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Movies like Character

Key Features:
Legal drama, Father-son relationship, Class conflict, Social injustice, Mystery, Ambition, Redemption, Post-WWII, Struggle, Determination, Betrayal, Revenge
Tone:
serious, dramatic, gritty
Target Audience:
Drama enthusiasts, Historical film buffs, Psychological thriller fans, Viewers interested in social commentary
Emotional Arc:
Despair → Determination

Character

1997-04-17
Character Poster - Find Similar Movies

In pre-WWII Holland, the penniless, illegitimate son of a powerful bailiff sets out to become a lawyer as he spends a lifetime struggling to prove his worth to his relentlessly spiteful father.

Genres
History, Drama
Cast
Jan Decleir, Fedja van Huêt, Betty Schuurman, Tamar van den Dop, Victor Löw, Hans Kesting, Lou Landré, Bernard Droog, Frans Vorstman, Fred Goessens
Crew
Mike van Diem, Ferdinand Bordewijk, Mike van Diem
Rating
7.4(109 votes)
CharacterCharacter
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Admiral
Admiral(2015)
6.45

When the young republic of The Netherlands is attacked by England, France and Germany and faces its own civil war no less, only one man, Michael de Ruyter, can lead the county's strongest weapon, the Dutch fleet.



Above the Law
5.9

Frank Valken, high-flying robber, has just made a final masterful break. At least that’s what he believes… Ideal suspects, Valken and his gang find themselves involved in a criminal case of thirty years. It seems that the crazy killers are back.



The East
The East(2021)
5.9

A young Dutch soldier deployed to suppress post-WWII independence efforts in the Netherlands’ colony of Indonesia finds himself torn between duty and conscience when he joins an increasingly ruthless commander’s elite squad.



Victim
Victim(1961)
7.5

A web of blackmail and murder attracts the attention of a barrister with a seemingly idyllic life, threatening to derail his career on the path of success.



The Verdict
6.8

When his wife's murderer is released due to a procedural error, Luc will do everything in his power to stop it from happening... He is going to take justice into his own hands and will then compete with the constitutional state which let him down.



Truth and Justice
7.669

Estonia, 1872. The uncompromising new owner of Robber's Rise must battle with hard work, his spiteful neighbor and with his own family and beliefs to transform the poor land into a flourishing farm of his dreams.



The Collini Case
7.38

A young lawyer stumbles upon a vast conspiracy while investigating a brutal murder case.



Katie Tippel
6.4

In the late 19th century, a young woman moves to Amsterdam with her family and tries to make a living. Preyed upon by various men, she nonetheless rises in society.



The Judge
The Judge(2014)
7.328

A successful lawyer returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder.



This Man Must Die
7.361

When his young son is killed in a hit and run accident, Charles Thenier resolves to hunt down and murder the killer. By chance, Thenier makes the acquaintance of an actress, Helène Lanson, who was in the car at the time of the accident. He then meets Helène’s brother-in-law, Paul Decourt, a truly horrible individual.



Boy Missing
6.485

When her son's alleged kidnapper is released for lack of solid evidence, a reputable and well-known attorney takes matters into her own hands with unintended and spectacularly disastrous consequences.



A Self-Made Hero
6.8

Set in France at the end of World War II Albert Dehousse finds out his father wasn't a war hero and his mother is a collaborator.



Comedy of Power
6.2

Magistrate Jeanne Charmant-Killman doggedly investigates CEO Michel Humeau, who is accused of participating in massive corporate malfeasance. As her investigation leads her into the upper echelons of government, Jeanne becomes intoxicated by the power she is amassing.



The French Detective

When political thugs murder an opponent's volunteer and also kill a cop, chief inspector Verjeat believes the politician who hired them is as guilty as the murderous goon. Verjeat's pursuit of the councilman, Lardatte, gets him a warning from his superiors. When he embarrasses Lardatte while disarming a hostage (the dead volunteer's father), Verjeat is told he's being transferred within a week. He speeds up his hunt for the goon and, with Lefévre, one of his young detectives, he engineers a complicated scheme to buy more time before the transfer. How should Verjeat play out his values of honor and duty?



