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Assita Ouedraogo, Rasmane Ouedraogo, Olivier Gourmet, Jérémie Renier

A young man born into criminal circumstances is forced to deal with his conscience in this drama from Belgium. Roger (Olivier Gourmet) is a corrupt businessman who smuggles illegal aliens into Antwerp... read more read more... and protects them from the law in exchange for working with his construction company. However, Roger pays meager wages for back-breaking labor and charges aliens appallingly high rent for substandard housing. Roger has a 15-year-old son, Igor (Jeremie Renier), who has learned from his father to steal and twist the truth; Igor is loyal to Roger, despite his father's frequent violence against him. One day, Amidou (Rasmane Ouedraogo), one of the illegals working for Roger, falls from a construction site; as he is dying, Amidou begs Igor to watch over his wife Assita (Assita Ouedraogo) and their child. While Roger and his partners try to keep the death a secret to avoid police interference, Igor constructs an elaborate web of lies to ease the concerns of Assita, who does not know that her husband has passed. Before long, Igor's loyalties are torn between his concern for his father's safety and his guilty affection for Assita. La Promesse was voted the Best Foreign Language Film of 1997 by America's National Society of Film Critics. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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86% liked it

2,186 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

19 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Release Date: September 7, 1996

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DVD Release Date: August 6, 2002

Stats: 120 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (120)

  • gator681
    November 3, 2005
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"La Promesse" is about Roger(Olivier Gourmet) who runs a thriving business smuggling, housing and exploiting illegal aliens in Belgium with his son, Igor(Jeremie Renier). Igor works as an apprentice to a mechanic(he pockets a woman's wallet while working the... read morere) and in his spare time makes his own personal go-cart. One of the latest arrivals is Assita(Assita Ouedraogo) from Burkina Faso who is a young mother and married to one of the tenants, Amidou(Rasmane Ouedraogo). During a raid by labor inspectors, Amidou falls from scaffolding and is gravely wounded. He has Igor promise to take care of his wife and child. Amidou dies after Roger refuses to take him to a hospital. Father and son conspire to cover up the death.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"La Promesse" takes a neo-realist approach in telling this story. Since the movie is told mostly from Igor's point of view, this does limit its depth. It is still a good dramatic movie but it lacks the emotional resonance to make it truly memorable. And it is interesting to imagine what Igor would be like without such a rotten role model like Roger...[/font]
  • robfearon
    June 6, 2010
    robfearon
    A grim but hopeful film that shows us the birth of a consciousness.

View All The Promise (La Promesse) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jeff Millar
February 21, 2001
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

The film is entirely within the caught-on-the-run tradition of cinema verite, which makes it all the grittier and its conclusion all the more wrenching.

Kenneth Turan
February 21, 2001
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

The conflicts involved are intense and absorbing, proving that compelling moral dilemmas make for the most dramatic cinema. Full Review

Stanley Kauffmann
February 21, 2001
Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic

The Dardenne brothers, as shown by their empathic casting, their very choice of theme, have confessed to a burden. They believe in hope.

John Hartl
February 21, 2001
John Hartl, Film.com

Ranks with the great European art-house classics about childhood betrayed and innocence lost.

James Berardinelli
February 21, 2001
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Speaks volumes about how we treat other human beings and what it means to truly grow up. Full Review

Stephen Holden
February 21, 2001
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Almost everyone should be able to identify with the wrenching moral quandary facing Igor. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 30, 2009
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

The Dardenne brothers feature debut is a stunning achievement, an emotionally powerful coming of age tale, which shows that humanism can prevail in the harshest economic conditions. Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
March 2, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

This is a raw, intense, and engaging anatomy of a 15-year-old boy's moral coming of age in a bleak Belgian town. Full Review

Steve Rhodes
February 21, 2001
Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews

A meaningless pseudo-expose of the plight of immigrant workers. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
February 21, 2001
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

This is a grim morality tale that can't help putting you in someone else's shoes, wondering what you would do if you were in the same situation. Full Review

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