Cast of “Marieke, Marieke” (2010)

If you’re searching for the Marieke, Marieke cast, you’re usually trying to confirm one of two things: who plays the main characters, and what the key roles are in the story. This page gives a clean, readable cast overview with role context that matches the film’s tone: intimate, realistic, and built on tension rather than spectacle.

Principal cast

The film’s core is carried by four performances. These names are the ones typically used in festival programme notes, catalogue listings, and press summaries because they represent the main character triangle and the emotional engine of the story.

• Hande Kodja - Marieke
• Jan Decleir - Jacoby
• Barbara Sarafian - Jeanne
• Caroline Berliner - Anna

Hande Kodja as Marieke

Marieke is 20, living in Brussels and trying to keep her life functional through routine. She works during the day and uses the night to search for warmth and reassurance in relationships that feel safer because they are controlled. The role requires restraint: the character rarely explains herself directly, and the film depends on small shifts-body language, hesitation, and the way Marieke switches between toughness and vulnerability.

Kodja’s performance is central because the film doesn’t rely on plot twists. It relies on whether you believe Marieke’s behaviour and the quiet logic behind it. She plays the character in a way that keeps the audience close, even when the choices are uncomfortable to watch.

Jan Decleir as Jacoby

Jacoby is a book editor who arrives with a seemingly practical goal: he is looking for Marieke’s late father’s last manuscript. In story terms, he functions as the catalyst. His presence forces the family’s silence into the open, and his attention pulls Marieke toward answers she has never been allowed to ask.

Decleir’s role works because Jacoby is not written as a villain and not written as a saviour. He is a stable, persistent figure who brings pressure simply by refusing to “let it go.” The power dynamic between a young woman and an older man could have been played as melodrama; here it is played as something more realistic: complicated, sometimes tender, sometimes invasive, and never neatly labelled.

Barbara Sarafian as Jeanne

Jeanne is Marieke’s mother, and she is the film’s emotional gatekeeper. After the father’s death, the household becomes a place where the past is treated as a threat. Jeanne’s way of coping is control: limiting information, policing contact, and keeping everything sealed so nothing “spills out.”

Sarafian plays Jeanne as a believable person rather than a caricature. The character is strict and distant, but the film makes it clear that the distance has a cost. Jeanne’s choices create friction with Marieke not because she hates her daughter, but because she believes silence is the only safe way to survive. That tension-protection turning into possession-is one of the film’s strongest threads.

Caroline Berliner as Anna

Anna is commonly described as Marieke’s friend, and the role matters because it shows what “normal” connection might look like in Marieke’s world. Anna represents the kind of relationship that should be available to Marieke-peer support, straightforward intimacy, and honesty without control.

In a film where the main character is often isolated, a friend role can easily become decoration. Here it functions as contrast: it highlights how far Marieke has drifted from ordinary safety, and how difficult it is for her to accept help that doesn’t come with a power imbalance.

Supporting cast and minor roles

Supporting cast lists can differ between public databases, especially for minor roles and uncredited appearances. That’s normal: different sources use different credit sets, translations, and role labels. The safe editorial approach is simple: if you are unsure about a character name, list the actor without inventing the role.

In practical terms, supporting roles typically include colleagues from the chocolate factory, neighbours, customers, and people from Marieke’s nighttime world. These characters are essential to realism: they build the sense that Brussels is a lived‑in place, not a stage set, and they make Marieke’s double routine feel grounded.

Copy-ready cast line

If you need one clean line for a festival catalogue, screening programme, or press note, use this standard format:

Cast: Hande Kodja, Jan Decleir, Barbara Sarafian, Caroline Berliner.

What people usually search

Common queries around this page include “who plays Marieke”, “Marieke, Marieke actors”, and “Jan Decleir Marieke, Marieke”. If you’re matching metadata across platforms, keep the film title with the year (2010) and keep names spelled consistently. That small discipline prevents duplicate entries and broken search results.