The Promise (La promesse) - (1996)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne
Written by Luc Dardenne & Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Starring Jérémie Renier, Olivier Gourmet & Assita Ouedraogo
I love seeing young characters find a sense of what is moral and right from within themselves, without being taught or told what direction they need to take. It speaks to something both universal and true about humanity - and an example of a boy doing this can be seen in the Dardennes' film
La Promesse, which follows movement and action in a very naturalistic way. You really do get the impression that you're peeking into a living world (for Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, that world is almost always the town of Seraing, a city located in Belgium.) The two brothers do this by mapping out exactly what is going to take place and then filming around it in whatever manner they can - as such they're not two for complicated shots that call attention to themselves, and instead a sense of realism and normality lets us slip into this world they've created and are capturing. Coming from a background in documentary filmmaking (much like Shōhei Imamura) primed them for making films like this.
La Promesse tells the story of a father and son - Roger (Olivier Gourmet) and Igor (Jérémie Renier) respectively. Roger is making money from taking advantage of undocumented migrants in Belgium, trafficking them and using them for cheap labor, while housing them in slums. One day, as these exploited workers are rushing around a site so as not to be caught by immigration inspectors, one of them falls and is seriously injured. Igor wants to call an ambulance or take him to hospital, but Roger interferes and insists that they simply let him die - lest they get into trouble. This man begs Igor to look out for his wife, Assita (Assita Ouedraogo) and infant child, before he dies - so after burying the body in concrete Igor tries to protect Assita from various attempts by Roger to get rid of her, and eventually flees with her, while all the time hiding the fact that her husband has in fact died - telling her he's simply fled due to his gambling debts. In the meantime, Roger hunts for his wayward son - and isn't averse to inflicting violence on him.
I found this a very enjoyable film to watch - it's always on the move, and feels like more than the sum of it's parts. Instead of feeling like I'm following a plot, I feel like I'm simply observing life and change. It's obvious that Igor is no innocent as he helps his father collect money, and treats his mechanic boss (who he is serving under as an apprentice) in a dismissive and arrogant manner. Nevertheless, Igor is also being hustled and exploited by this father, who is leading the boy down a deep and dark path into criminality. Gourmet and Renier do an excellent job in making us feel like these two have been doing this for a long time - they do it all in such an easy and laid back manner, having all of the particulars and angles covered. A great bit of casting there, with two actors who would go on to feature in further Dardennes films. Gourmet looks very shifty and nefarious in his thick glasses - which are usually issued to those in Belgium who can't afford to pay for their own. The two are close, but we are shown that Roger often flies off the handle and smacks Igor around.
Into this world comes Assita, who asserts her right to be who she is, despite being vulnerable. I think the Dardennes wanted Igor to help her in spite of their differences, and so these show up numerous times in the film. Assita is often warding off evil spirits with ashes, herbs and other such things while trying to get a handle on what's really happening by reading chicken entrails. She doesn't cling to Igor begging for help, but actually pushes him away many times - the look on her face one of absolute distrust and hostility. There's nothing for Igor to gain from helping her, so we know he's doing it from having a sense of what the right thing to do is, along with honoring a promise he made to Assita's husband as he was dying. It would be easy for a heartless thug to just brush all of that aside - and Igor has to stand between his father - who is trying to sell her into slavery or get her to go back to where she came from - and this new responsibility he has. It feels like Igor has reached a fork in the road, and is facing perhaps the most significant moment of his life.
The two Dardennes brothers established Derives in 1975 - a production company for which they produced over 50 documentary films, directing some themselves which usually explored the world of the poor, immigrants and immigration, resistance and the working class. This is where they developed a taste for what is naturalistic instead of sensationalism and fancy. When they wrote and directed
I'm Thinking of You (
Je pense à vous) in 1992 they had a terrible experience which would go on to galvanize the way they wanted to make films in the future. During the production of that early feature they delegated a lot of how everything was to be captured to their cinematographer and other technical assistants, for they were so inexperienced and wanted guidance - thus they found that the technical side of filmmaking was dictating the kind of story they were telling. From their next film (this one) onwards, they determined to decide on how everything was going to play out well before they brought the technical side to bear on capturing it. Doing this, they produced a style that gives people a sense of realness when they watch their films.
The cinematographer they brought in for this film, Alain Marcoen, would be with them on every film henceforth up until and including
The Unknown Girl in 2016. All together a cinematic style based on movement and following the action gives us a distinct impression of watching a Dardennes/Marcoen film - especially that which almost gives a reading of a camera 'reacting' to the events it is capturing. It's very close to a documentary style, and works really well in
La Promesse. It's very much a visual film, and I was struck by how at ease and quiet it was - with music rarely intruding except where it does in the story. There's a great example when both father and son decide to put on a karaoke performance together - and you can see the strength of the bond that's all the same about to be broken. To add to the whole sense that the Dardennes brothers command a family-like team of filmmakers, their editor, Marie-Hélène Dozo, has been putting their films together from this one up until the present day.
The story Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne put to paper in the screenplay came partly from what they've observed during their life, and career as documentary filmmakers - and it also hones in on what they regard as something of an obsession for themselves - the relationship between father and son. I admire this film for recognizing the fact that they could explore this, but at the same time explore what it means to have a conscience, and how that can come down and put pressure on the fidelity and love when a conscience and loyalty are in complete conflict with one another. I loved the scene where Igor tries to find some kind of solace in Assita's arms, but only finds coldness and suspicious puzzlement in them. There are hints early in the film that Igor might be attracted to Assita, but the reasons for doing what he does are more noble than that, and aren't driven by those feelings as much as made easier by them. We read all of this in how all of the characters act, and in the way the camera follows them.
I enjoyed watching
La Promesse - it had the feel of a film that's very easy to drink in, and is rhythmically perfect. It's the kind of film that makes me very excited to press on into the filmography of the Dardennes - a duo that have achieved the rare feat of winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes twice. I love their filmmaking style, and I also love their sensibilities. They strike right to the heart of something of utmost importance in our world today - and do it in a way that illuminates an important part of evolving into a noble, and good-hearted person in today's society. To tell this as a story of a young person - virtually a boy - finding what is right conscience-wise from within himself, to the point of betraying someone who he loves but who is wrong, was a very worthwhile endeavour. In a cinematic landscape full of films that try to espouse righteousness, this is a rare film that completely succeeds where most others fail. Finally, I was especially happy to see a film stick it's landing as far as the ending is concerned - to the point of perfection. A great film about a boy's moral awakening, which is a theatrical moral awakening in it's own right.