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L'Enfant, 2005
Sonia (Déborah François) is a young woman who has just given birth to a baby boy, Jimmy. She comes home from the hospital to find that her pickpocket, hustling boyfriend Bruno (Jérémie Renier) has subletted her apartment and isn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of fatherhood. When Sonia lets Bruno take Jimmy for a short walk, he uses the opportunity to sell the baby through a black market connection. By the time he realizes the gravity of what he's done, it may be too late.
A lot of people are more than happy to give their opinions about who should or should not be allowed to have and raise children. While I of course have my own views, I think we can all agree that stupid, selfish people belong right down toward the bottom of the queue.
It's challenging, in many ways, to root for this couple. Even Sonia, who is the more sympathetic of the two, is hard to take at times. I mean, she and Bruno get into a rock fight while she's holding Jimmy in her arms. Later, with Jimmy in the back seat of the car, they get into an adorable wrestling match in the front seat as the car hurtles down the highway. We don't know the details of their relationship before the baby, but the fact that Bruno is a guy who makes his living stealing from others was obviously known to her.
And Bruno is . . . man. Bruno is a piece of work. He mainly collaborates with a 14 year old boy to steal purses and rob the elderly. He has on speed dial the kind of person who can sell a baby. Every action we see from Bruno is selfish, often explicitly hurting both strangers and those closest to him. When Sonia reacts in disbelief to the fact that he sold their baby, he shrugs and tells her "We'll just have another one." Bruno is probably in his mid-20s, but he's just old enough that you can't write off any of his behavior due to youth.
But this film isn't just about watching terrible people being terrible. Slowly, just by a matter of centimeters, something begins to change in Bruno. It wouldn't be entirely accurate to say that he really tries to "make things right". It's a bit different than that. But somehow you can tell that he's realizing something about the life he's living and the effect he has on others.
I really enjoyed the way that the film evokes realism. There is no score--the only music comes from the environment. The things that happen to the characters all feel "in bounds". And maybe most importantly, the kind of character arcs and growth that we see seem genuine in all their frustrating stutter-stops. The film is working right around the limits of empathy. I honestly didn't think that even Sonia seemed equipped to parent a child. But there's something to be said for people who make an effort, and the movie gives us a glimpse into what that might look like for even a person as despicable as Bruno.
L'Enfant, 2005
Sonia (Déborah François) is a young woman who has just given birth to a baby boy, Jimmy. She comes home from the hospital to find that her pickpocket, hustling boyfriend Bruno (Jérémie Renier) has subletted her apartment and isn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of fatherhood. When Sonia lets Bruno take Jimmy for a short walk, he uses the opportunity to sell the baby through a black market connection. By the time he realizes the gravity of what he's done, it may be too late.
A lot of people are more than happy to give their opinions about who should or should not be allowed to have and raise children. While I of course have my own views, I think we can all agree that stupid, selfish people belong right down toward the bottom of the queue.
It's challenging, in many ways, to root for this couple. Even Sonia, who is the more sympathetic of the two, is hard to take at times. I mean, she and Bruno get into a rock fight while she's holding Jimmy in her arms. Later, with Jimmy in the back seat of the car, they get into an adorable wrestling match in the front seat as the car hurtles down the highway. We don't know the details of their relationship before the baby, but the fact that Bruno is a guy who makes his living stealing from others was obviously known to her.
And Bruno is . . . man. Bruno is a piece of work. He mainly collaborates with a 14 year old boy to steal purses and rob the elderly. He has on speed dial the kind of person who can sell a baby. Every action we see from Bruno is selfish, often explicitly hurting both strangers and those closest to him. When Sonia reacts in disbelief to the fact that he sold their baby, he shrugs and tells her "We'll just have another one." Bruno is probably in his mid-20s, but he's just old enough that you can't write off any of his behavior due to youth.
But this film isn't just about watching terrible people being terrible. Slowly, just by a matter of centimeters, something begins to change in Bruno. It wouldn't be entirely accurate to say that he really tries to "make things right". It's a bit different than that. But somehow you can tell that he's realizing something about the life he's living and the effect he has on others.
I really enjoyed the way that the film evokes realism. There is no score--the only music comes from the environment. The things that happen to the characters all feel "in bounds". And maybe most importantly, the kind of character arcs and growth that we see seem genuine in all their frustrating stutter-stops. The film is working right around the limits of empathy. I honestly didn't think that even Sonia seemed equipped to parent a child. But there's something to be said for people who make an effort, and the movie gives us a glimpse into what that might look like for even a person as despicable as Bruno.