The Son

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.

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.

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.

Yet another Dardennes subtle masterclass on human nature.

so economical in editing and exposition, so relentless in motion and physicality; the intensity never slackens. as with bresson the physical is the spiritual: the verité seems elemental, divorced from intentionality, but it's stealthily composed to make themes and emotions tactile, imagery arising from the mundane. it begins, cuts and ends when it must, and the wordless finale--unresolved but tentatively gesturing toward the possibility of closure and grace--is something holy. a perfect film.

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.

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.

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

Virtuose! Again! After a couple of Dardennes I'm kind of expecting a phase of fatigue, like 'well ok I've seen your techniques and they are great but making movies has a lot more possibilities than running after a great actor with a camera on your shoulder you know' - but no: no sign of fatigue: I'm again in awe of this masterclass in show don't tell and building up tension and working out these complex themes. I'm loving Olivier Gourmet! Go go Dardennebrothers!

Olivier Gourmet is fantastic. Very moving film.

Quite the small story to be stretched out over this running time, but it's somewhat effective. It unravels at a slow, deliberate pace, and despite some strong performances, it is in need of some more quietly compelling scenes (like the one with the tape-measure in the parking lot). The tight cinematography that opens up is a nice touch, proving these directors are already masters of visual realism.

involving.

Kinda reminded me of Red Road, only with a much more satisfying and less melodramatic resolution. The camera is amazing.

Brilliant

Fucking awesome

Very good and lovely naturalistic show burn drama about empathy and grief. The pace will definitely put some off, but the last twenty minutes are incredible.

Som vanlig leverer Dardenne-brødrene i toppklasse. Vanskelig drama om en fyr som jobber med å rehabilitere ungdom på skråplanet. En dag tar han inn en ung gutt som tidligere drepte sønnen hans i en ulykke. Forholdet dem imellom er preget av dette, men den unge gutten er ikke klar over koblingen. Overraskende mange flotte scener til at filmen kun er filmet med håndholdt kamera, spesielt en scene der kameraet beveger seg sømløst fra baksetet i en bil og frem i front. Nydelig.

Star Rating: ★★★★1/2

82.000

8 Desembre 2015 - M'ha avorrit l'excés de plans propers al protagonista, no m'ha emocionat, m'ha semblat com si no entrés prou endins a mostrar els personatges. M'he preguntat si és realista.

Boyle bir iyilik ahlakin ustunde ya da disinda. Neredeyse hayvansi bi icgudunun getirdigi bir iyilik - hukuk ve hak kavramlarini yok sayan bi iyilik.

There is a little Mystery, in the beginning, you do not know which way is going to be... then it gets solved and another mystery unfolds, what will it happen?

another over-'realistic'. piece from the dardennes. no melodrama or cinematic flourish, just naturally observant. this one's on a carpenter who's supervising a young boy just out of juvenile detention for killing his son at age 11, and explores interpersonal justice. slightly preferred the drama in l'enfant, though this one's good too...but both have the problem that playing everything this straight limits the potential for true creativity.

My favorite of the everyday dramas from the Dardennes. Gourmet gives a weighty performance consisting largely of body language in scenes where the cameraman simply follows him around. It's realism style at its finest.

Weird, uniquely made movie, Worth a watch even if for one time.

O filho estreava há 20 anos no Festival de Cannes. Os Dardennes não me fazem sentir mal como o Loach, mas a pegada social deles é tão brilhante quanto. Aqui não é diferente, é um cinema da hiper humanidade. DVDRip no MakingOff.

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

I agree that the film is interesting-unsettling to be precise. But why the run time of 99 mins? It is annoying and boring to see repetitive unnecessary long and slow shots of the actors without particularly having any impact on the story. The film could have been much more crisp and compact.

Not a typical french movie. It was really hard to watch this film. Students relation to teacher was kept as a secret and when it was revealed then it made me think on those first scenes, wow.

A truly intense drama about anger and forgiveness. It also spoke to me about my own suspicious nature. Brilliant and deeply spiritual.

Don't watch it if you're expecting a ton of fireworks, but this a beautiful, understated, emotionally and morally complicated film with great performances by the leads who need to show more with their body language and facial expressions than their voices. I wasn't always a fan of how in their faces and shaky the camera was--I was a little too aware of it, but it's very strong stuff.

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