Gagging for It #3
L'Enfant
4 out of 5 pitchforks
I received free passes for a movie (no shit) at a local small cinema house from an associate and decided to watch this summertime feel-good-movie - courtesy of that happy Dardennes pair - with a good buddy. The film employed some gritty camera work and no shitty soundtrack to put you off, thereby giving the flick a documentary feel to it. A total bonus. The film centres around the lives of a young couple who just had a baby and are trying to keep their lives together, albeit in a spectacularily shitty way. The film starts with Sonia (Deborah Francois) coming back from the hospital after giving birth and finding out that Bruno (Jeremie Renier) subleted HER flat to a complete stranger. Pretty rad, huh? So she traipses across town looking for Bruno to a) get an explanation and b) introduce Jimmy to his papa. When we finally meet Bruno, we realize what it is that he does for a living, which makes this whole thing really depressing. Yet, it is so fucking tough on the balls NOT to be hard on the guy, as one will observe.
Bruno manages to suck it up and head to city hall with Sonia in tow, to sign and acknowledge Jimmy under the eyes of law, much in the same manner of enthusiasm one would sign and acknowledge, say, a crappy Vauxhall. Some time passes. Bruno, forever the model of restraint, sells his kid. Oh, imagine the wacky adventure that ensues. Jesus Christ. Most people get jobs, I guess. Whatev. Anyways, die duchebag tells Sonia that he sold the kid, but that the silver lining is the wad of coin he got for Jimmy. Sonia goes catatonic. Bruno is dismayed by Sonia's inability to see his brilliance. After all, he reasons, they can make another one. At this point, I just want Bruno to get hit by a lorry. Soon enough, Sonia's hysterics call upon the unwanted attention of the hospital administration. Even worse, the police. Sigh. So Bruno takes off in an attempt to get his sprog back. Bring the cash and get the kid back. Easy. Much like returning a baking dish to Zellers? Not even remotely, kids, as we see the creepy roughneck assholes behind the baby market scheme reveal themselves. They lean on Bruno pretty heavy, and it all circles the shitter pretty damn fast. All this makes Bruno's carelessness pose the question: who is the child in this clusterfuck? What we see is Bruno, an aging gamin who plays in the mud, the water, munches on croque monsieurs and thrives on pinball.
By the end, I was gobsmacked. We see a turn-around (sorta) with Bruno, and his awakening (or growth) as a man. I neither gasped or cursed, nor cried like a little girl. I couldn't decisively muster a reaction. Perhaps it is that the underlying pathetic and developmentally arrested nature of the characters just paralyzed me. Or, perhaps it's due to me being just an unfeeling asshole in general. Who knows? Anyhoo! The ending was more than appropriate for a film that whizzed by pretty quick (thank fucking God), never letting you linger on a judgement.
4 out of 5 pitchforks
I received free passes for a movie (no shit) at a local small cinema house from an associate and decided to watch this summertime feel-good-movie - courtesy of that happy Dardennes pair - with a good buddy. The film employed some gritty camera work and no shitty soundtrack to put you off, thereby giving the flick a documentary feel to it. A total bonus. The film centres around the lives of a young couple who just had a baby and are trying to keep their lives together, albeit in a spectacularily shitty way. The film starts with Sonia (Deborah Francois) coming back from the hospital after giving birth and finding out that Bruno (Jeremie Renier) subleted HER flat to a complete stranger. Pretty rad, huh? So she traipses across town looking for Bruno to a) get an explanation and b) introduce Jimmy to his papa. When we finally meet Bruno, we realize what it is that he does for a living, which makes this whole thing really depressing. Yet, it is so fucking tough on the balls NOT to be hard on the guy, as one will observe.
Bruno manages to suck it up and head to city hall with Sonia in tow, to sign and acknowledge Jimmy under the eyes of law, much in the same manner of enthusiasm one would sign and acknowledge, say, a crappy Vauxhall. Some time passes. Bruno, forever the model of restraint, sells his kid. Oh, imagine the wacky adventure that ensues. Jesus Christ. Most people get jobs, I guess. Whatev. Anyways, die duchebag tells Sonia that he sold the kid, but that the silver lining is the wad of coin he got for Jimmy. Sonia goes catatonic. Bruno is dismayed by Sonia's inability to see his brilliance. After all, he reasons, they can make another one. At this point, I just want Bruno to get hit by a lorry. Soon enough, Sonia's hysterics call upon the unwanted attention of the hospital administration. Even worse, the police. Sigh. So Bruno takes off in an attempt to get his sprog back. Bring the cash and get the kid back. Easy. Much like returning a baking dish to Zellers? Not even remotely, kids, as we see the creepy roughneck assholes behind the baby market scheme reveal themselves. They lean on Bruno pretty heavy, and it all circles the shitter pretty damn fast. All this makes Bruno's carelessness pose the question: who is the child in this clusterfuck? What we see is Bruno, an aging gamin who plays in the mud, the water, munches on croque monsieurs and thrives on pinball.
By the end, I was gobsmacked. We see a turn-around (sorta) with Bruno, and his awakening (or growth) as a man. I neither gasped or cursed, nor cried like a little girl. I couldn't decisively muster a reaction. Perhaps it is that the underlying pathetic and developmentally arrested nature of the characters just paralyzed me. Or, perhaps it's due to me being just an unfeeling asshole in general. Who knows? Anyhoo! The ending was more than appropriate for a film that whizzed by pretty quick (thank fucking God), never letting you linger on a judgement.
Labels: cinema
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