Karakter (1997)

Director:

Mike van Diem

Writers:

Ferdinand Bordewijk (short story "Dreverhaven en Katadreuffe" and novel "Karakter")
Mike van Diem (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 March 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Jacob Katadreuffe lives mute with his mother, has no contact with his father who only works against him and wants to become a lawyer, at all costs.

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Bailiff | Flashback | Court | Police

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jan Decleir	...	Dreverhaven
Fedja van Huêt	...	Katadreuffe
Betty Schuurman	...	Joba
Tamar van den Dop	...	Lorna Te George
Victor Löw	...	De Gankelaar
Hans Kesting	...	Jan Maan
Lou Landré	...	Rentenstein
Bernard Droog	...	Stroomkoning
Frans Vorstman	...	Inspecteur de Bree
Fred Goessens	...	Schuwagt
Jasper Gottlieb	...	Jacob 6 jaar
Marius Gottlieb	...	Jacob 6 jaar
Pavlik Jansen op de Haar	...	Jacob 12 jaar
Marisa Van Eyle	...	Jiffrouw Sibculo
Wim Van Der Grijn	...	2e Inspecteur

Also Known As:

Character

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

Netherlands | Belgium

Language:

Dutch | English | German | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 (video rating) | Netherlands:16 | Germany:12 (f) | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA (2008) | Argentina:16 | Belgium:KT | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

's-Gravenhage, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

First Floor Features

Trivia:

Last cinema film of Jack Hedley.

Quotes:

Joba: Why don't you leave our boy in peace?
Dreverhaven: I'll strangle him for nine-tenths, and the last tenth will make him strong.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in De boekverfilming (1999)

A very good film!

Character is one of the best period films I have ever seen, and the enormous quantity of very interesting aspects in it make it worth watching.

I saw this film with the natural curiosity that a best foreign film Academy Award arouses in many people, and I was really delighted and surprised (Altough, I must admit I had hoped Spain's Secrets of the Heart would win). The story is quite beautiful, and Mike van Diem created a very solid screen play based on well known Ferdinand Bordewijk's novel.

The film has some extraordinary moments; I must say that the one that impressed me most was the final scene of the film, a scene of great visual impact and also of an incredibly big narrative content; it is the scene that reveals the mystery behind the cruel A.B. Dreverhaven's behaviour.

The performances given out in this film are simply spectacular especially Jan Decleir's as Dreverhaven. I also think Betty Schuurman as Jacob's mother and Victor Löw as De Gankelaar are terrific. One more thing, the art design is beautiful; the image the film gives us of the 1930's Amsterdam is very powerful and very beautiful.

Not only is it a great film then, but it is a story that carries a lot of feelings, and will take you on quiet an emotional ride. I can only say this: enjoy it!