enfant

Theatrical Release Date: 2006 03 24 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 043396150966

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Profanity]

Summary: After learning he has a newborn son, a small-time thief attempts to go straight - but not until his amorality is pushed to its breaking point - in this social-problem drama from writer-directors Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne. Eighteen-year-old Sonia (D?borah Francois) has just given birth to a baby boy. The baby's father Bruno (J?r?mie Renier) is panhandling in the street when Sonia tracks him down, and he shows little interest in fathering the child, or even providing a roof over the heads of the fledgling family. As the new and inexperienced mother navigates the bleak industrial landscape of the small Belgian town they live in, Bruno falls in with a clandestine group that buys and sells healthy children on the black market. He tragically learns that one avaricious decision, made in an instant, can affect the lives of everyone in his orbit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Palme d'Or – Cannes Film Festival Best Director – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Director – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film – London Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film – Online Film Critics Association

Features: ccInterview with the directors

enfant

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 08/15/2006

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Vistavision

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 96 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) French

Subtitles: English,French

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- L'enfant
1. Out on the Street [4:24]
2. Family Planning [4:19]
3. Black Market Business [2:16]
4. Home for Now [2:52]
5. Entrepreneurial Excursion [2:10]
6. Joy Ride [4:25]
7. "In a Days Work" [2:52]
8. Walking Jimmy [3:46]
9. Baby Money [4:00]
10. Precious Cargo [5:44]
11. Explaining the Worst [2:19]
12. Mother's Misery [2:17]
13. Getting Jimmy [3:49]
14. Dark Deak [1:44]
15. Raving Complaints [1:09]
16. Lying in Circles [1:42]
17. Alibi Assistance [2:50]
18. Silent Treatment [2:15]
19. Forced Circumstances [3:44]
20. Hard Bargain [2:58]
21. Paying Debts [3:10]
22. Too Little Too Late [3:23]
23. Nomad Trail [:20]
24. New Deal [3:44]
25. Getaway Attempt [2:37]
26. Foiled Plan [5:05]
27. Coming Clean [2:58]
28. Visiting Hours [5:19]

Michael Buening

Another superb drama from Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, L'Enfant succeeds not because it illuminates anything about a black market for children (the characters motivations are entirely personal, not social), but in the way a finely detailed character study pays off in its final redemptive moments. The story has one major hurdle to overcome and that's to watch its main subject, an already hard to like immature teenager, Bruno (J?r?mie R?nier, who also starred in La Promesse), sell his baby and have the audience invested in the story enough to care to watch him get him back. However, the impersonal, documentary-style camerawork and incredibly realistic performances by R?nier and D?borah Fran?ois do not naturally garner Bruno any sympathy. Rather the Dardenne brothers, who have a strong Christian streak throughout their work, demand that the audience feel compassion for the characters. Thus, the power of its enigmatic ending depends on the viewer and how much credit he or she wants to give the irresponsible thief. Despite the quotidian details and patient pacing, the movie can be incredibly suspenseful, and its subtle yet airtight structure unexpectedly powerful, particularly in an extended sequence where Bruno and his young friend Steve (J?r?mie Segard) rob a lady and are chased on their scooter and whenever Bruno takes possession of the baby. Robert Bresson's Pickpocket, particularly the ending, has been cited as a prime influence on this film. Like the Dardennes' other films, L'Enfant takes place in an anonymous industrial city in Belgium and was shot in their hometown of Seraing. It won the Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Michael Buening, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Denis Freyd  Producer 
Jean-Pierre Dardenne  Director 
Jean-Pierre Dardenne  Producer 
Jean-Pierre Dardenne  Screenwriter 
Luc Dardenne  Director 
Luc Dardenne  Producer 
Luc Dardenne  Screenwriter 
Jérémie Renier  Actor 
Déborah François  Actor 
Jérémie Segard  Actor 
Fabrizio Rongione  Actor 
Olivier Gourmet  Actor 

Country: Belgium,France