it made it worth watching. The movie had some great moments, great visual impact and also a big narrative content, which revealed the mystery of the whole movie. The performances in this movie were amazing, I knew some of them being great actors in The Netherlands. The movie image was also beautiful, Rotterdam in the early years. Amazing movie, a story full of feelings.