L'Enfant
L'Enfant won last year's Palm D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and it is easy to see why it did.
The story is a simple one - Bruno and Sonia are lovers who live from hand to mouth. They have an apartment (which seems to belong to Sonia) but they have to spend the night in a homeless shelter when Bruno rents the apartment to make some cash. Work is something that is beneath him and his primary source of income is stealing.
Things get a bit complicated when Sonia gives birth to a baby boy. She really loves little Jimmy but Bruno doesn't share her feelings. He didn't even visit her at the hospital after she gave birth. Bruno finds out that there is good money to be made in black market adoptions so when Sonia isn't around he sells little Jimmy. When Sonia finds out that Jimmy has been sold she collapses and has to go to the hospital. Bruno manages to get Jimmy back but he has to pay a high price in order to do so. I don't want to say more because to do so would be giving too much away.
The film is above all a character study. We don't find out why Bruno is the way he is. We know that he and his mother are not on good terms but we never find out what transpired between them. He has no respect for anyone, least of all himself. In the end he finally takes responsibility for his actions.
The film is beautifully written and directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne who specialize in making films about people who are down and out. Both Deborah Francois as Sonia and Jeremie Segard as Steve, a fourteen year old boy who sometimes helps Bruno steal, are excellent. But, the film belongs to Jeremie Renier who plays Bruno. He first appeared in an earlier Dardenne film La Promesse and this film shows how he has grown as an actor. You just have to look at his face to know exactly what is going on in his mind. Despite the fact that he is a common thief he had the power to make me feel sorry for him. I look forward to seeing what this talented young actor will do in the future and I also look forward to the next creation from the wonderful Brothers Dardenne.
The story is a simple one - Bruno and Sonia are lovers who live from hand to mouth. They have an apartment (which seems to belong to Sonia) but they have to spend the night in a homeless shelter when Bruno rents the apartment to make some cash. Work is something that is beneath him and his primary source of income is stealing.
Things get a bit complicated when Sonia gives birth to a baby boy. She really loves little Jimmy but Bruno doesn't share her feelings. He didn't even visit her at the hospital after she gave birth. Bruno finds out that there is good money to be made in black market adoptions so when Sonia isn't around he sells little Jimmy. When Sonia finds out that Jimmy has been sold she collapses and has to go to the hospital. Bruno manages to get Jimmy back but he has to pay a high price in order to do so. I don't want to say more because to do so would be giving too much away.
The film is above all a character study. We don't find out why Bruno is the way he is. We know that he and his mother are not on good terms but we never find out what transpired between them. He has no respect for anyone, least of all himself. In the end he finally takes responsibility for his actions.
The film is beautifully written and directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne who specialize in making films about people who are down and out. Both Deborah Francois as Sonia and Jeremie Segard as Steve, a fourteen year old boy who sometimes helps Bruno steal, are excellent. But, the film belongs to Jeremie Renier who plays Bruno. He first appeared in an earlier Dardenne film La Promesse and this film shows how he has grown as an actor. You just have to look at his face to know exactly what is going on in his mind. Despite the fact that he is a common thief he had the power to make me feel sorry for him. I look forward to seeing what this talented young actor will do in the future and I also look forward to the next creation from the wonderful Brothers Dardenne.
posted by Film Fanatic | 3:14 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home