Character (film)

1997 Dutch film

Character

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Mike van Diem
Written by|

* Mike van Diem
* Laurens Geels
* Ruud van Megen

Based on| Karakter
by Ferdinand Bordewijk
Produced by| Laurens Geels
Starring|

* Jan Decleir
* Fedja van Huêt
* Betty Schuurman
* Tamar van den Dop
* Victor Löw
* Hans Kesting

Cinematography| Rogier Stoffers
Edited by| Jessica de Koning
Music by| Het Paleis van Boem

Production
companies

* First Floor Features
* Almerica Film
* NPS

Distributed by| Buena Vista International

Release date

* 17 April 1997 (1997-04-17)

Running time

| 122 minutes
Countries| Netherlands
Belgium
Language| Dutch
Budget| $4.5 million
Box office| $713,413

Character (Dutch: Karakter) is a 1997 Dutch-Belgian historical drama film directed by Mike van Diem from a script he co-wrote with Laurens Geels and Ruud van Megen. It is based on the best-selling novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Academy Awards.[1] The film stars Fedja van Huêt, Jan Decleir, and Betty Schuurman.

## Plot

[edit]

In 1930's Rotterdam, A.B. Dreverhaven, a dreaded bailiff, is found dead, with a knife stuck in his stomach. The obvious suspect is Jacob Willem Katadreuffe, 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 Dreverhaven'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 Katadreuffe's father.

The story begins when Katadreuffe's taciturn mother, Joba, worked as a housekeeper for Dreverhaven. During that time, they had sex only once (it is implied that the encounter was forced upon Joba). She becomes pregnant and leaves her employer to make a living for herself and her son. Time and again, she rejects Dreverhaven's offers by mail of money and marriage.

Even as a child, Katadreuffe finds that his path crosses with Dreverhaven, often with dire consequences. When he is arrested for becoming involved in a boyish theft and tells the police that Dreverhaven is his father, Dreverhaven refuses to recognize him as his son. When, as a young man, he unwittingly takes a loan from a bank that Dreverhaven owns to purchase a failed cigar store, Dreverhaven sues him to win the money back and force him into bankruptcy. Still, Katadreuffe manages to pay back the debt, finding a clerical position in the law firm retained to pursue him for his cigar-store debt. He manages to secure this job, even though most of his education is derived from reading an incomplete English-language encyclopedia that he found as a boy in his mother's apartment; studying this set, he managed to teach himself English, which turns out to be a valuable talent in the eyes of his employers.

After paying back the cigar-store debt, Katadreuffe immediately seeks a second loan from Dreverhaven, so that he can finance his education and legal studies and, ultimately, take and pass the bar examination. Dreverhaven agrees, on the condition that he can call back the loan at any time. Despite the bailiff's efforts to hinder his son, Katadreuffe passes his bar examination and qualifies as a lawyer. On the afternoon when his firm holds a celebration of his becoming a lawyer (the day with which the film begins, the day of the murder), Katadreuffe storms into Dreverhaven's office to confront his lifelong tormentor, the bailiff. Katadreuffe reacts with rage to Dreverhaven's congratulations, and his offer of a handshake, and, though he at first turns to leave, he runs toward Dreverhaven and attempts to attack him. After a bloody and angry brawl, Katadreuffe is witnessed leaving the bailiff's office.

However, the police discover that Katadreuffe left Dreverhaven at 5:00 p.m., though an examination of the bailiff's body reveals that Dreverhaven died at 11:00 p.m. The police finally reveal to Katadreuffe that Dreverhaven actually committed suicide. After Katadreuffe is cleared, a police official hands him a document, left by Dreverhaven's lawyer, that turns out to be the bailiff's will, which leaves all of his considerable wealth to Katadreuffe. The will is signed "Vader" (Father).

## Cast

[edit]

* Jan Decleir as A.B. Dreverhaven
* Fedja van Huêt as Jacob Willem Katadreuffe
* Jasper Gottlieb and Marius Gottlieb as Jacob (Age 9)
* Pavlik Jansen op de Haar as Jacob (Age 12)
* Betty Schuurman as Joba
* Tamar van den Dop as Lorna Te George
* Victor Löw as De Gankelaar
* Hans Kesting as Jan Maan
* Lou Landré as Rentenstein
* Bernhard Droog as Stroomkoning
* Frans Vorstman as Inspecteur de Bree
* Fred Goessens as Schuwagt

## Production

[edit]

Most scenes of the film were shot in Wrocław, Poland.

