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The Promise (1996)

Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

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From Time Out Film Guide

An impressively tough, raw realist drama, set in and around the drabber areas of Liège, in which a 15-year-old comes into conflict with his single parent father after a tragedy forces the boy to confront the moral implications of the pair's exploitative business in smuggling and housing illegal immigrants. Having made a promise to a dying African that he'll look after his wife and kid, young Igor is torn between filial duty and growing affection for his impoverished 'charges', between fear of his dad's bouts of drunken violence and his desire to keep his word. The performances are superb, the interplay between father and son extraordinarily well observed, and the whole thing at once wholly unsentimental and deeply moving.

Author: GA

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

Technoguy said...

Posted on Feb 11 2008 16:01 Having seen Rosetta and The Child I watched this with great interest.It certainly shows the promise which is to come. A father and son study,both involved in running an illegal scam,placing them in over-priced hostels and employing them on building sites.It's in a poor part of Belgium, Leige. But when one of the workers is fatally injured,the son,Igor,promises to look after the man's wife and child,developing affection for them in their plight.This promise changes his routine life forever.This conflicts with his loyalty to his alcoholic,angry father,and the corrupt values he represents.The young actor playing the lead is street-wise and real.the interactions all round are superb.

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