Misconduct
5.6

An ambitious lawyer finds himself caught in a power struggle between a corrupt pharmaceutical executive and his firm’s senior partner. When the case takes a deadly turn, he must race to uncover the truth before he loses everything.



Well-Off People
4.807

Umberto Maria Durloni is a successful lawyer and a socialite who likes parties and a lavish life. He's got it all, except any ethical qualms.Only a step away from the top, his perfect world crumbles, showing him the brutal do downside to his life.



Black Book
7.445

In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.



Indian
Indian(1996)
6.9

Senapathy, an ex-freedom fighter, is angry. He is angry against the rampant corruption at every level of the bureaucracy. He will clean it up at any cost.



Tailgate
Tailgate(2019)
6.122

A cocksure, road-raging family man finds himself pursued and terrorized by the vengeful van driver he chooses to tailgate.



Accused
Accused(2014)
6.8

An assistant prosecutor zealously pursues a conviction in the case of a pediatric nurse accused of murdering her patients, but doubt arises when her evidence shows that the infants may have died of natural causes.



Dark Diamond
5.9

Pier Ulmann lives from hand-to-mouth in Paris, between construction work and petty theft that he commits on behalf of Rachid, his only “family”. But life catches up with him the day his father is found dead in the street after a long decline. The black sheep of a rich Antwerp family who deals in diamonds, he has left his son nothing, apart from the story of his banishment from the Ulmann family and a thirst for revenge.



Secrets of War
6.628

Tuur and Lambert are best friends. But the war is closing in and is about to change their lives forever. Tuurs dad joined the resistance and even his big brother seems so be part of it. Lamberts family on the other hand choose to obey the Germans. Then a new girls from the city shows up, befriending the boys but telling her secret to only one of them. A choice that separates the boys and ultimately gets her in trouble.



Sons
Sons(2024)
6.785

Eva, an idealistic prison officer, is faced with the dilemma of her life when a young man from her past gets transferred to the prison where she works. Without revealing her secret, Eva asks to be moved to the young man’s ward – the toughest and most violent in the prison. Here begins an unsettling psychological thriller, where Eva’s sense of justice puts both her morality and future at stake.



Blood & Gold
6.654

At the end of World War II, a German soldier is looking for his daughter while an SS troop is looking for a Jewish treasure.



Music Box
Music Box(1989)
7.1

A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.



The Child
The Child(2005)
7.1

A poor young Belgian mother wants her petty thief of a boyfriend to be gainfully employed to raise their newborn child, but he has other ideas.



Antibodies
6.7

When a notorious German serial killer is captured after committing some of the most heinous acts against humanity ever imaginable, a farmer and police officer from a sleepy rural community on the outskirts of Berlin is drawn into the case as he searches for the answers to a murder that has shaken his tight-knit community.



Outside the Law
6.593

After losing their family home in Algeria in the 1920s, three brothers and their mother are scattered across the globe. Messaoud joins the French army fighting in Indochina; Abdelkader becomes a leader of the Algerian independence movement in France and Saïd moves to Paris to make his fortune in the shady clubs and boxing halls of Pigalle.



...And Justice for All

An ethical Baltimore defense lawyer disgusted with rampant legal corruption is forced to defend a judge he despises in a rape trial under the threat of being disbarred.



Priest Daens
7.1

In the 1890s, Father Adolf Daens goes to Aalst, a textile town where child labor is rife, pay and working conditions are horrible, the poor have no vote, and the Catholic church backs the petite bourgeoisie in oppressing workers. He writes a few columns for the Catholic paper, and soon workers are listening and the powerful are in an uproar. He's expelled from the Catholic party, so he starts the Christian Democrats and is elected to Parliament. After Rome disciplines him, he must choose between two callings, as priest and as champion of workers. In subplots, a courageous young woman falls in love with a socialist and survives a shop foreman's rape; children die; prelates play billiards.



The Last Vermeer
6.5

A soldier and member of the Dutch resistance investigates stolen art in the wake of the Second World War, including a Vermeer sold to the Nazis by a flamboyant forger.



