The Dradenne brothers feature debut is a stunning achievement, an emotionally powerful coming of age tale infused with the raw power of Italian neo-realism, which shows that humanism and hope can prevail in the harshest economic conditions.
La Promesse (1996)
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Reviews Counted: 19
Fresh: 18
Rotten:1
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: Roger, a teenage boy, works for his father's construction business, a company that employs illegal immigrants from all over the world. When Hamidu, an immigrant from Burkina Faso, is critically... Roger, a teenage boy, works for his father's construction business, a company that employs illegal immigrants from all over the world. When Hamidu, an immigrant from Burkina Faso, is critically injured in a workplace accident he asks Roger to promise to look after his wife and baby. After Hamidu dies Roger's father covers up his death and hides the body. Roger is stuck between his promise to look after the unfortunate immigrant and his loyalties to his own father. LA PROMESSE is an uncompromising coming of age story and a look at a Europe in conflict over immigrants and their often harsh treatment. From the directors of ROSETTA. [More]
Starring: Jérémie Rénier, Olivier Gourmet, Assita Ouedraogo, Rasmane Ouedraogo
Starring: Jérémie Rénier, Olivier Gourmet, Assita Ouedraogo, Rasmane Ouedraogo
Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
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Reviews for La Promesse
This is a raw, intense, and engaging anatomy of a 15-year-old boy's moral coming of age in a bleak Belgian town.
This is a grim morality tale that can't help putting you in someone else's shoes, wondering what you would do if you were in the same situation.
Impressively written and directed by Belgian brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne.
The film is entirely within the caught-on-the-run tradition of cinema verite, which makes it all the grittier and its conclusion all the more wrenching.
A troubling, offbeat and somewhat downbeat drama with no easy answers, with a stark, realistic style and some very good performances.
A penetrating coming-of-age story, one that argues that adulthood begins with the emergence of moral convictions.
It is an experience I would recommend, if you believe in films that plumb the murkiest depths of the human condition.
Speaks volumes about how we treat other human beings and what it means to truly grow up.
Ranks with the great European art-house classics about childhood betrayed and innocence lost.
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