LA PROMESSE
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 8.0 Alternative Scale: ***1/2 out of ****
Belgium/France, 1996 U.S. Release Date: beginning 5/97 (limited) Running Length: 1:35 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Mature themes, violence) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Cast: Jeremie Renier, Olivier Gourmet, Assita Ouedraogo, Rasmane Ouedraogo Directors: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne Producers: Hassen Daldoul, Luc Dardenne Screenplay: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne Cinematography: Alain Marcoen Music: Jean-Marie Billy, Denis M'Punga U.S. Distributor: New Yorker Films In French with English subtitles
LA PROMESSE, a rare import from Belgium, indicates how grim the mood of a film can become when there's almost no comic relief. Excepting one or two moments of gallows humor, there's little to break the relentlessly bleak tone. Fortunately, the script is written with such intelligence and the characters are developed so believably that, irrespective of the downbeat approach (or, perhaps, because of it), it's difficult not to be moved by the plight of 15-year old Igor (an unforced performance by newcomer Jeremie Renier), who is trapped into choosing between his father, Roger (Olivier Gourmet), and the demands of his conscience.
When the film opens, Igor is already wise beyond his years. He's an active participant in his father's shady, "immigration service" business. Roger is one of those crooks who makes his money by preying on the desperation of others. For exorbitant fees, he smuggles illegal immigrants into Belgium, forges false work permits for them, and sets them up in slum-like apartments (for which he charges unreasonably high rents). Many of the immigrants also work at Roger's construction site, where they are paid a pittance for hard, occasionally-dangerous work. Igor, who also works as an apprentice at a garage, serves as his father's assistant, and has learned to lie, cheat, and steal just as well as his old man.
In addition to being a criminal, Roger is also a bully. When his son does something to displease him, he beats him mercilessly. Despite all that, there's little doubt that he loves Igor, although he's unable to express his affection effectively. In addition, he has trained himself to objectify the men and women he smuggles into the country, adopting the same basic philosophy as the Belgian police: "Illegals don't exist." To Roger, the immigrants are a less-than-human source of income, and that is a philosophy he attempts to pass on. (This reminded me of a subplot in John Singleton's ROSEWOOD in which a father taught racism to his son.) Dad's lessons are leaving an impression upon Igor until an event occurs that forces him to re-evaluate what he has learned.
One of Roger's workers, Amidou (Rasmane Ouedraogo), falls from a scaffold and is critically injured. As he lies dying, he extracts a promise from Igor to care for his wife, Assita (played with quiet dignity by Assita Ouedraogo), and infant boy, both newly arrived from Bugina Faso. Rather than taking Amidou to a hospital (where all sorts of difficult questions would arise), Roger elects to let the man bleed to death, then buries him under a thick layer of cement. He encourages Igor to forget the incident, but the boy cannot, and his attempts to honor his promise to the dying Amidou generate friction between himself and his father. Worse still, Assita is often a grudging, if not openly unwilling, recipient of Igor's aid.
Essentially, LA PROMESSE is a variation of that motion picture staple, the "coming of age" story. The difference here, however, is that the choices faced by Igor are more complex than is the norm. Becoming an adult does not mean, as his father asserts, learning how to drive and "getting laid" -- it means assessing the value of his word and heeding the call of his conscience, regardless of the price. No matter what Igor does, he will betray someone -- the crux of the matter for him is determining which betrayal he can live with. Although LA PROMESSE presents a resolution, it makes it clear that there are no easy answers for Igor or for us.
As directed by brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (who have been making documentaries in their native country for more than two decades), LA PROMESSE has a "you are there" style that favors a cinema verite approach to polished photography. In concert with a quartet of natural performances and a persuasive, insightful script, this method results in a film that one could easily accept as non-fiction. Indeed, while this particular story is an invention of the writer/directors, a host of universal truths can be found just beneath the surface.
LA PROMESSE is designed to challenge an audience. There are numerous instances throughout when viewers will find themselves wondering what they would do in similar circumstances. On each of these occasions, the directors proceed in a logical, intelligent manner, and rarely stray into melodrama (although there are a few minor slips here and there). Despite being a low-key production, LA PROMESSE speaks volumes about how we treat other human beings and what it means to truly grow up.
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
"A film is a petrified fountain of thought." - Jean Cocteau
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