The winner of the 1998 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, the Dutch film Character amply deserved its nod at the Oscars. An engrossing, atmospheric, and extremely well-crafted film, Character (original title: Karakter) is the kind of movie that comes out of the sidelines and forces you to take notice simply by virtue of its stylishness. Set in 1920s Rotterdam, Character beautifully evokes an austere, Dickensian world of factories and ghettos, bustling law offices and brooding landlords, a world of submerged passions and hatreds, of lofty dreams as well as disillusionment.

It's obvious from the beginning that Character is something special. The film is an extended series of flashbacks surrounded by an intriguing frame story of a young man being questioned by the police over the death of a bailiff named Dreverhaven. In fact, in the opening moments of the film we see this young man having a confrontation with Dreverhaven, clearly the climax of a stormy relationship, but what came of it? Who is the young man? Did he kill Dreverhaven? If so, why? If not, what happened? All of those questions are asked and answered, one by one, as the film unfolds, but they're not straightforward questions or easy answers: young Jacob Katadreuffe is a complex character, and as we see, so is Dreverhaven. By the time the closing credits roll, we will have been asked to consider a complex and difficult relationship, and to witness a tormented soul acting out in ways that even he may not fully understand.

Character is based on a 1938 novel by Dutch author Ferdinand Bordewijk; the fact that the author lived in the time and place in which the story is set adds an authenticity to the production. The film, in fact, does an excellent job of being an unobtrusive period piece: the historical setting is never overemphasized, instead serving as a nicely textured backdrop to the lives of the characters.

Character is a film that is easiest to describe as simply "well done." To begin with, its story is an interesting one, a character study of several complex individuals over the course of a number of years. The frame story adds an edge to this slowly-developing story arc, since we know that certain conflicts must eventually come to a head, although we are kept in suspense as to the nature of the final conflict. Around the main three characters are a sizeable number of secondary characters, but director Mike van Diem handles the cast extremely well: the primary figures are well-introduced, and the secondary figures are memorable for their roles in the story without the viewer needing to recall their names.

The overall effect of the film is a case of the pieces of the puzzle all coming together to create a polished whole: the cinematography, the structure of scenes, the well-placed use of voiceover narration, and the excellent performances from the cast all combine with the well-paced and often surprising story to create a film that kept me completely engaged from the first moment to the last.

The DVD

Video

Character is presented in a beautiful anamorphic widescreen presentation that preserves the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1. With its muted palette of grays and browns creating a cityscape to mirror the mental state of its protagonist, Character is not a film with a vibrant color scheme. Fortunately, the outstanding DVD transfer does a great job of capturing the subtleties of the film's visual environment, with excellent detail, texture, and shading present throughout the film. Flesh tones are natural and as a whole the image looks excellent. The print is free of noise, though I did spot the occasional print flaw; I was pleased to see that there is no edge enhancement to be seen anywhere.

Character comes with English subtitles that are unfortunately burned-in. The subtitles are in yellow and are clear and easy to read, and appear to have been well-written and edited.

Audio

The original Dutch soundtrack is presented in Dolby 5.1. The film is a largely narrative- and dialogue-driven piece, and the soundtrack is more than satisfactory for what's required. The actors' voices are nicely clean and clear, and the dialogue appears to be distinct at all times. There's a nice balance between the narrator's voiceover and the dialogue of the actors within the scenes as well. English subtitles are provided.

Extras

Character is just this side of a bare-bones disc, with only a set of trailers. The menus are attractive and easy to navigate.

Final thoughts

A compelling film that lives up to its title, Character offers a detailed look into the lives of a handful of complex, often tormented characters. The central figures of Jacob Katadreuffe and his nemesis Dreverhaven keep our attention throughout this polished, well-paced story. With its moody, slightly Dickensian air, the film's setting in 1920s Holland adds another layer of interest to this highly satisfying film. Sony Pictures Classics has given this excellent film an equally excellent transfer to DVD, and I highly recommend it.