Director: JEAN-PIERRE & LUC DARDENNE
Belgium-France-Luxembourg 1996 Subtitled Colour Dolby stereo SR 93 min.
Bringing the Dardennes’ art to full maturity, this explores the moral and emotional dilemma faced by a teenager (Jeremie Renier) helping his father (Olivier Gourmet) in the importation and exploitation of illegal immigrants. When an accident occurs on a construction site managed by his dad, the boy is forced to question where his loyalties lie . . . The brothers’ origins in documentary film-making ensures that this marvellous movie attains a gritty, unsentimental naturalism while never muddying the ethical issues; and Gourmet and Renier give performances that demonstrate the directors’ expertise with actors.