dir Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne - Set in the post-industrial limbo of a dead factory town, La Promesse follows 15-year-old Igor, a boy learning how to be a small-time hustler from his father Roger. Together they toil in the town's only growth industry: the exploitation of illegal immigrants from Africa and Eastern Europe by providing them with false papers, flophouses and off-the-books construction work. Igor's moral awakening comes with a covered-up accidental death of an African illegal. By revealing or withholding the truth, Igor will either betray his father or the promise he made to the dying man to look after his wife and infant. The Dardennes have written a compelling, believable script and have drawn excellent performances from mostly unknown or inexperienced actors. But the truly wonderful thing about La Promesse is how the story is told. The film's style and structure seem spontaneous, almost casual, completely obscuring all the thought and work necessary to achieve that effect. The camera is always in just the right place, with many scenes shot in continuous handheld takes that move with, and pan between, actors instead of cutting. A remarkable film, indeed. (Belgium 1996) 110 min. AA, subtitled. Home | March Calendar | April Calendar | Cinema Info | Advertisers