Character

Details

Release year: 1997

Storyline

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.

Top credits

Awards

1 win & 0 nominations

Did you know

• The novel 'Karakter' on which the film is based did not have the final confrontation between father Dreverhaven and son Katadreuffe. Director and screenwriter Mike van Diem changed it into the violent altercation because he envisioned his adaptation primarily as a thriller, where the father-son feud needed to end in a "Hollywood-style shoot-out".

• Although the story takes place in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, many scenes were filmed in other cities across The Netherlands and Europe. This was because Rotterdam has very few buildings from this era left following heavy bombing during the Second World War. Filming locations included: Hamburg (Germany), Wroclaw (Poland), Antwerp and Ghent (Belgium) and The Hague (The Netherlands).

• Based on the novel 'Karakter' and the short story 'Dreverhaven and Katadreuffe' by Dutch writer F. Bordewijk (1884-1965). Bordewijk had always wanted to write a story about a feud between father and a son, which finally became a collection of short stories called 'Dreverhaven en Katadreuffe'. The novel 'Karakter' was released 10 years later, out of Bordewijk's desire to expand the story and the characters.

Box Office

Gross (Domestic): $623,983

Opening Weekend (Domestic): $37,268 (1998-03-29)

User reviews

Technical specs

Sound mix

Dolby Digital

Aspect ratio

1.85 : 1

Color

Color