Original Title: Karakter
Country: Netherlands
Director: Mike van Diem
Writer: Ferdinand Bordewijk
Review:
The film starts with an argument between a young man in long over coat, a black hat and an old man, sitting at desk, writing some notes. There was an exchange of a few words and the young man went back. A few moments later, the man with long coat proceeds back and suddenly leap towards the elder man. In the very next scene, we see the man coming out of the place with blood all over his face. It began to rain, and I began to think.
Did the young man kill the man sitting at desk? If so, then why? If not, then when will the reason be disclosed?
Soon after, the younger man is arrested, on the charge of murder of the elder man. The first scene of the film also happens to be the last scene, meaning the story begins in flashback when he started narrating the story to the policeman.
The film revolved around the lives of two men who are tied in a strange relationship of father and son, Dreverhaven and Katadreuffe respectively.
Dreverhaven, a character as strange as his name sounds, was a moneylender who has built his fortune by collecting debts and later on foreclosing on the poor. His son, Katadreuffe was the outcome of a single night’s passion with his housekeeper, Joba.
Joba was an intricate character in herself. Despite several written requests by Dreverhaven to marry him, she left him with the boy to raise him on her own. When she dies, father and son become locked in a captivating battle following the meetings in court room with exchange of strange looks.
With Dreverhaven’s constant attempts to drive his son into bankruptcy, Katadreuffe’s found his way into a great law firm as an assistant where later on he was promoted as manager because of his extensive knowledge of encyclopedia. However, during his battle with his father, Katadreuffe proved himself as a daring character, with full of strength to fight back every challenge his father throw at him.
I’m not sure if I liked the film or not. It simply left me puzzled. But what I liked about this movie is that nowhere did I lose interest during 2-hour long movie, in fact I kept thinking all the time, what would happen next and why?
Why Jacob is so strange?
Why Joba is always silent?
Why Dreverhaven is so mysterious?
All through the movie, these questions keep emerging in my mind and I patiently waited for my answers watching one strange happening after another. But all my patience went in vain as I was left wondering whether Dreverhaven was really acting in his son’s interest, by being harsh with him, or taking revenge from the boy’s mother, who refused to marry him.
Character, the 1997 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, deals with the dark aspects of human psychology. Unrequited love and blind ambition are among the some of the themes in this film, as is the difficulty of some characters to express emotions fully.
My Classic Collection 