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La Promesse

La Promesse

1996 · 94 min · FR · 7.2 (188 votes)
Dir. Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne · Starring Jérémie Renier, Olivier Gourmet, Assita Ouedraogo, Florian Delain, Hachemi Haddad, Rasmané Ouédraogo
Drama

Igor, aged 15, and his father Roger deal in housing and peddling illicit labor in the outlying districts of Liege, Belgium. Scams, lies and swindling rule their lives. When one of his father’s illegal workers gets injured on the job and asks Igor to promise to take care of his wife and baby, Igor finds himself at a crossroad. He wants to keep the promise, but the price would be to betray his father.

VIBE

This film feels like a cold, hard look at the underbelly of society. It's a raw, unflinching drama that pulls you into a world of moral compromise and difficult choices, leaving you with a lingering sense of unease.

grittytensesomberunsettlingsteadysocial realismEuropean arthousecharacter-drivenmoralityfamilybetrayalexploitation
▶ Stream on Criterion Channel
parent child relationshipmoral conflictundocumented immigrantconstruction sitetroubled teenexploited immigrants
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