avik-basu1889 I was relatively unfamiliar with the films of the Dardenne brothers until I ended up watching 'Two Days, One Night' and was completely floored by what I watched. So I then decided to watch some of their earlier films and 'La Promesse' seemed like a good place to start as this is widely considered to be their breakout film.'La Promesse' has so many of the directorial and thematic content that I found in 'Two Days, One Night'. There is a clear sense of moral dilemma that is existent in both the films. In 'La Promesse', the protagonist is made to face this dilemma, while in 'Two Days, One Night', it's the supporting characters that are made to face the same for the majority of the film. Another similarity is the extremely simple storyline in the screenplay. But what makes both the films special is the stripped down and brutally unflashy style of direction and storytelling and a conscious effort by the Dardennes to give all the importance to the characters instead of the plot which binds them. In both the films, the plot moved me, but what bowled me over was the incredibly humane and endearing nature with which the Dardennes treated the characters.Although 'La Promesse' at the basic level is a character study of Igor and his character arc, but the Dardennes manage to weave in and explore some very universal and substantial issues. One of these issues is racism. We can easily see and observe the prejudice that the character of Assita faces from some of the Belgian citizens due to the colour of her skin. The other big issue that gets explored is the matter of immigration. This is an issue whose significance hasn't receded even a bit from 1996 to 2016. It is still an issue which divides the ordinary people, politicians and countries. Although the Dardennes don't make a huge statement on this issue, but they do depict the grim reality and the exploitation that comes along with it.The father and son relationship between Roger and Igor provides the backbone for the film. Roger is a big, burly man who brings immigrants to Belgium illegally and then exploits them for his own gains and benefits. He also has a influence on his son Igor. Igor does whatever he wants him to do. Igor has to take leave from his apprenticeship work and also is forced to curtail his playing time with his friends whenever his father summons him. He has to help Roger in his work which involves exploiting the immigrants. So, in a simplified sense Roger is the villain in the film who has an overbearing presence. Thematically he is a dark shadow that Igor is living under and the viewer would want Igor to have a moral awakening and rebel against his father. But the Dardennes give Roger one likable quality that makes him somewhat redeemable. His love for his son Igor seemed genuine to me. There are some scenes in the film which Roger and Igor share which are genuinely sweet and adorable especially the karaoke scene. So Roger is still a bad presence in Igor's life and his flaws outweigh his redeeming qualities, but his love for his son lifts him from being a generic villain to being an interesting, flawed individual. The actor Olivier Gourmet deserves a lot of praise for his pitch perfect portrayal of this flawed man. Another great performance comes from Assita Ouedraogo. This is a fiery performance. She exudes a great amount of strength that is also expressed through the fire in her eyes. If I have any reservation with the film, though being a nitpick, it will be Jérémie Renier's performance as Igor. He is not bad at all. As a matter of fact in certain emotional scenes, he is genuinely good and forces the viewer to feel empathy for him. However in some of the quieter scenes, his facial expressions seemed a bit artificial and flat to me. But I'll have to restate that he is still good as Igor. There are just certain scenes where I thought his performance could have been slightly better. The Dardennes' subtle and nuanced style of storytelling which involves the lack of any musical score whatsoever makes 'La Promesse' a very realistic portrayal of moral awakening. Immigration and Racism are a part of the plot, but there isn't a heavy-handed treatment of these issues. Just like 'Two Days, One Night', the ending of the film is absolutely perfect. It is by no means a happy ending. But it still is an ending that is subtly ornamented with an underlying sense of hope and optimism for the future.

