L'enfant (2005)
There is an anti-analytical, perhaps anti-intellectual, quality to Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne's cinematic slice of urban vagrancy in L'enfant. In avoidance of attaching the terms "realism" or "realistic" to this French film, which exhibits influences from early Godard & Truffaut
, one could contend that it is devoid of any self-reflexivity or sociological agenda. So, what is the point of showing moviegoers glimpses of a day-in-the-life-of a vagabond who ponders the illegal sale of his newborn baby if not to make social commentary? Perhaps, the Dardennes are looking to update Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” with an ever more mobile & close-quarter camera eye, particularly via handheld close-up shots that pan & linger.
The unspoken spiritual kinship between Bruno, the lead character, & Sonia, the mother of his child, depicted through their child-like frolickings and hermetic “two-shot” moments remain memorable scenes seldom witnessed in cinema. For a film driven not by its plot, but by sustained & adjoining tension from scene to scene, it draws the discerning & willing viewer into the street life of an under-achieving petty thief. Those viewers who require more structure & plot points are forewarned. However, for those who enjoy vetting the cinematic frontiers of reconstructed & scrutinized reality, view on.
, one could contend that it is devoid of any self-reflexivity or sociological agenda. So, what is the point of showing moviegoers glimpses of a day-in-the-life-of a vagabond who ponders the illegal sale of his newborn baby if not to make social commentary? Perhaps, the Dardennes are looking to update Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” with an ever more mobile & close-quarter camera eye, particularly via handheld close-up shots that pan & linger.The unspoken spiritual kinship between Bruno, the lead character, & Sonia, the mother of his child, depicted through their child-like frolickings and hermetic “two-shot” moments remain memorable scenes seldom witnessed in cinema. For a film driven not by its plot, but by sustained & adjoining tension from scene to scene, it draws the discerning & willing viewer into the street life of an under-achieving petty thief. Those viewers who require more structure & plot points are forewarned. However, for those who enjoy vetting the cinematic frontiers of reconstructed & scrutinized reality, view on.
