[Reviewed by Gary Cabana, THEreelreviewer]
L'ENFANT (THE CHILD)
Yet another story of immature parenting that is so well-acted and directed it demands your attention (won Cannes'05)!
3-1/2 stars (out of 4)
[(2005)Belgium-France/2006 USA release/Sony Pictures Classics] - (1 hr. 35 min.)
Written & directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Characters/Cast
Bruno (the father) - Jeremie Renier
Sonia (the mother) - Deborah Francois
Review: (film was screened @ the 2005 New York Film Festival)
For those that enjoyed the equally excellent dramatization "Nobody Knows," here is another compelling tale of the wrong way to be a parent. Where "Nobody Knows" followed the child's point-of-view, this film follows another immature point-of-view, that of the father, 'Bruno'.
In a spot-on performance, longtime Dardennes Bros. thespian Jérémie Rénier ("La Promesse") plays Bruno as the ultimate deadbeat. Although smart and able-bodied, Bruno eschews work in favor of panhandling in traffic and using two teenaged boys to rob unsuspecting 'marks' for him. As an adult, Bruno is able to 'fence' the stolen items readily only to cheat his young counterparts by lying about the 'take'.
Although an infant is involved in the storyline, it's more-than-obvious that Bruno is
the title character. It's his immaturity that leads him to sell the infant to a 'broker' for a quick 'score'. And it's also his need for immediate personal gratification that prevents him from seeing the consequences of his behavior.
The best scene of the film occurs when he tells his girlfriend, only 9 days out of the hospital following the birth, that there's no need to worry about the baby as they can "have another." What follows is the ultimate wake-up call for Bruno as he now is forced to realize the price of love, especially a mother's love for her first-born.
Extremely compelling look at the world of a completely self-centered person who must
choose between doing the right thing and doing what has always worked for him.
For those that have never seen a Dardenne Bros. film this is easily the most accessible and should be immediately added on to your list.
MORE cast:
Steve (Bruno's teen 'employee') - Jeremie Segard
Young Thug (Bruno's other teen 'employee') - Fabrizio Rongione
Plainclothes Officer - Olivier Gourmet
MOVIE website (USA)
++++++++++++++++++++NYFF INFO++++++++++++++++++++
The 43rd New York Film Festival / September 23 - October 9,2005
L'ENFANT (THE CHILD)
NYFF synopsis: Bruno (La Promesse’s Jérémie Rénier, in a remarkable performance),
living on the margins with his girl Sonia and their new baby, makes a living pulling minor heists. Always scheming and always strapped for cash, he decides one day to sell the baby on the black market (“We’ll have another one,” he tells the thunderstruck Sonia).
Bruno’s quick, painful growth from childhood to manhood is the central concern of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, and as always they realize their goal through an ingenious mixture of dramatic compression in harrowingly real time, a stunning sensitivity to sound as a dramatic tool, and a mobile camera eye that stays pinned to the action as it unfolds in furious motion.
Alternately heart-rending and uplifting, The Child is that rare thing, a film in which we not only see but feel the redemption of a human being.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
L'ENFANT (THE CHILD)
Yet another story of immature parenting that is so well-acted and directed it demands your attention (won Cannes'05)!
3-1/2 stars (out of 4)
[(2005)Belgium-France/2006 USA release/Sony Pictures Classics] - (1 hr. 35 min.)
Written & directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Characters/Cast
Bruno (the father) - Jeremie Renier
Sonia (the mother) - Deborah Francois
Review: (film was screened @ the 2005 New York Film Festival)
For those that enjoyed the equally excellent dramatization "Nobody Knows," here is another compelling tale of the wrong way to be a parent. Where "Nobody Knows" followed the child's point-of-view, this film follows another immature point-of-view, that of the father, 'Bruno'.
In a spot-on performance, longtime Dardennes Bros. thespian Jérémie Rénier ("La Promesse") plays Bruno as the ultimate deadbeat. Although smart and able-bodied, Bruno eschews work in favor of panhandling in traffic and using two teenaged boys to rob unsuspecting 'marks' for him. As an adult, Bruno is able to 'fence' the stolen items readily only to cheat his young counterparts by lying about the 'take'.
Although an infant is involved in the storyline, it's more-than-obvious that Bruno is
the title character. It's his immaturity that leads him to sell the infant to a 'broker' for a quick 'score'. And it's also his need for immediate personal gratification that prevents him from seeing the consequences of his behavior.
The best scene of the film occurs when he tells his girlfriend, only 9 days out of the hospital following the birth, that there's no need to worry about the baby as they can "have another." What follows is the ultimate wake-up call for Bruno as he now is forced to realize the price of love, especially a mother's love for her first-born.
Extremely compelling look at the world of a completely self-centered person who must
choose between doing the right thing and doing what has always worked for him.
For those that have never seen a Dardenne Bros. film this is easily the most accessible and should be immediately added on to your list.
MORE cast:
Steve (Bruno's teen 'employee') - Jeremie Segard
Young Thug (Bruno's other teen 'employee') - Fabrizio Rongione
Plainclothes Officer - Olivier Gourmet
MOVIE website (USA)
++++++++++++++++++++NYFF INFO++++++++++++++++++++
The 43rd New York Film Festival / September 23 - October 9,2005
L'ENFANT (THE CHILD)
NYFF synopsis: Bruno (La Promesse’s Jérémie Rénier, in a remarkable performance),
living on the margins with his girl Sonia and their new baby, makes a living pulling minor heists. Always scheming and always strapped for cash, he decides one day to sell the baby on the black market (“We’ll have another one,” he tells the thunderstruck Sonia).
Bruno’s quick, painful growth from childhood to manhood is the central concern of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, and as always they realize their goal through an ingenious mixture of dramatic compression in harrowingly real time, a stunning sensitivity to sound as a dramatic tool, and a mobile camera eye that stays pinned to the action as it unfolds in furious motion.
Alternately heart-rending and uplifting, The Child is that rare thing, a film in which we not only see but feel the redemption of a human being.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++