Enfant, L' (2005)

Directors:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Luc Dardenne

Writers:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne (writer)
Luc Dardenne (writer)

Release Date:

14 septembre 2005 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drame

Plot:

Bruno and Sonia, a young couple living off her benefit and the thefts committed by his gang, have a new source of money: their newborn son.

Plot Keywords:

Purse Snatcher | No Music | Motorscooter | Illicit Work | Prison

Awards:

11 wins & 12 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

"L'Enfant" - The Child

Ensemble

Jérémie Renier	...	Bruno
Déborah François	...	Sonia
Jérémie Segard	...	Steve
Fabrizio Rongione	...	Jeune Bandit
Olivier Gourmet	...	Policier en civil
Anne Gerard	...	Commerçante (as Anne Gérard)
Bernard Marbaix	...	Commerçant
Jean-Claude Boniverd	...	Le Policier en civil
Frédéric Bodson	...	Bandit plus âgé
Marie-Rose Roland	...	Une infirmière
Leon Michaux	...	Policier Commissariat (as Léon Michaux)
Delphine Tomson	...	La fille aux cheveux rouges
Stéphane Marsin	...	Jeune Homme
Samuel De Ryck	...	Thomas
François Olivier	...	Remy

Autre(s) titre(s) :

The Child (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brief language.

Durée:

Argentina:95 min | USA:100 min | France:95 min | France:100 min

Pays:

Belgium | France

Langue:

Français

Couleur:

Couleur

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Son:

Dolby Digital

Classification:

Argentina:16 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Belgium:KT | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Australia:M | Taiwan:GP | Finland:K-11 | USA:R | Hungary:16 | UK:12A | Brazil:12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Czech Republic:15 | Brazil:16 (Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival) | Sweden:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:AL

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Seraing, Belgium

Company:

Les Films du Fleuve

Anecdotes:

There is no music in this film, not even in the final credits.

Connexions De Film:

Referenced in "Smagsdommerne: (#3.17)" (2006)

"L'Enfant" - The Child

Earlier this evening, I was attending the premiere of "L'Enfant" in Belgian theaters.

"L'Enfant" shows us a socio-drama, with a story located in the southern region of Belgium, in a city called Seraing, where most movies of the Dardenne brothers are situated.

I will not go into any plot summaries, but let me make a comparison with other directors, so you might get a clue if you'd like to watch this movie or not. Socio-drama is a genre in film not only made in Belgium. Many great directors have made solid socio-drama's: Aki Kaurismaki, Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and many others.

Where you can find a twist of humor in Kaurismaki's movies, you'll have a hard time finding it in "L'Enfant". A high level of realism avoids any dramatization of the struggle-for-life the protagonists experience. This makes it for the viewer not easier to swallow. The absence of a soundtrack even increases this effect.

This movie has many strong points, and although I haven't seen many of the other films who were competing with "L'Enfant" at the Cannes film festival 2005, I think this film has fairly won the Palme d'Or because it scores very high on the essential aspects of film-making: acting, camera-work (see comment by Toon Creemers) and script (dialogues).

I highly recommend this movie, but don't expect to be visually entertained the way we are used to by big budget films from Hollywood. Movies like these don't need a lot of dialogue, fancy one-liners or historical quotes - the picture says it all, in a simple but effective way.

Enjoy,