A Short Film About Killing

Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.



The Son
The Son(2022)
6.716

A successful lawyer, with a new wife and infant, agrees to care for his teenage son from a previous marriage after his ex-wife becomes concerned about the boy's wayward behavior.



Riphagen the Untouchable

Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1944, during World War II. Andries Riphagen, a powerful underworld boss, has made his fortune by putting his many criminal talents at the service of the Nazi occupiers. But the long battle is about to end and the freedom fighters, who have been persecuted and murdered for years, are abandoning their hideouts to mercilessly hunt down those who have collaborated with the killers.



Counter Investigation

A cop investigates whether the man convicted of murdering his daughter is really guilty.



Belgica
Belgica(2016)
5.992

The story of two brothers who, even though they have absolutely nothing in common, open a bar together that quickly becomes a regular hangout for nighthawks. Despite the success, they must soon face up to the difficulties inherent in running a family business. Their brotherhood turns into rivalry, through no fault of their own.



Emilia Pérez
6.51

Rita, an underrated lawyer working for a large law firm more interested in getting criminals out of jail than bringing them to justice, is hired by the leader of a criminal organization.



Back Home
Back Home(2020)
5.8

The prodigal son of a family in turmoil returns home to his French rural home to reconnect with his family and make sense of their dysfunctions.



Veteran
Veteran(2015)
6.915

When an old collaborator gets severely injured, a veteran policeman tries to figure out the way to bring to justice the ultimately suspected aggressor, a spoiled young executive, heir to a mega corporation, who believes he is above the law.



Bullhead
Bullhead(2011)
7.1

A young cattle farmer is approached by an unscrupulous veterinarian to make a shady deal with a notorious beef trader.



Guilty
Guilty(2011)
7.17

Investigates the corrupt judicial system under which Alain Mar'caux and his wife Edith were arrested on accusations of pedophilia horrific acts they never committed- and the years he spent fighting to get out of prison, clear his name and keep his family.



Two Eyes Staring
5.4

Nine-year-old Lisa discovers her sinister new friend is the ghost of the dead twin of Lisa's mother. Then Lisa's father also begins to suspect his wife of hiding a terrible secret, resulting in deadly consequences…



The Forgotten Battle

During WWII's crucial Battle of the Scheldt, the lives of a glider pilot, a Nazi soldier and a reluctant Resistance recruit tragically intersect.



Flodder
Flodder(1986)
6.322

A low-class antisocial family ends up in a rich upper-class neighborhood and causes all sorts of trouble.



The Star Chamber

As violence escalates in Los Angeles and heinous murders are committed, Steven Hardin, a young judge of the California Supreme Court, must struggle with his tortured conscience and growing despair as he watches helplessly as the ruthless criminals brought before his court go free because clever lawyers find obscure loopholes in the law.



Perez.
Perez.(2014)
6

Demetrio Perez is a tough prosecutor torn between the corruption inherent in his job and the desire to do right by his family. But when opportunity presents itself and his daughter Thea falls in love with a Mafioso’s son, Perez has to cut through the morality of his law-abiding roots and become as dirty as the dangerous criminals he represents.



Rojo
Rojo(2018)
6.017

A small town in an Argentinian province, 1975. The life of Claudio, a successful lawyer, gets complicated when he has a stupid quarrel with a stranger in a crowded restaurant.



A Somewhat Gentle Man
6.517

After serving a 12-year sentence for killing the man that slept with his wife, a man ponders whether he should try and reconcile with his family, or take revenge on those who turned him in.



The Chamber
5.985

Idealistic young attorney Adam Hall takes on the death row clemency case of his racist grandfather, Sam Cayhall, a former Ku Klux Klan member he has never met.



A Bad Son
A Bad Son(1980)
7.439

Bruno is released from prison. He looks for a job and tries to start a new life. His first stop is at his father's apartment.



Ad Vitam
Ad Vitam(2025)
6.251

When he and his pregnant wife are attacked in their home, a former elite agent becomes trapped in a deadly manhunt tied to his own painful past.



