Enfant, L' (2005)

Directors:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Luc Dardenne

Writers:

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

Release Date:

14 September 2005 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

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:

Homeless Shelter | Illicit Work | Motorscooter | No Music | Stolen Goods

Awards:

11 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

The Child (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brief language.

Runtime:

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

Country:

Belgium | France

Language:

French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Seraing, Belgium

Company:

Les Films du Fleuve

Trivia:

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

Movie Connections:

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

Another powerful story of the downtrodden from the Dardennes

The Dardennes, who won their second Palme d"Or at Cannes this year with "L'Enfant" (The Child), describe it as "a love story that is also the story of a father." Twenty-year-old Bruno (Jérémie Renier) is a petty thief and scam artist in Seraing, an east Belgian steel town, who lives off his girlfriend's welfare and impulsively spends whatever he steals. When eighteen-year-old Sonia (Déborah François) returns after the birth of their son Jimmy, Bruno's far worse than merely unready to accept the responsibility of fatherhood. Unbeknownst to Sonia, he decides to sell the baby on the black market. The film is about what happens following this grotesquely ill-advised decision. Who is really the "child" here? Well, clearly the story is about Bruno.

"L'Enfant" is urgent with movement and has little talk. As with the 1996 "La promesse" (The Promise, 1996), where Jérémie Renier debuted, "Rosetta" (1999), and "Le Fils" (The Son, 2003), the action is ceaseless and obsessive and seems almost real-time. But the Dardennes make every minute count. In those rare moments when the hyper-kinetic Bruno is momentarily still and the camera looks into his face, there's a strong sense of the doubt that will lead to his transformation. When Bruno tells Sonia "I'm sorry," or "I need you" and "I love you" the words carry weight because he doesn't normally ever say such things. But Sonia says, "You lie as you breathe." "L'Enfant" is as powerful and accomplished as anything the Dardennes have done, and as thought-provoking.