The Promise
Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Actors: Jérémie Renier, Olivier Gourmet, Assita Ouedraogo
PlotIgor is a fifteen-year-old living in Belgium with his father, Roger, who runs a business exploiting undocumented immigrants. The father and son duo engage in various illegal activities, including renting out dilapidated apartments and underpaying the workers they employ. Igor assists his father in these schemes, growing up in an environment devoid of moral and ethical considerations. One day, while renovating a building, an immigrant worker is severely injured. Roger decides to cover up the incident to avoid legal repercussions, instructing Igor to stay silent about what happened. This marks a turning point for Igor, who is now burdened with a secret that weighs heavily on his conscience.
Igor's sense of responsibility and guilt begins to create tension between him and Roger. He starts questioning the moral implications of their actions and becomes increasingly sympathetic toward the plight of the immigrants they exploit. Igor's internal conflict intensifies as he is torn between his loyalty to his father and his growing sense of justice. The young boy's journey towards a moral awakening challenges the very foundation of his upbringing and forces him to make difficult choices. As Igor grapples with these complex emotions, he must ultimately decide whether to remain complicit in his father's unethical dealings or to take a stand, risking his relationship with Roger in the process.
Writers: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Leon Michaux
Release Date: 16 May 1997
Runtime: 90 min
Rating: Not Rated
Country: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Tunisia
Language: French, Romanian
Home Video Reviews
La Promesse's Blu-ray transition is stunning with the best visuals yet, an engrossing interview with the directors, and a captivating story, though video quality has slight limitations due to its 35mm print source.
Read our review of The Promise Blu-ray to find out more