Film Review: La Promesse
La Promesse (Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, 1996)
In French with English subtitles
The story revolves around Igor who, at 14, is already a 'skilled' thief. He apprentices in a mechanic shop and, at the same time, apprentices also in his father's illegal activities. Igor's father, Roger, is into smuggling illegal immigrants from Africa and Eastern Europe, renting apartments to these immigrants, and sometimes hiring them as laborers. Then, an accident involving one of the illegal laborers will force Igor to 'come-of-age' and, as a consequence, will make him choose between loyalty and doing the right thing.
In French with English subtitles
The story revolves around Igor who, at 14, is already a 'skilled' thief. He apprentices in a mechanic shop and, at the same time, apprentices also in his father's illegal activities. Igor's father, Roger, is into smuggling illegal immigrants from Africa and Eastern Europe, renting apartments to these immigrants, and sometimes hiring them as laborers. Then, an accident involving one of the illegal laborers will force Igor to 'come-of-age' and, as a consequence, will make him choose between loyalty and doing the right thing.
The film is interesting; it makes me think how children can develop sense of conscience that the adults in a corrupt world often take for granted. The acting of all the lead actors are simply raw and so honest that it's easy to sympathize with one character or condemn the other. The in-your-face cinematography in a lot of scenes contributes to the greatness of the film. The ending, at least for me, is jaw-dropping. This is a well-written film.
Rating: 4.0/4.0
Other films by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne of interest: L'Enfant (The Child) and Le Fils (The Son). I saw both films before and rated them 3.5/40 and 4.0/4.0, respectively.
Rating: 4.0/4.0
Other films by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne of interest: L'Enfant (The Child) and Le Fils (The Son). I saw both films before and rated them 3.5/40 and 4.0/4.0, respectively.
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