Character

In this film we are confronted with a perfect script if there ever was one! Once again, talented screenwriters have proved that a fine novel can be transformed into a great film, without losing any depth in philosophical understanding or psychological subtlety. In 'Character', the paired tension between pride and guilt, as well as between pride and love, or guilt and love, or love and power, gives birth to an astounding and magnificent lesson in human character and behavior. The fact that Mike van Diem and Laurens Geels, two of the film's three writers, were at the same time -respectively- its director and producer, plays no small role in the success of the script, since the novel by Bordewijk was read -and rewritten- from the perspective of cinema, and not the other way around. The psychological themes are treated as variations in a symphony, presented in one of the characters and later developed in another, or presented in one form and then transmuted into another, as the brilliant treatment given to the self-destructive tendencies in the Dreverhaven character, or the extreme laconism in the mother-son relationship. Seen at a tropical country as Ecuador (my own), surrounded by a teenage audience that was led to expect something else; an audience which was only very slowly won by the tense and restrained 'northern', 'iceberg' pace of the film, 'Character' transformed the screen into a gigantic and painful mirror filled with reflections of the sorrows and sufferings of human nature. And finally those teenagers stopped crunching chips and sipping sodas, and started thinking. A '10' by any standard.

It is not too frequent that we get Dutch programmes of films or TV-minis in this corner of Europe, and when they do appear it is thanks to the regional Basque TV Station `EITB'. Indeed over two years has passed since seeing the excellent mini `Charlotte Sophie Bentinck' (1996) (qv) and seeing the very interesting `Karakter' recently.

Set in the 1920's this film has excellent mise-en-scéne wonderfully photographed, mostly in Holland and Belgium, but with some scenes shot in Wroclaw, Poland, with street-cars of the times, in which the darkened almost greyish brickwork of the tenement buildings and the industrial port areas takes on an intense protagonism in the film's development. Palais van Boem's musical contribution is mostly just right, though at times seemed to be a little boorish.

A young, illegitimate boy grows up with his unmarried mother, whilst the father, Dreverhaven, continuously appeals to her to marry him, but always rejected. However, the father seems to do everything possible to disrupt the young man's life, as his mother becomes more and more detached and uncaring. It would seem that Dreverhaven is playing out a real-life game of chess around his son Jacob, as if trying to corner him into submission and apathy, but which the young man manages to survive. The psychological impression is that one or the other would undo his `bitter foe', but that despite the father's vast fortune and power the struggle of will would rebound against him.But as the Dutch saying goes: ‘De één zijn dood, is de ander zijn brood'

This is no `thriller' in the ordinary sense, more a psychological suspense which requires attention throughout. The acting is magnificent: both Fedja van Huêt and Jan Decleir play out their parts with just the right touch, especially Decleir, and Lou Landré as Rentenstein is almost spellbinding, not to be missed.

Here is another example of the unarguable fact: here in Europe we make cinema, not blockbuster box-office hits.

Many people describe the movie as distant and cold. But that's exactly what the makers were aiming for to stay congruent with the 2 novels of Bordewijk where Karakter / Character is based upon. Bordewijk's style is often described as Nieuwe Zakelijkheid (best translation: New Objectivity, think Sinclair Lewis), a counter movement to the upcoming Expressionism in the 20s of the last century. Instead of the idealism of Expressionists more emphasis was put on reality, objectivity and facts in a sober and distant form with little room for frivolity, superficial beauty, sentimentality or explaining behavior. Not only does the style of the novels reflect this, the world the characters inhabit has the same characteristics. Viewed from this standpoint they made an amazing adaptation from a novel, correct in both style and content. But the movie defines more than an art movement, because the characters portrayed tell a lot about the Dutch in general, and this in a way also defines Dutch national identity.

The story itself is about perseverance. Jacob is the son of a relation without love. His parents never marry, the mother leaves soon after she finds out she is pregnant. His mother is stubborn, his father a man without compassion working as a bailiff. Both parents push their son in their own way, his mother almost drives him out of her home, his father lends him money thus starting a battle over the upper hand in their relationship. The father brings adversity to his son in the hope to make him stronger. In line with the style of the novel none of the characters ever experience love. In fact the whole movie contains not one passionate scene. The only character showing emotion (De Gankelaar, an excellent role played by Victor Löw) leaves the country. It has a Nietzschian philosophical angle with the debate of lightness and weight: Jacob's burdens give his life a meaning, but are the sacrifices worth it?

Location scouts did a wonderful job here, because Karakter recreates pre-war Rotterdam, a city almost totally flattened by the Nazis (There is a harrowing photo of the city after the bombardments with only the main church still standing). The production and art departments made the sets with their darkish colors fitting the form and content of the movie. The camera is used in a way to create some fluidity in the scenes: It almost never is static as with so many character dramas.

Fedja van Huêt as Jacob and Jan Decleir as Dreverhaven seem to understand what's going on here and act accordingly. Tamar van den Dop as Lorna is probably the greatest weakness in the movie, with a terrible diction and limited body movement she's miscast here.

Mike van Diem makes only one movie, wins an Oscar, and disappears almost from the earth. Although rumor has it he does some script doctoring in Hollywood, with his current production rate he will surpass even Malick. As for now, this is by far the best Dutch movie ever made.

Karakter is quite stunning on several levels. The cinematography is gorgeous - without the use of any noticeable special effects or surrealistic dream sequences. The quality of the filming surpasses that of most movies.

One of the best things for me (as an American) about watching foreign films is not knowing who most of the actors are, and this makes it easier to completely accept them as the characters they play. The two leads were outstanding, and the supporting characters (particularly Betty Schuurman as Joba, and Nans Kesting as Jan Maan) were very effective.

I found the story to be engrossing and - more than anything, the pacing amazed me. A person accustomed to reading classic novels would probably appreciate the way this film unfolded. There is a desire to reach the end, but no hurry.

For sure, this film wouldn't interest everyone, but I rank it among my favorite films. It deserved to win the Academy Award for Best Picture last year: for the story, for the performances, for the direction ... it's rare that one finds a movie so well-put together.

is a real shame that this kind of movies have to be discovered 3 or 4 years since the release (most dont find their way to theaters) i know that people in the entertainment business are in just for the sake of money, but if they dont want to invest in producing quality movies (books,music etc) at least have to be more open in let these great movies have a decent distribution in the states.