Opening Day: 11 May 2006

Synopsis:

The Child is the new social realist drama from Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who won the Palme d'Or in 1999 with Rosetta. It is the story of Bruno (Jérémie Renier), a 20-year-old petty thief whose 18-year-old girlfriend, Sonia (Déborah François), has just had a baby, Jimmy.
She adores him, but Bruno isn't so sure - and one of Bruno's fence contacts tells him there is big money to be made in selling babies for black-market adoption. One of the most suspect claims I've been hearing at Cannes on behalf of some movies is that they are about "redemption", which often turns out to be hardly more than a shallow style gimmick. But The Child really is about redemption, and the film treats this subject with the moral seriousness it deserves. Bruno's fatherhood is contrasted with his quasi-paternal responsibility to the Artful Dodger boy-thieves he controls, which brings the movie to a crunch as Bruno faces the Dostoevskian responsibility of giving himself up to the police. A moving and satisfying film.

Movie Review:

L' Enfant (The Child) won the Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes International Film Festival, and brought the writing and directing duo, the Dardenne brothers, the rare honour of winning the Palme d'Or twice. Expectations are naturally set high amongst the audience on this film, but you have to see past the obvious in order to enjoy the richness of the story.

As introduced in the trailer, the obvious, physical infant here is newborn Jimmy, the child of Bruno (Jérémie Renier) and girlfriend Sonia (newcomer Déborah François). The movie begins by jumping straight into the introduction of Jimmy, we are not given the whos and the whats of this new family, suffice to know that we now have a set of young parents, who don't hold a stable income, or a steady job for that matter, which raises questions as to how they are going to sustain an additional mouth to feed.

It takes a long hard look at the conventional relationships between parents, as well as parenthood. Déborah François did an excellent job in emoting Mother's love - ever protective and loving, willing to go through lengths to ensure that her baby is safe from harm, even at the risk of getting Bruno into trouble. And this is something everyone can understand, the extension of a natural emotional attachment between mother and child after 9 months of pregnancy.

But the true gem in the movie, is lead actor Jérémie Renier's portrayal as Bruno. A frequent collaborator with the Dardenne brothers, Renier brings out his complex character brilliantly. A good for nothing, immature and easily manipulated petty thief, his Bruno undergoes one of the most interesting character change as the movie progresses. To Bruno, his newborn son becomes a quick way to get money, having zero attachment, by holding that suspicion that Jimmy might not be his anyway. It's akin to getting a new toy which is disliked, and when the situation presented itself, to exploit the opportunity to get rid of it, in order to get something else more desired.

We see the selfishness of his character in unilaterally making that misguided decision to sell
off his child in the black market, the desperation when trouble comes knocking and he couldn't handle it, of being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Trying to wriggle his way out of trouble with white lies, he demonstrates what desperate men would do when he needs support - that of running to his own mother, knowing jolly well that all mothers would assist without a bat of an eyelid. We contrast his childishness early in the film, with his newfound maturity towards the end, seeking redemption and forgiveness.

And by the time the end credits roll, you'll know who the child in the movie truly refers to. Although the delivery might seem quite ordinary, and that the narrative just chugs along, this movie belongs to one of those which doesn't present its deep underlying thoughts with a sledgehammer, but only appreciated in quiet moments after it's ingested.

Movie Rating:

Review by Stefan Shih

(A satisfying film with an excellent character study of the dynamics between parent and child, and the maturity that parenthood brings)