## Release

[edit]

Sony Pictures Classics acquired the distribution rights of the film for release in North America.[2]

### 2020 4K Restoration

[edit]

In 2020, Dutch FilmWorks announced they would be releasing a 4K restoration of the film throughout different cinemas. This restoration was performed from the original negative by the Eye Film Institute under the supervision of Mike van Diem.[3] It premiered at the Netherlands Film Festival op 29 September 2020.[4]

## Reception

[edit]

Character has an approval rating of 92% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 25 reviews, and an average rating of 7.3/10.[5]

The film received mixed reviews during its U.S. release.[6] Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised the film's cinematography and Decleir's performance, but criticises the pacing, writing that " The story is long and episodic, but its larger trajectory is not always evident. Something important seems lost in translation".[7]

## Accolades

[edit]

Accolades received by Character Year  | Award  | Category  | Recipient(s)  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

1997  | Netherlands Film Festival | Golden Calf for Best Director | Mike van Diem | Nominated  | [8]
Golden Calf for Best Feature Film | Laurens Geels  | Won
Golden Calf for Best Actor | Jan Decleir | Nominated
Golden Calf for Best Actress | Betty Schuurman | Nominated
1998  | Academy Awards | Best International Feature Film | Laurens Geels  | Won  | [1]

## See also

[edit]

* List of submissions to the 70th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
* List of Dutch submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "The 70th Academy Awards (1998) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
2. ^ Edmunds, Marlene (3 February 1998). "Sony Classics has 'Character'". Variety. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
3. ^ Blokland, Robbert (22 September 2020). "Mike van Diem over 'Karakter': 'Ik vond andere periodefilms veel te statisch'". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
4. ^ Tempel, Mark van den (22 September 2020). "Gerestaureerde Karakter opnieuw te zien". Holland Film Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 August 2025.
5. ^ "Character". Rotten Tomatoes. 27 March 1998. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
6. ^ Ligtenberg, Lucas (28 March 1998). "'Karakter' matig ontvangen in VS". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 29 May 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
7. ^ Maslin, Janet (27 March 1998). "FILM REVIEW; Life With Father, but Think Dickens and Kafka". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 May 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
8. ^ "Karakter". Netherlands Film Festival (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Character at IMDb
* broken review (albany.edu)
* broken'(13 October 2010) review (iofilm.co.uk)

Awards for Character

* v
* t
* e

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

1947–1955
(Honorary)|

* 1947: Shoeshine – Vittorio De Sica
* 1948: Monsieur Vincent – Maurice Cloche
* 1949: Bicycle Thieves – Vittorio De Sica
* 1950: The Walls of Malapaga – René Clément
* 1951: Rashomon – Akira Kurosawa
* 1952: Forbidden Games – René Clément
* 1953: No Award
* 1954: Gate of Hell – Teinosuke Kinugasa
* 1955: Samurai, The Legend of Musashi – Hiroshi Inagaki

1956–1975|

* 1956: La Strada – Federico Fellini
* 1957: Nights of Cabiria – Federico Fellini
* 1958: My Uncle – Jacques Tati
* 1959: Black Orpheus – Marcel Camus
* 1960: The Virgin Spring – Ingmar Bergman
* 1961: Through a Glass Darkly – Ingmar Bergman
* 1962: Sundays and Cybèle – Serge Bourguignon
* 1963: 8½ – Federico Fellini
* 1964: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – Vittorio De Sica
* 1965: The Shop on Main Street – Ján Kadár & Elmar Klos
* 1966: A Man and a Woman – Claude Lelouch
* 1967: Closely Watched Trains – Jiří Menzel
* 1968: War and Peace – Sergei Bondarchuk
* 1969: Z – Costa-Gavras
* 1970: Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion – Elio Petri
* 1971: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis – Vittorio De Sica
* 1972: The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie – Luis Buñuel
* 1973: Day for Night – François Truffaut
* 1974: Amarcord – Federico Fellini
* 1975: Dersu Uzala – Akira Kurosawa

1976–present|

* 1976: Black and White in Color – Jean-Jacques Annaud
* 1977: Madame Rosa – Moshé Mizrahi
* 1978: Get Out Your Handkerchiefs – Bertrand Blier
* 1979: The Tin Drum – Volker Schlöndorff
* 1980: Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears – Vladimir Menshov
* 1981: Mephisto – István Szabó
* 1982: Volver a Empezar ('To Begin Again') – José Luis Garci
* 1983: Fanny and Alexander – Ingmar Bergman
* 1984: Dangerous Moves – Richard Dembo
* 1985: The Official Story – Luis Puenzo
* 1986: The Assault – Fons Rademakers
* 1987: Babette's Feast – Gabriel Axel
* 1988: Pelle the Conqueror – Bille August
* 1989: Cinema Paradiso – Giuseppe Tornatore
* 1990: Journey of Hope – Xavier Koller
* 1991: Mediterraneo – Gabriele Salvatores
* 1992: Indochine – Régis Wargnier
* 1993: Belle Époque – Fernando Trueba
* 1994: Burnt by the Sun – Nikita Mikhalkov
* 1995: Antonia's Line – Marleen Gorris
* 1996: Kolya – Jan Svěrák
* 1997: Character – Mike van Diem
* 1998: Life Is Beautiful – Roberto Benigni
* 1999: All About My Mother – Pedro Almodóvar
* 2000: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – Ang Lee
* 2001: No Man's Land – Danis Tanović
* 2002: Nowhere in Africa – Caroline Link
* 2003: The Barbarian Invasions – Denys Arcand
* 2004: The Sea Inside – Alejandro Amenábar
* 2005: Tsotsi – Gavin Hood
* 2006: The Lives of Others – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
* 2007: The Counterfeiters – Stefan Ruzowitzky
* 2008: Departures – Yōjirō Takita
* 2009: The Secret in Their Eyes – Juan José Campanella
* 2010: In a Better World – Susanne Bier
* 2011: A Separation – Asghar Farhadi
* 2012: Amour – Michael Haneke
* 2013: The Great Beauty – Paolo Sorrentino
* 2014: Ida – Paweł Pawlikowski
* 2015: Son of Saul – László Nemes
* 2016: The Salesman – Asghar Farhadi
* 2017: A Fantastic Woman – Sebastián Lelio
* 2018: Roma – Alfonso Cuarón
* 2019: Parasite – Bong Joon-ho
* 2020: Another Round – Thomas Vinterberg
* 2021: Drive My Car – Ryusuke Hamaguchi
* 2022: All Quiet on the Western Front – Edward Berger
* 2023: The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer
* 2024: I'm Still Here – Walter Salles

