Character (Dutch title Karakter) is a 1997 Dutch film, based on a best-selling novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk and directed by Mike van Diem. The film was winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film stars Fedja van Huêt, Jan Decleir, and Betty Schuurman.

Plot

It is the 1920s in the Netherlands. Dreverhaven, a dreaded bailiff, is found dead, with a knife sticking out of his stomach. The obvious suspect is Jacob Willem Katadreuffe (van Huêt), an ambitious young lawyer who worked his way up from poverty, always managing to overcome Dreverhaven's personal attacks against him. Katadreuffe was seen leaving Draverhaven's office on the afternoon of the murder. He is arrested and taken to police headquarters, where he reflects back on the story of his long relationship with Dreverhaven, who, police learn, is also Kattdreufe's father.

The story began when Katadreuffe's taciturn mother, Joba (played by Schurmaan), worked as a housekeeper for Draverhaven. During that time, they had sex only once, but Joba became pregnant and left her employer to make a living for herself and her son. Time and again she rejected Draverhaven's offer to marry her and provide the child with a home.

Even as a child, Katadreuffe's path crosses with Draverhaven, often with dire consequences. When he is arrested for a boyish prank and tells the police that Draverhaven is his father, Draverhaven refuses to recognize him as his son. When, as a young man, he unwittingly takes a loan from Draverhaven's bank to purchase a failed cigar store, Draverhaven sues him to win the money back. Still, Katadreuffe manages to pay back the debt, finding a clerical position in a law firm. He does this even though most of his education is derived from reading an incomplete set of encyclopedias that he happens to find as a boy in his mother's apartment.

After paying back the debt, Katadreuffe implores Draverhaven to give him a second loan so that he can pass the bar examination. Draverhaven agrees, on the condition that he can call back the loan at any time. Despite his efforts to hinder his son, Katadreuffe manages to pass the examination. On the afternoon of the murder he storms into Draverhaven's office to pay the final installment on the loan. A fight ensues, and Katadreuffe attacks Draverhaven before leaving. All around people see him as he marches out of the office.

At the end of the film, however, the police discover that Katadreuffe left Draverhaven at 5:00 p.m., while Draverhaven died at 11:00 p.m. It transpires that Draverhaven actually committed suicide. At the end of the film, his will is produced, leaving all of his considerable wealth to his son. The will is signed "Vader", Father.

Themes

The complicated relationship between Katadreuffe and Draverhaven lies at the center of this film. Viewers are left wondering whether Draverhaven was really acting in his son's best interest, by being harsh with him, or taking revenge, either on an unwanted child or the boy's mother, who refused to marry him.

External links

• review (albany.edu) (http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/fns99n6.html)
• review (iofilm.co.uk) (http://www.iofilm.co.uk/fm/c/character_1997.shtml)
• IMDb entry (http://imdb.com/title/tt0119448/)