Character(1997)

(Karakter – Netherlands)

Oscar 1998 – Best Foreign Language Film

Short pooper:
Dreverhaven’s (Jan Decleir) death is ruled a suicide and Jacob (Fedja van Huêt) -who is his son- is acquitted. He also discovers, in the end, that Dreverhaven left him everything in his will.

Longer version:
The movie starts with the apparent murder of disliked bailiff A.B. Dreverhaven at the hands of an embittered Jacob Katadreuffe and, then, goes into a flashback of Jacob reflecting on his life.

In early-20th.-century Rotterdam, Jacob is born out of wedlock from an apparently forced sexual encounter between his mother Joba (Betty Schuurman), a housekeeper, and Dreverhaven, whom Joba worked for. She leaves the house and, despite constant pursuit from Dreverhaven asking her to marry him, Joba, against all odds, raises Jacob on her own as a single mother. Growing up, life is not easy for Jacob, especially due to the fact that his path constantly crosses that of Dreverhaven, who always manages to make things harsh and punishing for him. As a young boy, he is arrested on a charge of theft, he announces being the son of Dreverhaven, who, in turn, refuses to acknowledge it, thus causing him to do some prison time. Later on, as a young man, Jacob tries to obtain a loan -from a bank owned by Dreverhaven- to buy a cigar store; Dreverhaven concedes the loan, but, to spite him, later sues him to force the closure and bankruptcy of the store, so that Jacob has difficulties in paying the debt.

Undeterred, Jacob becomes a clerk in the same law firm conducting the lawsuit against him and, through hard work, not only does he manage to pay back the debt but also becomes highly appreciated as a staff member, thanks to having self-taught English with the help of an old encyclopaedia his mother owned. Inspired by the respect of his lawyer bosses, he decides to go to Law school and, for that effect, he goes back to Dreverhaven’s bank once more, to secure another loan that would cover the tuition. Dreverhaven concedes once again, but, this time, under the condition of having the right to recall the loan whenever he pleases.

Despite the constant threat of being financially sunk by Dreverhaven and all the complications the man bestows upon him, Jacob becomes a lawyer and passes the bar exam. The movie eventually reaches the opening scene, the day of Dreverhaven’s death: as the law firm Jacob belongs to celebrates his formal recognition as a lawyer, Jacob storms into Dreverhaven’s office for a once-and-for-all confrontation with the man that had non-stop tormented him throughout his entire life; even though Dreverhaven appears to congratulate him and offers a handshake -possibly with a contemptuous undertone-, Jacob angrily lunges at him.

Shortly after, a bloodied Jacob is seen leaving Dreverhaven’s office and the scornful man is later found dead, with a knife in his stomach. Jacob is arrested as a murder suspect and a trial ensues. Eventually, the investigation reveals that Jacob’s encounter with his father occurred at 5:00 p.m. and he, therefore, could not have killed Dreverhaven, whose time of death, as per an autopsy, was determined to be hours later, at 11:00 p.m. and actually occurred by suicide.

The trial ends with Jacob cleared of all charges. In the end, a police officer is seen handing Jacob a document that turns out to be Dreverhaven’s will -also signed VATER (Father)-, in which he left his son his entire fortune.