Sonny Boy
Sonny Boy(2011)
6.538

Waldemar Nods, a young man from Suriname, meets the older Dutch woman Rika van der Lans and they fall in love. In pre-WWII Netherlands they could not be more different. The one black, the other white, 17 years between them and on top of that Rika already has four children with another man. They love each other, but then Rika appears to be pregnant.



The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment

A very typical post-Soviet era storyline. A bunch of vagabonds lured an innocent teenage girl to their apartment, offered her a drink, intimidated, then gang raped her. Local cops are incapable to undertake an adequate actions against the scoundrels - prevented by the superior chief of the local police, who is the dad of one of the scumbags. The case is closed. The girl's granddad tired of an endless circumlocution decides to take revenge in his own hands.



Old Men in New Cars: In China They Eat Dogs II

The last wish of the dying "Monk" is for his foster child, Harald, to find his real son, Ludvig. But the latter is currently in a Swedish prison cell...



The Attorney
7.8

Song Woo-seok is a lawyer with no clients. When his friend's son is falsely accused of a crime and tortured, he takes up the case and the course of his life changes for good.



The Son
The Son(2019)
5.397

Painter Lorenzo's life spirals out of control as he fears his wife is trying to isolate him from their infant son.



The Client
6.9

Kang Seong-hee, a famous lawyer, takes up a case wherein he has to defend a man who is the main suspect in his wife's death. However, a formidable public attorney tries to test his mettle in court.



Noise
Noise(2023)
4.8

Matt, an influencer and young parent to newborn Julius, discovers a dark secret from his dementing father's past. He starts an in-depth investigation, which consequently opens a Pandora's box of secrets and unravels more family dramas than anticipated. Matt's wife, Liv, is deeply concerned and will do everything in her power not to lose him, but is it too late..?



A Man
A Man(2022)
7

Akira works as a lawyer. One day, he meets with his former client Rie, who asks Akira to perform a background check on her late husband Daisuke.



The 4th Man
6.657

A man who has been having visions of an impending danger begins an affair with a woman who may lead him to his doom.



Public Enemy
7.2

A notorious dirty cop makes an honest attempt to catch a serial killer who even murdered his own parents.



The Heineken Kidnapping

On a cold November day in 1983, beer magnate Alfred Heineken and his chauffeur Ab Doderer are abducted. What follows is the most infamous kidnapping case the Netherlands have ever known.



Black Tide
5.747

When a teenager suddenly disappears without a trace, the case is assigned to an alcoholic police officer who maintains a complicated relationship with his own troubled teenage son, suspected of drug trafficking.



Criminal Law
5.549

Ben Chase is an on-the-rise Boston attorney currently defending a wealthy client in a high-profile murder case. Martin Thiel is the wealthy young man on trial for a particularly brutal murder. The verdict sets Thiel free. Within 24 hours another grizzly and all-too-familiar murder has taken place with striking similarities to the first crime. Chase inexplicably agrees to act as his defense attorney; but this time it will be to gather evidence that will put away his client for good.



AKA
AKA(2023)
6.873

A steely special ops agent finds his morality put to the test when he infiltrates a crime syndicate and unexpectedly bonds with the boss' young son.



Underworld U.S.A.
6.9

A bitter young man sets out to get back at the gangsters who murdered his father.



Carom Shots
6.1

Paul Martin is the subservient brown-nosing youngster who needs quick advancement up the hierarchy to pay for the modern lifestyle he is buying on credit. Seeing that marrying his immediate superior's daughter will not get him the results he wants, he begins plotting the demise of the head of the company. The company itself specializes in holiday travel and unscrupulously brutalizes its customers for maximum profit, spending more thought on publicity gimmicks than customer service...



Villa Caprice
5.5

Famous lawyer, Luc Germon adds Gilles Fontaine, one of the most powerful bosses in France, to his clients. He is suspected of having acquired a magnificent property, Villa Caprice, under questionable conditions.



Tricked
Tricked(2012)
5.6

During his 50th birthday party thrown by his wife, Remco's life takes a turn for the worse. His business partners are scheming behind his back to sell him and his former mistress shows up pregnant.



