Character

I thought Matt might be trying to kill me. He asked me to do this blog with him and I was so flattered, then he made me watch a monkey movie and a second movie with subtitles. Since I’m an adventurous soul (when it comes to movies) gave him the benefit of the doubt and dove into the Dutch-Belgian film Character. Matt didn’t steer me wrong this time.

For me, the true sign of a great foreign film is when I forget I’m reading the subtitles. It’s not that I don’t appreciate foreign films; I just like to do other things when I watch movies and it is impossible to work on the computer or crochet when I’m reading. I was so riveted to this movie from the onset that I didn’t even miss having something to do with my hands.

Character begins with a man, Jacob, visiting an older man, Dreverhaven. Jacob is announcing his graduation from law school. Obviously, there is some animosity between these two men and Jacob ends up lunging for the older man’s throat. The next scene cuts to Jacob being arrested for the murder of Dreverhaven. The remainder of the movie is told in flashbacks from Jacob’s perspective.

The viewer soon discovers Dreverhaven is actually Jacob’s father. His parents never married and Dreverhaven didn’t contribute to Jacob’s upbringing. In fact, it seems Dreverhaven went out of his way to place obstacles in Jacob’s way. The tension between these two men over the decades was palpable. You could just feel the anger and resentment seething in both men.

Jacob worked through all the obstacles placed in his way to be a man of great respect and success. Unfortunately, the lack of a stable family life leaves him unable to establish social relationships. The lack of love is a great disappointment to him, but he accepts it in a pragmatic way.

To tell you the ending of this movie would be a great disservice to you, so I will refrain. I give Character a solid five stars. The actors are riveting, the story is loaded with twists and turns and the script is brilliantly written. Please do yourself a favor and clear some time in your schedule to give your full attention to Character. You will certainly be captivated.

Michelle D. Kieffaber