Character (1997)

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.

Director:

Mike van Diem

Writers:

Ferdinand Bordewijk (short story "Dreverhaven en Katadreuffe" and novel "Karakter") (as F. Bordewijk), Laurens Geels (screenplay)

Stars:

Pavlik Jansen op de Haar, Jan Decleir, Fedja van Huêt

Won 1 Oscar. Another 17 wins & 6 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

Storyline

In the 20's, in Netherlands, Jacob Willem Katadreuffe has just concluded the law school and has an argument with the High Court Enforcement Officer Dreverhaven at his office. Katadreuffe leaves the place covered in blood. On the next morning, he is arrested by the police for the murder of Dreverhaven. He claims that he is innocent and discloses the story of his life to the Chief of Police. His mother Joba was the maid at Dreverhaven. One night, she is raped by him and a couple of weeks later she learns that she is pregnant. Dreverhaven proposes to marry her but Joba quits her job and leaves his house. Along the years, Katadreuffe is bullied at school and called bastard by his mates and his mother never talks to him. One day, he is involved by other kids in a theft of bread and arrested by the police. When he calls his biological father to help him, Dreverhaven tells the police that he does not know who Katadreuffe is. The boy is intelligent and learns English reading a superseded and ...

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Plot Keywords:

gunfight | street shootout | police shootout | police | lawyer | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

Netherlands Belgium

Language:

Dutch English German French

Release Date:

27 March 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Character

Filming Locations:

Netherlands

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$37,268, 29 March 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$713,413, 7 June 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Floor Features, Almerica Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filming took place over the course of 71 days in the summer and fall of 1996.

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Goofs

In one of the street scenes, you can see an extra in modern outfit and with no headwear on.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jacob Katadreuffe: I came to tell you. Today I have been sworn in as a lawyer. You must be sorry but I am sworn in and this is the last time I'll come here. Farewell for ever. You no longer exist for me.
Dreverhaven: Congratulations.
Jacob Katadreuffe: You congratulate me? I can't take your hand. The hand of someone who always opposed me.
Dreverhaven: Or helped.
[pause]
Dreverhaven: Or helped.

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Connections

Referenced in De boekverfilming (1999)

User Reviews

Hauntingly beautiful character study

This is a movie that grips right away. While it has a dark setting, sparse but classic, the characters are rich. The love and care that Mike van Diem and the actors put in this film is visible. Thanks to significant contributions from both Dutch and Belgian TV stations, this movie is a rare treat, which is for once not spoiled by overly commercial requirements from demanding advertisers... As i understand, the film company First Floor Features had this film for decade(s?) in the planning, and it is a happy coincidence that it was realized the way you can enjoy it now. It has thus become a monument honoring the fabulous writer F. Bordewijk, the Dutch life and mind of the beginning 1900's, the craftsmanship of a dedicated cast, and a generous producer.

Jan Declair as the stony-hearted usher Dreverhaven is a character you won't forget for a long time. His softer side is time and again rejected by taciturn Joba, his former housekeeper who became pregnant in one lonely weak moment of them both. For several years, he offers her to marry her, or at least to contribute for the upbringing of his illegitimate son Kattedreuffe. She as many times rejects: 'We do not need anything.' On a precarious occasion, Dreverhaven denounces Jacob Kattadreuffe nevertheless, and from that moment on, father and son have a harsh relation as well. -

Masterfully, fate intertwines their lives, as the story unfolds. Real gems are present everywhere, the scenery is breathtakingly picturesque, partly filmed in Rotterdam harbor, and in other places like Poland. The movie constantly plays with time, but in a plausible way. As an example, when Kattedreuffe has an appointment at a bailiff's office after being framed into bankruptcy, the name plate blinks at once with his own name on it. And indeed, he starts a career in this very office that same day.

For a while, the lives of father and son seem only occasionally to coincide, but it is a silence before the storm. Every picture draws to the dramatic end which was glimpsed as the opening scene: Did Kattadreuffe murder Dreverhaven? Many instances shown would allow this conclusion, as the two fatally attract each other to fulfill their inner tragedy. Dreverhaven as this hard and desperate 'keeper of the law' who can not express love, and Kattadreuffe as the one who had to fight his whole life to arrive in a higher position, and then stands empty-handed, his love unreturned through his own stupidity (even his mother sees that Lorna Te George / Tamar van den Dop was an exquisite relation missed).

To kill (!) each other would suddenly seem like the best possibility and a liberation in such a dark hour, but the end has a surprise. The last minute smooths all the giant waves, and allows for a satisfying and ingenuous end scene. - Maybe you have to see this movie more than once to uncover the many hidden treasures, i strongly recommend to get it for yourself on DVD. The music of 'Paleis van Boem' enhances perfectly the impressive scenery. It is an artwork that has more than earned the Oscar it has got as best foreign film in 1998, along with several other awards.

And i am proud to have been asked to participate with calligraphy and handwritten material, although it is only clearly visible in the last half minute when (my) hand writes the last words of the testament, undersigning with - (see for yourself!).