* v
* t
* e

Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film

1990s|

* Cinema Paradiso (1990)
* The Double Life of Veronique (1991)
* Indochine (1992)
* Farewell My Concubine (1993)
* Three Colours: Red (1994)
* Les Misérables (1995)
* Prisoner of the Mountains (1996)
* Character (1997)
* Life Is Beautiful (1998)
* Run Lola Run (1999)

2000s|

* Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
* Amélie (2001)
* And Your Mother Too (2002)
* City of God (2003)
* A Very Long Engagement (2004)
* Paradise Now (2005)
* Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
* The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
* Tell No One (2008)
* Sin nombre (2009)

2010s|

* Biutiful (2010)
* A Separation (2011)
* Amour (2012)
* Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
* Force Majeure (2014)
* Son of Saul (2015)
* The Handmaiden (2016)
* The Square (2017)
* Roma (2018)
* Parasite (2019)

2020s|

* Minari (2020)
* Drive My Car (2021)
* Decision to Leave (2022)
* Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
* The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Golden Calf for Best Feature Film

* The Mark of the Beast (1981)
* A Question of Silence (1982)
* Hans: Life Before Death (1983)
* The Illusionist (1984)
* Flesh and Blood (1985)
* Abel (1986)
* Bygones (1987)
* The Vanishing (1988)
* Secret Wedding (1989)
* Evenings (1990)
* Prospero's Books (1991)
* Kyodai Makes the Big Time (1992)
* The Little Blonde Death (1993)
* 1000 Roses (1994)
* Little Sister (1995)
* Long Live the Queen (1996)
* Character (1997)
* Felice...Felice... (1998)
* The Flying Liftboy (1999)
* Leak (2000)
* Nynke (2001)
* Miss Minoes (2002)
* Twin Sisters (2003)
* Simon (2004)
* Paradise Now (2005)
* Black Book (2006)
* Crusade in Jeans (2007)
* Love Is All (2008)
* Nothing Personal (2009)
* Joy (2010)
* Black Butterflies (2011)
* The Girl and Death (2012)
* Borgman (2013)
* How to Avoid Everything (2014)
* Son of Mine (2015)
* The Paradise Suite (2016)
* Brimstone (2017)
* The Resistance Banker (2018)
* Dirty God (2019)
* Buladó (2020)
* The Judgement (2021)
* Oink (2022)
* Sweet Dreams (2023)
* Memory Lane (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Dutch submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

* The Village on the River (1959)
* Like Two Drops of Water (1963)
* The Human Dutch (1964)
* Monsieur Hawarden (1969)
* Mira (1971)
* Turkish Delight (1973)
* Help! The Doctor Is Drowning (1974)
* Dr. Pulder Sows Poppies (1975)
* Max Havelaar (1976)
* Soldier of Orange (1977)
* Pastorale 1943 (1978)
* A Woman Like Eve (1979)
* In for Treatment (1980)
* Come-Back! (1981)
* The Cool Lakes of Death (1982)
* The Fourth Man (1983)
* Army Brats (1984)
* The Dream (1985)
* The Assault (1986)
* Count Your Blessings (1987)
* The Vanishing (1988)
* Polonaise (1989)
* Evenings (1990)
* Eline Vere (1991)
* The Northerners (1992)
* The Little Blonde Death (1993)
* 06 (1994)
* Antonia's Line (1995)
* Long Live the Queen (1996)
* Character (1997)
* The Polish Bride (1998)
* Scratches in the Table (1999)
* Little Crumb (2000)
* The Moving True Story of a Woman Ahead of Her Time (2001)
* Zus & Zo (2002)
* Twin Sisters (2003)
* Simon (2004)
* Bluebird (2005)
* Black Book (2006)
* Duska (2007)
* Dunya and Desi (2008)
* Winter in Wartime (2009)
* Tirza (2010)
* Sonny Boy (2011)
* Kauwboy (2012)
* Borgman (2013)
* Accused (2014)
* The Paradise Suite (2015)
* Tonio (2016)
* Layla M. (2017)
* The Resistance Banker (2018)
* Instinct (2019)
* Buladó (2020)
* Do Not Hesitate (2021)
* Narcosis (2022)
* Sweet Dreams (2023)
* Memory Lane (2024)

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