Rockwell_Cronenberg Continuing their exploration into the human condition, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's fourth feature, The Child, brings us into the world of Bruno (Jeremie Renier) and Sonia (Deborah Francois) a young couple who have just had their first child. When we are introduced to the couple, it is after Sonia has gotten out of the hospital and she returns home to find that Bruno, who hadn't gone to see her at all, has sublet their apartment to strangers for a few days to make some quick cash. It's a hell of an introduction for Bruno, and things only digress from there as we find out that he's willing to do just about anything to make some money.The title of the film could literally be applied to the child itself, the catalyst for the narrative events that occur, but it's no stretch to say it instead refers to Bruno, more of a child than anyone else in the picture. He is a young man with seemingly no regard for others and no moral compass, refusing to get a regular job, living from one scheme or theft to another and using pubescent children to run thefts for him. This is a fascinating character to study and one that is ripe for exploration from filmmakers as talented and intimate as the Dardennes.They once again bring their trademark style into the streets, with no musical score and the use of hand-held cameras that bring the audience along with Bruno, seemingly never staging shots but instead letting them all come organically, whether they be out of focus or off-angled. It puts us right there in the dirt with him and is at least part of what makes watching him so fascinating, as opposed to deeply frustrating.Bruno is a deplorable creature, but there's something about him that drew me in, that intrigued me all the way and when he was in danger actually wanted him to escape. I cared for this wandering soul, something that I never would have expected from the opening stages of the film. A lot of this credit must go to the Dardennes, but plenty should be shared with Jeremie Renier, whose portrayal of Bruno is never one of judgment but also never one that tries to make him any more likable than he is supposed to be. The authenticity of this performance is tremendous and there is never a moment where it feels that you're watching an actor perform. It's a shockingly lived-in portrayal, something that comes with the territory of being in a Dardenne production.The brothers restrain their actors, making them pull in their emotions rather than let them out, a technique which is much more interesting and natural than having a shouting match occur every five seconds. Instead, it's the physicality of this world that is able to make the most impression. Bruno and Sonia live very much on the edge, sleeping in a makeshift shack by the beach or homeless shelters at night, and there's a grittiness that the Dardennes are able to achieve which is astounding. You can feel the rocks in their hands, and when moments come like Bruno getting beaten or having to jump in freezing water occur, they are the real emotional spikes of the story and the outlets for all of the anguish that is bottled up throughout.Bruno is certainly the child that the title refers to, but Sonia isn't much of an adult either, the two of them horse-playing constantly from the beginning, whether it's spraying each other with soda or tossing rocks at one another even when they have their infant in their arms. These are tragically irresponsible youths, but in Sonia you can see something is changing with their new responsibility. The film explores the love between a mother and child in a delicate, heartfelt manner that is a stark contrast to the modern decay explored through Bruno. For while Sonia is already experiencing her change, Bruno still has a little bit to fall.The Child is a coming-of-age story in a most peculiar fashion, as Bruno's selfishness strips away the world around him and he has to realize the person he is. He's forced to look in the mirror and assess the image that everyone else looks at. The intimacy, the vividness of the Dardennes work is unparalleled in modern cinema and it makes moments that could feel pedestrian in another films become never ending sequences of breathtaking suspense here. When Bruno and one of his young hoodlums steal a purse and are pursued, my heart practically stopped out of fear and exhilaration. They make you feel every moment of this character's world, and the film is as much of an exploration into the ravaged, decayed society as it is a study of Bruno himself.The Dardennes keep the high emotions in check for the majority of the film, and when they finally allow us a moment to let it out at the end, there's a feeling of completion with these characters. The young couple weeps together openly, but it's a scene void of dialogue between the two and that leaves it's true meaning open to interpretation for the viewer. Is it a moment of forgiveness, of reprieve or just a devastating act of agony, unable to come to terms with the circumstances of life they have put themselves in? No matter what it means, it's an incredibly powerful moment that allows for a full emotional catharsis for both the characters and the audience.

aFrenchparadox As long as you only read the synopsis, you will think the film is about how the eruption of a new-born is going to change the life of this (too?) young couple. It is, it's true, especially about how becoming a father will change him. Or not. Because the eponymous child is not the new-born, it's him definitely. And the point when he becomes responsible happens regarding someone else than his son: does he do for the other what he feels unable to do for his own son? I don't know, I am not sure falling crying in his partner arms is not just another childish way of getting off his mistakes: too easy to just lose freedom for some months, at the maximum few years, given what he did. Yes forgiveness is important, but children don't learn anything if you forgive them as soon as they cry. Though a good insight in misery. Not financial, even if this one is cause and effect all along. But affective misery, educational misery, cultural misery, socialization misery etc... Where it's hard to not stay a child if nobody helps you to grow up.