Armand
Armand(2024)
6.376

Armand, a 6-year-old boy, is accused of crossing boundaries against his best friend at elementary school. While no one knows what actually happened between the two boys, the incident triggers a series of events, forcing parents and school staff into a captivating battle of redemption where madness, desire and obsession arise.



The Ardennes
6.6

A brutal home-jacking goes hopelessly wrong. Dave, one of the two robbers, manages to run off, leaving his brother Kenneth behind. Four years later, Kenneth is released from prison and much has changed. Dave has his life back on track and is trying to help Kenneth however possible, but is witnessing how the highly strung Kenneth tries to win back his ex-girlfriend Sylvie.



Ciske the Rat
6.5

Lovable Amsterdam street urchin, 11 year old Ciske is nevertheless much in need of love as the Dutch 1984 title suggests. He is a scamp with a heart of gold. He causes havoc in the classroom pouring ink over his teacher yet when a polio-crippled boy joins the class Ciske is one of the only children to befriend him and is bullied as a result. His mother works in a bar and Ciske helps out often late into the night - his father is at sea and his mother supplements her income with prostitution. Ciske is also a very angry young man and he smoulders with rage at life's injustices.



1922
1922(2017)
5.938

A simple yet proud rancher conspires to murder his wife for financial gain, convincing his teenage son to participate.



Righting Wrongs
7.6

Jason Chan, a Hong Kong lawyer, is angry at the way the law protects criminals and decides to take the law into his own hands, dishing out vigilante justice when a key witness and his entire family are murdered. But hotshot cop Cindy Si is soon on Chan's case, and the situation unravels into a fight that only a few will survive.



Borgman
Borgman(2013)
6.49

An enigmatic vagrant cons himself into the home life of an arrogant upper-class family, turning their lives into a psychological nightmare in the process.



Symmetry
Symmetry(2003)
7.4

Łukasz, an unemployed geography graduate, is wrongfully arrested for robbery. His alibi is weak, and he is identified during a lineup. The situation gets hopeless when, a few hours later, the alleged victim suddenly dies. The defense lawyer promises to do everything in his power, but Łukasz ends up in custody. He must find his place in a world of harsh prison rules. He chooses the cell of the “grypsujący” (inmates who communicate by coded messages)…



1944
1944(2015)
6.9

The events of the war in 1944, from the Blue Hills to Sõrve Peninsula. Shown through the eyes of Estonian soldiers who had to pick sides and fight against fellow brothers. Choices have to be made, not only by the soldiers, but also by their loved ones.



Class Action
6.3

A liberal activist lawyer alienated his daughter Maggie years ago when she discovered his many affairs. Now a conservative corporate lawyer, Maggie agrees to go up against her father in court. To gain promotion, she must defend an auto manufacturer against charges that their explosion-prone station wagons are unsafe. As her mother begs for peace, Maggie takes on her dad in a trial that turns increasingly personal and nasty.



A Civil Action
6.5

Jan Schlickmann is a cynical lawyer who goes out to 'get rid of' a case, only to find out it is potentially worth millions. The case becomes his obsession, to the extent that he is willing to give up everything—including his career and his clients' goals—in order to continue the case against all odds.



Decalogue V
7.9

Jacek, an angry drifter, murders a taxi driver, brutally and without motive. His case is assigned to Piotr, an idealistic young lawyer who is morally opposed to the death penalty, and their interactions take on an emotional honesty that throws into stark relief for Piotr the injustice of killing of any kind.



Disorder
Disorder(2015)
5.669

An ex-soldier with PTSD is hired to protect the wife and child of a wealthy Lebanese businessman while he's out of town.



Inheritance
6.34

The patriarch of a wealthy and powerful family suddenly passes away, leaving his wife and daughter with a shocking secret inheritance that threatens to unravel and destroy their lives.



My Son
My Son(2017)
5.773

The story of a busy man, who fills his time travelling to Africa, South America and the Middle East. His passion for his job has distanced him from his loved ones. He’s been divorced for three years and has since seen his son very little. When the latter disappears, he is forced to stand still, and soon discovers things about his ex-wife and, above all, his son. A terrible feeling of guilt overwhelms him and he decides to find his son at all costs...



