La Promesse
La Promesse (lit. '"The Promise"') is a 1996 drama film by the Belgian brothers Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. The plot involves a father, Roger, who mercilessly trafficks and exploits undocumented immigrants. His son, Igor, is fifteen and an apprentice mechanic, who also works for his father in his labor contracting operation. When one of their illegal workers is seriously injured at the worksite, left to die, and the death concealed by Roger and Igor, a guilt-ridden Igor must choose between his father's chosen way of life and his promise to the dying man.[2]
La Promesse | |
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![]() Film poster | |
Directed by | Jean-Pierre Dardenne Luc Dardenne |
Written by | Jean-Pierre Dardenne Luc Dardenne |
Starring | Jérémie Renier Olivier Gourmet Assita Ouedraogo |
Music by | Jean-Marie Billy Denis M'Punga |
Cinematography | Alain Marcoen |
Edited by | Marie-Hélène Dozo |
Production company | |
Distributed by | ARP Sélection (France) |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | Belgium France |
Language | French |
Budget | €1.5 million[1] |
Box office | $2.8 million[1] |
Cast
- Jérémie Renier as Igor
- Olivier Gourmet as Roger
- Assita Ouedraogo as Assita
Critical response
La Promesse received mostly positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 95% approval rating, based on 21 reviews, with an average score of 7.8/10.[3] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 82, based on 17 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim ".[4]
Awards and nominations
- Belgian Film Critics Association (Belgium)
- Won: André Cavens Award for Best Film
- Nominated: Grand Prix
- César Awards (France)
- Nominated: Best Foreign Film
- Los Angeles Film Critics (USA)
- Nominated: Best Foreign Film
- National Society of Film Critics (USA)
- Online Film Critics Society Awards (USA)
- Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film
- Satellite Awards (USA)
- Nominated: Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language
- Valladolid Film Festival (Spain)
- Won: FIPRESCI Prize (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
- Won: Golden Spike (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
References
- "La Promesse". JP's Box-Office.
- "TCM Film Article: La Promesse". Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- "La Promesse (The Promise) (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes.
- "La Promesse (The Promise)". Metacritic.
External links
- La Promesse on IMDb
- La Promesse at Rotten Tomatoes
- La Promesse at dardenne-brothers.com
- La promesse: One Plus One an essay by Kent Jones at the Criterion Collection