JEAN-PIERRE DARDENNE, LUC DARDENNE
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB.5.
Original title: Le Fils
Belgium/France, 2002. Archipel 35, Les Films du Fleuve, Radio Télévision Belge Francophone. Screenplay by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne. Cinematography by Alain Marcoen. Produced by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Denis Freyd. Production Design by Igor Gabriel. Costume Design by Monic Parelle. Film Editing by Marie-Helene Dozo. Cannes Film Festival 2002. Toronto International Film Festival 2002.
Olivier Gourmet plays a carpenter who works with young apprentices and finds himself in a bind when a juvenile delinquent with ties to his tragic past comes in with an application. Suddenly Gourmet is unable to tear himself away from the opportunity to heal the past by getting to know the youngster more, much to the chagrin of his wife and his own doubts. What follows is a heartbreaking, beautifully honest experience with the kind of gritty realism that the Dardennes brothers (Rosetta) bring to their films.