Ilpo Hirvonen After ten years of directing documentaries the Dardenne brothers directed their first fictional film, Falsch (1987). In 1992 they finished their second one, Je pense à vous (I Think About You) which they didn't think as a good film. After four years, came their first real "Dardenne-film" The Promise. It was the first film where they found their own unique style. The Promise is a story of a father son relationship, which they had already dealt with in Falsch.Roger (Olivier Gourmet), with his 15-year-old son Igor (Jérémie Renier), drives across industrial Belgium to get illegal immigrants from a truck. They bring them back to a block of flats they live in and start charging them for money. One of the immigrants is Assita who has come to Belgium with her husband to find a better future for them and their baby. One day when immigrant-inspectors pay a visit events start to have radical consequences.The films by the Dardenne brothers usually focus on the moral choices the characters have to make and what are the consequences. In The Promise Igor has to decide, whether to obey his father or to do what's right and help Assita. Then we get to the question what is the right thing to do? And this is what Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne want to do: let us observe and think. Luc Dardenne has said that the basic idea of film-making is to reconstruct new humane experiences. The Promise makes one think about these moral dilemmas and social issues but also associate the events with one's own life.Geographically Belgium is in between of Germany and France - Belgium is only a country for trespassing. For instance a harsh example; Hitler in WWII. This is the main theme of The Promise - it is a story of trespassing. For Assita Belgium is a metaphor of a certain state in life, which she is just passing by. No one stays in Belgium (or in that state of life).As is Assita in between of two worlds; her home country and Belgium, so is Igor. Igor feels himself grown-up when he's collecting taxes for his father and driving around Belgium. But on the other hand he's full of juvenile joy as he drives with his friends on a go-kart. Igor was played by Jérémie Renier (L 'Enfant, Lorna's Silence). It was his first role and through that he brought a realistic life to the character who tries to free himself from the chains of his father - the brothers have always appreciated the idea of using amateur actors. Igor's father, Roger was played by the Golden Palm-winner Olivier Gourmet, who is in my opinion a very talented actor. He gives a great life to Roger, whose world is worthless and merciless.The Dardenne brothers were raised in an industrial town in Belgium, which is the milieu in all of their films. The sound scape is something that one should pay attention to. There's no musical score at all only the voices the characters hear, the voices of an industrial town - ambiance. In the end the industrial voices just keep going on as the credits come on the screen. It's like we can't handle them anymore, they're spreading off the screen. A bit like in Chaplin's City Lights.The minimalist style of The Promise is amazing. It's touching on a new level. The brothers have totally succeed in their mission to create new humane experiences. Luc Dardenne writes in his 'diary' Behind Our Pictures, that the more you take material away the closer you get to the humane emotions, which he achieves through the severe aesthetics, minimalism and ruthless sound scape.Faces are in an important role, when describing humane emotions in The Promise the faces have also a dramaturgical role. I'm going to quote Luc Dardenne here, translated in English: "In every scene with Igor and Assita where they look to each other, Igor is always the first to turn his head away. Igor isn't able to meet Assita's eyes, because he senses a moral command that he cannot reply. Except in the final scene." And what a redemption it is in the end. The meaning of facial expressions and the philosophy behind it comes from a French philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas, who both of the brothers admire and from whom they get background for their philosophy of film.The Promise is thinking - philosophy of film. The brothers have stabilized film as an instrument for philosophy. I hope that the true film fanatics get to see this and appreciate it as much as I do. In addition to its themes of change, father-son relationship and trespassing, The Promise challenges the viewer to think on its own. The brothers force us to meet the moral choices out there.

Zmajina Despite the criminal setting, the human trafficking and what have you, don't be fooled by phrases like "socially relevant". This is pure melodrama. In fact, any soap opera writer would proudly exploit the plot elements of the film. But what makes it a masterpiece is the absolutely flawless direction. There is not a single scene that is superfluous. Blink and you'll miss an important link in the story.Behind the apparent simplicity of each scene there is a lot of careful planning. The feelings and actions of the characters are skilfully pointed out for exactly as long as it takes to understand them. The Dardenne brothers are helped by a cast that remains etched in your memory, but I doubt any of the actors would shine this much in a less carefully directed film.

Jerome-5 At the turn of the 20th century, film pioneers in the United States were shooting movies about the fantastic, pushing the envelope of special effects and melodrama, while European film makers were trying to capture the the essence of "real life." It's amazing how little has changed in a hundred years."La Promesse," a Belgian film by the Dardenne brothers, offers so little of the American drama-enhancers that at first it seems boringly mundane. But an interesting morality-play soon puts the viewer's mind to work. What is the main character, Igor, a street-wise kid supposed to do when his father, who has taught him every trick in the book, hides the accidental death of an illegal immigrant worker? Igor promises the worker's wife that he will look after her and her baby while her husband has gone "missing" but is unable to tell her the horrible truth.Igor contemplates what to do, oftentimes while driving around a ghastly post-industrial landscape on his rickety moped. No music, just moped whining. In typical Dardenne style, there is a brief touching and funny scene in all of this misery. Igor is filmed actually having fun with his pals in a pitifully dilapidated, home-made go-cart -like all kids should- rather than contemplating such weighty issues. The effect is unforgettable.Igor finally decides to make a break with his father and in a common but effective convention -- he uses the survival tactics that his father taught him (such as driving their van) against him, leaving the fat-ish father to go after his kid while squeezing onto his kid's moped. Truly a pathetic sight.Igor, his hand played with his father, is now forced to confront the issue with the worker's widow and her baby which makes for a powerful conclusion. Sans music, of course.Without entirely giving up the movie, the title, "La Promesse" actually has two meanings it seems. The first is the promise to the woman and her baby but the directors evidently are also rooting for "the promise" of a younger (post-baby boomer) generation to act altruistically. I'm reminded of the line in a John Cougar Mellencamp (baby-boomer) song, "Check it Out," when he sings wistfully, "Future generations...maybe they'll have a better understanding, Hopefully have a better understanding..."In a sad coda, I saw "La Promesse" in Washington DC's last independent theater just days before it closed down, thus losing it's battle with the evil theater-chain empires. Movies like "La Promesse" are the kinds of films that allow one to restore the promise that there can still be thoughtful and unforgettable cinema out there in the land of formulaic Hollywood pap. These films need to be made and offered in our theaters and video stores...and taught in our film schools. They do more than entertain. They offer a window on life. If they can't survive in the "movie market," then (oh-no, the s-word) subsidize them and use them as teaching instruments to our students. Maybe future generations will revive the art -- and learn something in the process.