Directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Belgium 2002, 103 min
MAR 22 & 23
Who is that boy named Francis? If Olivier refused to take him into his carpentry workshop, why has he taken to following him in the training center hallways, in the streets, in his building? Why is he so interested in him? Why does he seem so afraid of him?
“The Son is reminiscent of a finely crafted short story that, through an economy of means and meticulous attention to detail, builds nicely to a climax that produces a singular emotional effect on an observer ... An exercise in minimalism, albeit a rewarding one.”
- Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
"Shot in an intense, almost claustrophic style, this unapologetically demanding film stars (Olivier Gourmet) as a taciturn woodworking teacher who turns out to have a terrible secret connection with one of his new students."
- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"The Dardennes' austere and uncompromising aesthetic is back on full display in The Son, a minutely observed, dramatically compelling study of the violent emotions seething below the drab surface of working-class lives ... In the foreground of every shot, (Olivier) Gourmet gives an invigoratingly understated performance. Stolid and taciturn, he conveys, with his thick glasses and heavy physique, a character weighed down by infinite sadness ... The heart of the drama is all in the detail, the small revealing gesture and inadvertent admission. It is minimalist filmmaking taken to its absolute height."
- Sheila Johnston, Screen International
