Mike van Diem
Semaine de la Critique
'Genre-wise I saw a love story wrapped within a murder mystery. The mechanics of the plot allowed this generic interpretation.'
Character marks Mike van Diem's feature debut. Based on the celebrated Dutch novel by F. Bordewijk, the film details the disastrous relationship between a young lawyer and his megalomaniac father. After the latter's murder a compelling love story unfolds.
'What attracted me to the story was the utter inability of the central characters to express their emotions and how this leads to their downall,' comments van Diem. 'This is a theme I have used consistently in my short films and scripts.'
Van Diem changed elements within the story which he did not consider strong enough for the transposition to screen. The director adds, 'We [van Diem and producer Laurens Geels] weren't happy with recent Dutch adaptations of literary works which, for us, were lacking passion. We wanted a much looser and fresher approach in both the method of story-telling and in the overall look of the film, hence my decision to use a steadicam and wide angles, giving the film a greater fluidity.'
Geels and lead actor Jan Decleir are old-hands within the European film industry. To bolster his own rookie standing van Diem surrounded himself with first-time talent. The sound man, editor and cinematographer are all feature debutees.
'This movie was an amazing experience,' he maintains, ' the scale was, for me, ennormous as we shot in The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Germany. I got rid of a lot of my fears and inhibitions about filmmaking. As regards future big international productions my confidence is in the ascendant. As a filmmaker I feel much more mature.'
Nicholas Cunningham
Prod co: First Floor Features
Prod: Laurens Geels
Dir: Mike van Diem
Scr: Mike van Diem in association with Laurens Geels and Ruud van Megen
Ph: Rogier Stoffers
Art dir: Jelier & Schaaf
Cos: Jany Temime
Ed: Jessica de Koning
Cast: Jan Decleir, Fedja van Huet (circumflex on e), Betty Schuurman
Running time: 125 mins
Int sales: President Films
