L'enfant Poster

L'enfant (2005)

Crime | Romance 
Rayting:   7.5/10 17.9K votes
Country: Belgium | France
Language: French
Release date: 3 November 2005

Bruno and Sonia, a young couple living off her benefit and the thefts committed by his gang, have a new source of money: their newborn son.

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suppermanman 11 November 2005

I liked this movie a lot. First I think the camera-work was great and even at some moments I couldn't understand how he managed to take the shot in such a way. Second, The directors did I good job too, they deserve even more credit then the actors. Most actors can't act if the director isn't that good. Third, the story wasn't predictable at all Fourth, the scriptwriter and directors didn't choose the easy way of drama and didn't squeezed all the drama out of every scene like most Hollywood directors do. Instead of creating drama by known tricks they created it in a more original way This is one of the best movies I saw this year. go see it and think about it. Because Hollywood is brainwashing us. I saw so many American movies that I had difficulties watching other movies. Hollywood made me stupid. I had to start over, and forget everything about films I knew. Now I have much more fun and I feel a lot better after seeing a movie that was made by an author and not a moneymaker!

mstomaso 22 October 2006

Fmovies: L'Infant is the deserving winner of several awards, including the prestigious Palm d'Or at Cannes. The directors manage to achieve an engrossing simple, and tragic story which weaves several coming-of-age themes together without sacrificing a second of realism. Although the two leads are equally important to the development of the film, the action follows Bruno (Jeremie Reinier), a troubled, unstable, young man who lives at the fringes of society stealing and fencing with the help of a couple of young kids. Before the action of the film begins, Sonja (Deborah Francois), a young working class girl trying to make a life for herself, has fallen in love with Bruno and had a son with him. In the first few minutes of the film, she is carrying the infant through the streets of Seraing searching for Bruno, whose only method of contact, his cell phone, has run out of credit. When the couple are united, Bruno seems cheery and hopeful, but it is his love for Sonja that we are seeing here, and this love, though genuine, is the immature love of a man whose emotional growth has been stunted by the choices he habitually makes. Throughout most of the rest of the film, we are privy to several examples of these choices, and Bruno is placed in a position where he must either lose all hope and self-respect or commit himself to recognize his own responsibility (i.e. grow up), while the immediate prospects of doing either are unpleasant.

The film explores a number of important issues very sympathetically and yet with merciless realism. The film does not even distract its audience with a soundtrack. What is being said in the film is too important to waste on mere entertainment. L'infant is politically libertarian - emphasizing the importance of taking responsibility for one's actions. Attached to this painfully examined central theme are more familiar and obvious issues of adulthood, morality, love, romance, fatherhood, and survival.

The directing and script are flawless. The acting is superb - especially the two leads. You will instantly fall in love with Sonja, and as despicable as he is, it is hard to avoid feeling the same for Jeremie. And these two young actors accomplish this without a soundtrack, excessive editing, or a lot of fancy camera work. Bravo! As art, L'Infant is as straight-forward as you can get. It is unpretentiously filmed in a documentary style, with the camera sometimes getting uncomfortably close to the action in order to highlight the emotional impact of the performances. The camera work is subtle and excellent, but, unlike some of the reviewers, I was aware of the presence of the camera at times. Considering the claustrophobic interior sets, the lack of any form of distraction from the central plot and the hyper-realism of the film, it would be pretty difficult to avoid this completely.

As many others have said, this is an art film. However, its pace is consistent enough and its cinematography subtle enough to make it accessible for standard film audiences. This might be a good way to introduce an open-minded friend to true independent (as opposed to "Indie") and non-Hollywood film.

Kirpianuscus 9 August 2018

Dramatic, realistic, proposing honest portrait of an age, generation, near reality. A film about parenthood. Bitter, cold, well made. And about the build of responsability. All - gived in wise manner. With admirable force. A father. His son. A decision. And the transformation. And the price of option.

djungling 28 October 2005

L'enfant fmovies. While most movies have become formatted and soulless products that get ruthlessly promoted and marketed or else are tedious and insufferable exercises in navel-gazing, only seldom does one come across a genuine work of art, a moving expression of the human mind. This film is the jewel in the crown of the Dardenne brothers and the towering achievement of their artistic endeavour. Bruno and Sonia are the main characters in this movie. They have a kid, he sells it (no spoiler, you get as much from the trailer), she... Find for yourself what happens next. The movie is fast-paced, it'll hit you like a punch in the stomach. It's very basic : love, betrayal, money, a redemption of sorts and cellphones or GSMs as they are called in Belgium. The actors are wonderful. Bruno is raw, forceful and energetic, a bit like a child, whereas Sonia's character makes for one of the best female parts I have seen as far as I can recall, a far cry from the usual dull and stereotypical fare that is dished out these days in movie theatres. The film will make you regain some hope in the power and strength of movies as works of art. Go see it.

JJ_D 18 September 2005

L'Infant (The child), the new Dardenne movie, awarded with two Palms D' Or, is located in Seraing, the probably most marginal city of Belgium. A superb Jérémie Renier plays Bruno, an unemployed father, living from day to day to survive. He robs people and does not seem to have any remorse about what he 's doing. He even goes as far that he sells Jimmy, the baby (l'enfant). The reaction of the mother, a great Déborah François, makes him think and he tries to make it up to her. So far the story, this is a typical Dardenne movie. Same style, same sort of filming, not even music. Just hard reality, that's what they wanted to show the audience. What we get is a raw, sober movie. I did not miss the music at all, but it still misses something. The film does not absorb your full attention, like lots of people say. 'Lilja 4-ever', a Lukas Moodysson socio-drama, is way more touching than these characters in L'Infant. Not the greatest Belgian movie ever, but an enjoyable one. 8,5/10

tooncreemers 8 September 2005

Although I have not seen all other Cannes' comp. films, I think this is a worthy winner of the Palm d'or. The film's scenery is gray Seraing, like the previous Dardenne films, and I think this is the first film in which the camera-work complements the scenery and story near perfectly. Scene's often contain only one or two shots, cutting right when everything has been said. Its one of the few films where I did not notice the camera (I'm a student cameraman), which should be the goal of every cameraman, at least in this style of film. The acting is very impressive (especially Jeremie Renier as Bruno), like previous Dardenne Films. The film seems the most accessible Dardenne so far, although it does not bore in simplicity (I saw it twice in one week, avant-premiere and sneak preview, and I liked the second time best).

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