Character

Yes, *Character* (Karakter) won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Academy Awards in 1998. Directed by Mike van Diem, it was the first Dutch film to ever win this specific award. It beat out other acclaimed international films like the Spanish entry *Secrets of the Heart*.

Set in 1920s Rotterdam, the story follows a young lawyer, Katadreuffe, who is suspected of murdering his estranged and tyrannical father, Dreverhaven. The narrative explores their lifelong, intensely antagonistic relationship, which is revealed through a series of flashbacks during a police interrogation. It is a dark psychological drama based on the classic 1938 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk.

The movie stars Fedja van Huêt in the lead role as the ambitious Jacob Willem Katadreuffe. He stars opposite Jan Decleir, who plays his fearsome father, the bailiff Dreverhaven. The cast also features Betty Schuurman as Katadreuffe's mother, Joba.

Yes, the film is a direct adaptation of the 1938 novel *Karakter* by the renowned Dutch author Ferdinand Bordewijk. Director Mike van Diem wrote the screenplay adaptation himself, streamlining some of the novel's subplots to fit the cinematic format. The book is considered a masterpiece of Dutch literature.