The Prosecutor
6.7

A poor young man is wrongly charged with drug trafficking after being deceived. An ex-prosecutor investigates the case, uncovers a corrupt lawyer team's scheme, and restores justice despite obstruction from evil forces.



Labyrinth of Lies
7.2

A young prosecutor in postwar West Germany investigates a massive conspiracy to cover up the Nazi pasts of prominent public figures.



A Hero
A Hero(2021)
7.307

Rahim is in prison because of a debt he was unable to repay. During a two-day leave, he tries to convince his creditor to withdraw his complaint against the payment of part of the sum. But things don't go as planned. Is he truly a hero?



Q & A
Q & A(1990)
5.8

A young district attorney seeking to prove a case against a corrupt police detective encounters a former lover and her new protector, a crime boss who refuses to help him.



App
App(2013)
5.16

A young psychology student is drawn into the dark and fearful world of a diabolic and mysterious App that starts to terrorize her, distributing compromising photographs, videos and text messages about herself and delves deeper and deeper into her personal life, flawlessly exposing all of her deepest secrets.



The King
The King(2017)
7.341

A young Korean man surpasses his difficult childhood by becoming a powerful prosecutor, but soon learns that real power comes at a price.



Fatherland
6.15

Fictional account of what might have happened if Hitler had won the war. It is now the 1960s and Germany's war crimes have so far been kept a secret. Hitler wants to talk peace with the US president. An American journalist and a German homicide cop stumble into a plot to destroy all evidence of the genocide.



Forever Rich
6.5

This is the story of Richie and his journey to become the greatest rap-artist in the Netherlands. One evening he is violently mugged by a group of teenagers and loses his most prized possession: an expensive watch. When images of the humiliating robbery go viral, Richie's hard-earned reputation is damaged.



L'été en pente douce

When he inherits the family house and property after his mother's death, aspiring novelist Fane returns home with his bimbo girlfriend Lilas. He must care for his idiot brother Mo and contend with a greedy garage owner who covets Fane's property to expand his business. When efforts to buy the property are fruitless, the mechanic incites the townsfolk against the strange trio.



I Don't Know Much, But I'll Say Everything

Pierre Gastié-Leroy is the son of a wealthy director of a factory of weapon manufacturing. Despite his parents, two generous uncles and a bishop godfather who try to inculcate him the rigid values of his social level, Pierre is a dreamer, antimilitaristic, social educator who dreams of saving three thugs, his "little guys" at the limit of delinquency. After several resounding failures that sent him to prison, Pierre is ordered by his father to join his factory to direct the social service. Tired of the venality of his father and the foolishness of the "little guys", Pierre hires them at the factory...



Son of a Rich
6.917

Grigory, born into an oligarch family, is so spoiled that he believes he's above the law. When he faces jail, his father decides to 'rehabilitate' his son. An abandoned village is reconstructed, 19th century style. Grigory 'goes back in time', reincarnated as a serf, to learn how to appreciate life and to work hard.



Norte, The End of History

An embittered law student commits a brutal double murder; a family man takes the fall and is forced into a harsh prison sentence; a mother and her two children wander the countryside looking for some kind of redemption.



Reversal of Fortune
6.626

Wealthy Sunny von Bülow lies brain-dead, husband Claus guilty of attempted murder; but he says he's innocent and hires Alan Dershowitz for his appeal.



The Resistance Banker

In the occupied Netherlands during World War II, banker Walraven van Hall is asked to use his financial contacts to help the Dutch resistance. With his brother Gijs, he comes up with a risky plan to take out huge loans and use the money to finance the Resistance.



The Hunt
The Hunt(2012)
8.095

A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son’s custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.



Buffalo Boys
6.7

Betrayed by the Dutch colonial forces, Arana manages to escape along with his nephews Jamar and Suwo, the newborn sons of Hamza, one of the last Indonesian sultans fighting against foreign tyranny. In 1860, after wandering for years on the plains of the American Wild West, Arana and the two brothers return to Indonesia to avenge their dead loved ones and punish the evil man who caused their misfortune.

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