SYNOPSICS
L'enfant (2005) is a French movie. Jean-Pierre Dardenne,Luc Dardenne has directed this movie. Jérémie Renier,Déborah François,Jérémie Segard,Fabrizio Rongione are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2005. L'enfant (2005) is considered one of the best Crime,Drama,Romance movie in India and around the world.
Young, unmarried couple Sonia and Bruno have just had a son, who Sonia names Jimmy. Bruno, who did not visit her while she was in the hospital, scoffs at the notion of what he considers traditional employment, instead eking out a living primarily on petty crimes committed with his fourteen year old associate, Steve. He even sublets Sonia's small apartment while she is in the hospital, he sleeping either in the homeless shelter or squatting in what he calls his "shack" down by the river. On the day after Sonia gets out of the hospital, she allows Bruno to take Jimmy for a walk while she stands in line for her benefits. On that walk, Bruno makes the unilateral decision to sell Jimmy to a black market adoption agency. Upon finding out what Bruno has done, Sonia has a breakdown and falls unconscious. Fearing that Sonia will turn him over to the police when she regains consciousness, Bruno tries to get Jimmy back while he leaves Sonia in the hospital in her unconscious state. But Bruno ...
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L'enfant (2005) Reviews
"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,
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.
Achieves a rare authenticity
Unlike some contemporary films that depict unethical behavior as "cool" and without consequence, the films of Jean and Luc Dardenne display a moral center and consequences for people's actions. Their latest effort, L'Infant (The Child), winner of the Palme D'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, is a fully realized, powerful work of art that brings back Jeremie Renier, ten years after his impressive debut in La Promesse. Set in an industrial city in eastern Belgium, L'Infant is shot with the unmistakable Dardenne trademarks: a shaky hand-held camera, natural sounds with no background music, a concern for the underclass that globalization left behind, and a gritty and realistic look and feel. Bruno (Ranier) and his girlfriend Sonia (Deborah Francois) live on the margins. He is a low-level thief, panhandler, and slacker who refuses to work and can only support his girlfriend by illegal means. It is clear that he loves Sonia but only in a playful, childlike way, not in a manner that recognizes adult responsibility. He lives for the moment rather than in the moment, pursuing instant gratification without thinking of how his actions may affect others. When she comes home from the hospital after giving birth to a baby boy she names Jimmy, she finds that Bruno has sublet her apartment in order to buy a jazzy windbreaker with stripes. With no apartment to go home to, the two are forced to huddle together on a cold embankment. While Sonia waits in a long line for her unemployment check, Bruno, acting on a tip from a fence, impulsively decides on his own to sell Jimmy to a criminally connected adoption agency without thinking about how Sonia will react. When he tells her almost matter-of-factly what he did, she collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Bruno, showing remorse, tries to rescind the deal and retrieve Jimmy but is in over his head with a ruthless gang that demands he pay them a small fortune to compensate for their losses. Bruno begs Sonia to take him back and forgive him but she refuses. The more he tries to put his life in order, the deeper it sinks into chaos and, in a daring chase sequence, his reckless actions endanger the life of Steve (Jeremie Seard), his fourteen-year-old artful dodger. The Dardennes do not tell us how to feel about Bruno and we are left to sort out our own reactions. A movie is not a court of justice," says Jean-Pierre Dardenne. "We try to make it so that the viewer feels many things about Bruno. When you see him selling the child, you think, 'No, this can't be, this is impossible.' But then the more you see him, the more you realize he's not just a bastard. You are forced to try to understand the character." Like the Dardenne's earlier films, the power of L'Infant is cumulative. As Bruno evolves and we become more aware of his vulnerability, our capacity for forgiveness is challenged and the film prompts us to grow along with the character. In an ending that is unique and painfully touching, L'Infant achieves a rare authenticity.
Crude, realistic and powerful
firstly you have to know that i am sixteen years old and i am from Argentina so, forgive me for my poor English. i am a lover of Cannes cinema,and this movie showed me that i am not wrong. It is so real and crude that you suffer with the characters. Seeing Bruno walking in the lonely streets is when i take notice of what kind of movie i was watching. Not a very good movie otherwise a masterpiece that combines love, reality, suspense,and forgiveness. You will believe that Bruno is a real person,who was followed by a camera in his "adventures" Watch L'infant if you want to see a class of how to turn a simple story into a crude and impacting film. A film where mistakes, love, forgiveness anb redemption are together to demonstrate what great directors and gifted actors can create.
A grueling but honest cinematic experience
I had the fortune to go see this at its Belgian premiere, which was attended by the main, and stunningly beautiful female actress, Déborah François. I found myself to be interested in the story from the start. The beginning of the film starts very simply, a young mother with a new-born baby searching on the street for what the audience presumes at the time, and is later verified to be the father of her child. The storyline then develops more as a sketch of the day-to-day living at the bottom of Belgian society. Though despite the fact a grim picture of the central couple's living situation is presented, the film-maker has not crossed the line and has interlaced many light-hearted moments into the movie. The story develops as Bruno, the baby's father, is quickly shown to have no real interest in the baby or fatherhood, just in making money. He also is portrayed to have a genuine love for Sonya. In this sense the audience follows Brunos life, knowing not whether to cheer him or pray for his downfall, after he makes several questionable choices about the fate of his baby. I recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a simple film without Hollywood special effects, planned cinematography or any sort of soundtrack. I can see its appeal, but personally I came away wondering what exactly the director was trying to prove by making this film. He did succeed,however, to provide a somewhat entertaining, if slightly heavy film. The cast are excellent.