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Starring Jeremie Renier, Olivier Gourmet, Assita Ouedraogo. Written and Directed by Luc and
Jean-Pierre Dardenne. French, with English sub-titles.
Igor (Renier) is a 15-year old Belgian youngster who should be in school, but has arranged for an apprenticeship at a garage so he can learn about cars, and can scam parts for his go-kart hobby. The film opens with Igor helping an old woman with car trouble, taking her wallet when she's not looking. He does so without feeling or thought of what this might do to his victim. He also works willingly for his father Roger (Gourmet) in smuggling in illegal immigrants, forging illegal documents for them, and providing the immigrants with accomodation in stinking rooms at excessive rates. He helps his father without question, and without considering the immorality of his treatment of these people. He barely feels a thing when he helps his dad set up four immigrants to be taken in by the police, as a means of satisfying the town's mayor and its citizens that the police are taking care of the illegal immigrant population. Roger allows some of the immigrants to work off some of their rent by working for free in renovating a building. One day, a Ghanian man, who just had his wife and son smuggled into the country, falls off a scaffold, severely hurt. Igor wants to send him to hospital, but Roger refuses to allow it, instead leaving him to die, and then burying him in cement at the building site after he dies. Just before the man dies, he makes Igor promise that he will take care of his wife and child, and Igor does. Igor begins to befriend the wife Assita (Ouedraogo), much to the annoyance of Roger. Roger becomes so incensed when Igor pays some of Assita's husband's gambling debts, he beats the tar out of him, Roger's girlfriend having to stop him from going too far. But Roger does love his son, as he tenderly helps his son shower, and even makes a tatoo on his arm immediately after a violent beating. Igor is conflicted with his up-to-now unquestioning loyalty to his father, and his promise to a dying man to protect the man's family, and every move Igor makes to help Assita is a betrayal of his father. The film is a very minimalist, rough and gritty depiction of these characters' lives. Belgium is depicted as a cold, desolate and poverty stricken urban wasteland. It is filmed like a documentary, with lots of facial close-ups and hand-held camera shots. There is no glamour or sentimentality in the script, or in the actors portrayals. And the actors are excellent, acting natural without affectations. Renier displays the blankness of a kid without a moral compass until he makes his promise to the dying man. He naturally shows the inner conflict Igor has between his loyalty to his father and his empathy to Assita, who doesn't even know her husband is dead. Ouedraogo portrays elegance and fierce pride in her family and African spiritual traditions. Be prepared for a sparse, roughly presented film that moves relatively slowly, but always with a sense of purpose. It is a welcome contrast to the glamour and superficiality that Hollywood films often exhibit.  |