Ilpo Hirvonen The Child, as most films by Dardennes, takes place in an industrial town in Belgium where the brothers grew up. It's a portrayal of a couple who live on welfare and small thefts at the bottom of the society. As usually in the films by the Dardennes this film is severely simplified but very intense. They are known for their minimalism, all that isn't necessary is cut out, for instance, score - and this is the essence of minimalism to get a lot from little. Luc Dardenne has said that they want to reconstruct humane experiences with their films, and the more material you take away the closer you get to them. The Child is a raw film in which documentary-like narrative is combined with social message.The story is about two young adults, Sonia (Déborah François) and Bruno (Jérémie Renier), who get a baby. When Sonia comes looking for Bruno we see that he doesn't have any sort of interest towards the baby. He's just interested in making money through his small crime business with a few preteens. The perspective The Child offers is on the parents who are still young and irresponsible. It puts them in front of moral choices and force them, and us, to see the consequences.In The Child Bruno is portrayed as very juvenile. He still plays in dirt and gets pleasure for playing pinball games. He has no plan for the future, no job. Only his pathetic thefts to keep his life running, and Sonia isn't any more mature than Bruno but the difference between them is Sonia's strong love towards their child. It is obvious that the title doesn't refer to the baby but to the immature parents.The use of hand-held camera achieves to create a very intense and capturing atmosphere. One can't simply get his eyes off the screen. But the intensity isn't only created by shaking the camera; the Dardennes try to depict social reality through that, improvised dialog and amateur actors. In addition to the camera-work the narrative is overall very documentary-like, and the fact that the brothers have made seven documentaries should not be forgotten. The combination of minimalist narrative, severe aesthetics and exhaling social reality is brilliant, unique and masterful.The Dardennes have also grown up in an industrial town which probably is the reason why it's always the central milieu in their films. They both had a Catholic upbringing but in their world God is dead. The brothers often deal with people who have dropped out of the society and are trying to hang on. In The Child the protagonists also live at the bottom of the society where everything in their lives is for sale. In order to keep himself alive Bruno has to sell almost everything he owns.The Child's intensity comes from the theme; love towards one's child. Mother's love towards her own child is almost primitive and the film strongly puts it to the test. How long can your love survive in a world like this. The subject of the film is very current and it deals up with morality - the choices the parents have to make builds up the suspense of The Child. It's a film about the concept of work and how it is changing, and the European identity of today. It's a depiction of social reality but also a philosophical moral study. "God is dead. We know it. We're alone. We know it" -Luc Dardenne.

dfwforeignbuff Winner of the Cannes Palme d'Or Award, this tale centers on Bruno (Jeremie Renier), a 20-year-old who spends his days stealing and drug dealing, showing no interest in cleaning up his act when his 18-year-old girlfriend, Sonia (Déborah François), gives birth to their son. In fact, the only thing the dysfunctional Bruno sees in his new baby is a new way to make money -- a decision that he soon regrets. When the single mother Sonia returns home with her newborn son, she finds that the baby's father Bruno had rented her apartment for a couple. She seeks out Bruno, who is a small time young thief that has a gang with two other teenagers, on the streets and they go to a shelter to stay during the cold night. On the next morning, they register the child with the name of Jimmy. When Bruno receives a proposal from his dealer for selling Jimmy for adoption for five thousand Euros, he steals the baby and sells him to his contact. However, when Sonia discovers what Bruno did, she faints, goes to the hospital and reports the transaction to the police. Bruno calls off the transaction and retrieves Jimmy, but has to pay to the dealers another five thousand Euros, and this is the beginning of his descent to hell and final redemption. Renier and Francois give deeply affecting performances that help soften the film's harsh blows. L'Infant won the "Palme d'Or" award in 2005 Cannes Film Festival Rosetta. It was also nominated for Best Film and Best Actor (for Renier) at the European Film Awards. The film was chosen as Belgium's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards, but it failed to secure a nomination. 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. This movie has many strong points,but it failed to consistently keep my interest, but personally I came away wondering what exactly the director was trying to prove by making this film. The film shows that even a hardened criminal can redeem himself when he understands the enormity of his crime. Construction/Production wise this film is a technically precise film, lensed by longtime Dardenne collaborator Alain Marcoen with his typical reliance on unfiltered natural light and elegant shallow-space compositions. However the entire plot of this movie bored me. I have seen enough criminals in action in real life. At the end of the movie is he actually redeemed? This movie affected me like a reality TV thing. Too much detachment and not enough plot. 3 stars