by Janet Sandford

Created on: April 13, 2009

Jean Pierre and Luc Dardenne are two Belgian brothers known for making memorable and artistic masterpieces. They have succeeded in winning prizes at Cannes for 3 films in a row with Rosetta (1996), Le Fils (2004) and L'Enfant which won the Palm D'Or and is the film I am going to review for you today.

The film begins when Sonia (Deborah Francois) has just left the hospital clutching her new born child. Arriving back at her flat she finds she is locked out. It has been sub-let by her irresponsible boyfriend, Bruno (jeremie Reiner). Frustrated, angry and alone, she searches for him - and finds him back to his old ways of begging and stealing.

Bruno shows no interest in the child but is pleased Sonia is out of hospital. To show his appreciation he buys her an expensive gift - he is under the impression that money is a substitute for happiness.

The truth is is that they are poor and now have nowhere to live so Bruno books them into a shelter for the homeless but within hours he is back on the streets back to his old tricks of scamming and making money illegally. The next day Sonia goes to the social to queue for a government handout. Bruno takes off and goes for a stroll. And what happens next will surprise you even if you have guessed what is going to happen.

That's about it for revealing any plot.

Jean Pierre and Luc's films are all about suspense and you need to really experience as much of their work as possible before knowing what the end result might be. Their style is unique. Most of the film's long scenes are filmed in real time and you find yourself feeling very anxious about what is going to happen next. The directors don't really give much information away about the characters in the film. The camera is perched on Bruno's shoulders and we live his experiences, his life, his friendships, his past through his eyes and ears. The dialogue is naturalistic but only gives us snippets of information. I felt very intense as I watched this film and could feel myself being more watchful. The two characters were fascinating.

Dardennes' work is very concentrated and doesn't need any artificial enhancement. In this film we don't see jagged editing, frantic music, special effects, glamorous actors or shifts in perspective. This piece of work is the equivalent of an actual human experience which has a strange curious effect and is suspenseful to watch.

When the film suddenly exploded into a car chase, I was amazed at the fury and pace of the chase. There was no hard thudding

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