Fucking awesome

I feel bad that I saw this after I had found L'enfant. This is by far a more subtle work, and shows how to Christian imagery for your story correctly. Easily surpasses L'enfant in everything that it does, and then even more after that.

DNF

It's a subtle depiction of sorrow, anger and (thoughts of) revenge: the human nature is closely -- not morally -- observed. The premise is quite trivial, but the execution, somehow both fast-paced and patient, is absorbingly authentic.

The tension is always present, thanks to the restrained but very physical performance of Gourmet, the deliberate pacing of story information, and tight, menacing camerawork. The action is gripping because we long to get inside Olivier's head, a character who is some balance of wounded and dangerous, and we don't know where the balance will fall. Perhaps at the end we don't know much more, but we know enough. A satisfying film from the Dardennes, who always seem to make so much out of so little.

Intense, shot almost in real time with no music, this really gets under your skin. A terrific physical performance from Gourmet.

The close focus on the instructor, his routines, and peripheral glances at his emotional state give the film an incredible intensity and the things that are revealed make one genuinely question how events will unfold. The Dardenne brothers really now how to extract genuine emotional impact without creating absurd melodrama. I was pretty blown away.

Left me shaking after seeing it. This film is a shattering and physical rapprochement between the desire for vengeance and the need to forgive. That's probably why most American critics didn't understand it. A profoundly moral film, not least because it depicts morality as a constant struggle.

Olivier Gourmet is fantastic. Very moving film.

OK, though the psychology is all-encompassing here and is laid on a bit thick. Should have been more subtle and natural-like.

Brilliant

In their films, the Dardennes are most interested in detailing an encounter with an other, with someone or something outside oneself. The Son accomplishes this through the protagonist Olivier. The film's style keeps us insulated in his narrow and uncertain world. There remains throughout a strange otherness to the boy's character, an otherness that destabilizes what we know (or think we know about Olivier). This brilliantly creates tension and makes the conclusion that much more compelling.

Yet another Dardennes subtle masterclass on human nature.

Simple, yet substantial. My cup of tea. I preferred it to L'Enfant, as it had a more plausible premise, and was--in my opinion--more affecting. Superb acting from Olivier Gourmet. I even enjoyed the shaky camera; an artistic addition.