LA PROMESSE
A film review by Jun Yan
Copyright 1997 Jun Yan
In some way this very little publicized (at least here in the States) Belgian film reminded me of an American film a couple of years ago named "Fresh." They both follow a boy's journey through a world that's falling apart and in which they grow up too fast.
As the film opens, it makes no secret that our central character Igor, about 14 years old, is a ruthless little thief. It also explains to us why -- he lives with his father Roger, a scumbag in the business of smuggling illegal immigrants into Europe. In Igor's world, all the adults are thugs, low-lives who lie, steal, rob, cheat, betray and bribe whenever necessary. Morality is merely inexistent. One cannot help blending in with his world.
Assita and her baby are newly arrival from Bugina Faso, Africa to unite with her husband, who work illegally in Belgium for minimal income, live in the dumpester apartment provided by the blood-sucking Roger. Soon there is a hardly detectable affection developing between Igor and Assita. One day in a frentic rush to escape the inspection from the Labor Department, Assita's husband fell from the building while working for Roger and bled to death because Roger refuses to take him to a hospital. Before he dies, Assita's husband asks Igor to take care of his wife and baby. Igor makes the promise, thus the title.
The promise, it turns out, is not so easy to carry out. Assita grows more suspicious everyday about disappeared husband. Roger tries every way possible to cover up his track and forbid Igor's attempt to help her. As conscience begins to awaken within Igor, conflicts with his father becomes inevitable. The film makes it clear that it's hard to do the right thing and it doesn't get any easier as you try to carry it on.
When Roger finally decides to get rid of Assita by selling her into prostitution, Igor faces the ultimate choice: to do the right thing and split with his only family in the world, or to stand aside and salvage his relationship with his father. Keep in mind that he is still merely a child with a heavy moral burden on his heart. Meanwhile, the deceived Assita is still pressing the burning question "Where is my husband?"
The film is about how morality and conscience emerges in a young mind that has never been exposed to such concept. The uncompromising script makes the situation every bit difficult as it could be for our young man Igor. Roger, the disgusting scumbag is also the only person in the world that cares about him and vice versa. From the obvious affection, sometimes shown in his own way, we suspect Roger needs Igor even more badly than his son's need for him, for Igor is the only human connection he has and the only one he does not have to use and deceive. The relationship between this pair of father and son is peculiar as well as familiar to us, which makes Igor's dilemma feel closer to the audience.
Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne brought their years of experience in documentary filmmaking into this dramatic story. The dialogues are cut to a minimum as well as the display of emotions. Every actor except Jeremie Renier was given very little close shots to their faces. Even the extremely intense final confrontation is handled in a flat, almost monotonous manner. Soon I felt I was putting myself in the characters' positions and empathize with them. The motivations, conflicts, choices and feelings are so real, almost as real as the dirty slum and the illegal immigrants living in it.
Renier is required to carry this film on his slim shoulders. With the camera constantly staring at his face, he has to walk the fine line between over-acting and being obscurity. There is nothing in his performance that struck me as unnatural; and we feel the pain with him as he torn between his conscience and father, the dark secret he cannot tell and Assita's trusting face. As usual, it is harder to hold back than to be over-the-top. Oliver Gourmet is absolutely the most realistic rogue who is uncompromisingly repulsive from his appearance to his actions, yet never a simplistic villain. A good villain makes the audience feel threatened and intimidated, because he is real (I said "he" because a realistic female villain has yet to come to my mind) and reminds us of the ones we meet and know in real life. Without the verbal showdown, Roger in some way resembles Dwight Yokam's Doyle in "Sling Blade" because they feel "real." Even though his muttering and frozen expression are the other end of the spectrum, I feel the same chill as I had watching Doyle. Assita Ouedrago, who already made 3 films in her country Bugina Faso, was not given enough close attention from the directors to dig her role, but I just love the conviction she displays when she slaughters a chicken and reads her husband's whereabout from the chicken's gut. Everyone else looks like they are dragged right from the streets.
As Assita, holding her baby, and Igor wandering through the cold, dark streets, it feels like a world sinking and falling. In a time more sociatal decay is blamed on juvenile delinquents and harsher punishments are demanded on younger criminals, the film questions how children can develop sense of morality, conscience, and value in a corrupt world like this. It's also one person's inner journey of struggling to do the right thing, however hard it is. It is nail-biting drama as well as a slice of true life. I give it a B+. Well done.
jun
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