Most European countries have long, rich film traditions. But while nations
such as France, Germany, and even Denmark have made formidable contributions
to world cinema, the Low Countries’ role has been more sketchy. According to
Robert Sklar’s Film: An International History of the Medium, however,
one of the most important proto-cinematic innovations has roots in the
Netherlands, this year’s Memphis in May honored country. In the mid-17th
century, Dutch inventors devised a way to project painted images through a
lens using light (either the sun or candlelight). This development led to the
first self-contained projectors — Magic Lanterns — which included a light
source, image, and lens all in one apparatus.
But since that crucial contribution to cinema’s prehistory,
discussion of Dutch film is usually limited to two names — Joris Ivens and
Paul Verhoeven. Ivens was an early political documentarian with roots in the
Soviet style who, despite his own roots, made films all over the world,
including the U.S. and China. Likewise, Verhoeven left the Netherlands for
work elsewhere. Most Americans are familiar with his extreme (if often
misunderstood) blockbusters RoboCop and Starship Troopers, but
Verhoeven made many well-regarded films in his native Netherlands during the
’70s and early ’80s, including Soldier of Orange and The Fourth
Man.
But the Netherlands’ film scene also gained a bit of
international exposure a few years ago when director Mike van Diem’s severe
but emotional Karakter (Character in the U.S.) won the 1998
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Karakter will be shown
this week at Malco’s Bartlett Cinema Ten as part of Memphis in May.
Visually, Karakter is a harsh but striking blend of black,
brown, and white — black suits, brown offices, and white snow. Set in
Rotterdam during the early 1900s, the film opens with an aging court bailiff,
Dreverhaven (Jan Decleir), found dead and a young lawyer held under suspicion
of murder. The film is told in flashbacks as Katadreuffe (Fedja Van Huet), the
lawyer, defends his innocence and describes to the police his relationship
with Dreverhaven.
Dreverhaven, it turns out, is a vicious, heartless official who
takes joy in ruthlessly evicting poor families. Katadreuffe, who we learn is
Dreverhaven’s illegitimate son, describes him as “law without compassion,
the curse of the poor.” Katadreuffe is conceived when Dreverhaven forces
himself on his servant Joba (Betty Schuurman). Joba decides to flee rather
than accept Dreverhaven’s marriage proposal and raises Katadreuffe in poverty.
Katadreuffe grows up taunted by schoolmates as a bastard and, after learning
the identity of his father, develops a hardened hatred for him.
But Dreverhaven watches his son’s growth from afar, inflicting
what may be cruelty and what may be tough love. “Why don’t you leave our
boy in peace,” Joba asks Dreverhaven during one of their rare meetings.
“I’ll strangle him for nine-tenths, and the last tenth will make him
strong,” the old man responds.
Karakter is based on a 1938 novel by Ferdinand Bordwijk
that was a major bestseller in the Netherlands, and the film has a Dickensian
feel. It is essentially a dark, spite-driven Horatio Alger tale: Poor
Katadreuffe learns English (and much more) from an incomplete set of
encyclopedias he finds abandoned in a new apartment his mother rents and works
his way through bankruptcy to become a lawyer. But his largely unspoken family
feud is never far from the surface of his life, culminating in the dramatic
confrontation that bookends the film.
Karakter is a fine film, but viewers shouldn’t read too
much into that Oscar win. The Best Foreign Language Film Oscar rarely rewards
the most exciting international cinema. And it’s hard to say how much the
period piece has to say about life in the Netherlands today. But quibbles
aside, Karakter is still an accomplished film that’s worthy of this
week’s big-screen showcase.
