Monday, March 17, 2014

Character (1997)


Academy Awards, USA 1998

Won
Oscar
Best Foreign Language Film
The Netherlands.

Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Mike van Diem
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Columbia TriStar)

A man accused of murder tells the story of his life through flashbacks while being held by the police. It's a long, sordid tale of being raised by a single mother who never speaks to him while being stalked by a father he never knew. As a teenager he gets a job in a bustling law office because of his knowledge of English. After hours he spends studying for his own eventual law degree. A hateful court bailiff lends him money then tries to bankrupt him at every opportunity for no apparent reason. He falls in love with an office girl but fails to act upon it, losing her forever. Motivations and identities get revealed in the unsatisfactory conclusion.

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