Canadian Premiere
Lokita is trying to satisfy the authorities that yes, she tracked down her eight-year-old younger brother Tori in a West African orphanage and recognized him—despite not having seen him since he was a baby—and her anxiety is palpable. She’s not a convincing witness. And indeed, Tori is not a blood relation; the pair met up on their grueling odyssey across Europe. But their bond runs deeper than mere opportunism. In a hostile and dangerous environment, they offer one another unstinting love and support. Billeted temporarily in a state-run centre, they work nights side-by-side in an Italian restaurant, and then run “errands” (drugs) for the chef.
The Dardenne brothers work with such consistency at the highest level (Two Days, One Night; The Kid with a Bike; L’enfant), there is a temptation to take their films for granted. That would be a mistake. When so much of cinema is dominated by escapist fantasies of power and strength, the Dardennes have grounded their stories in social realism and empathy for the vulnerable and the weak. Their latest ratchets up the tension and pummels the heart.
Media Partner
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
Pablo Schils, Joely Mbundu, Alban Ukaj, Tijmen Govaerts, Charlotte De Bruyne, Nadège Ouedraogo, Marc Zinga
Belgium
2022
In French with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Amrum
Twelve-year-old Nanning (Jasper Billerbeck) sets himself a mission to secure bread and honey for his mother to snap her out of her depression. It is 1945. The war is all but lost, and such luxuries are not easy to find on the remote island of Amrum...
The Power of Restitution: The Spoils
Join us for a special free screening of The Spoils, an acclaimed documentary about German-Jewish art dealer Max Stern, followed by a live panel discussion exploring the urgent and evolving global movement for art restitution.
The Music Room
Devan Scott continues his journey through the history of lighting. This week, he credits Indian director of photography Subrata Mitra for profound innovations that laid the foundation for ideas of motivated lighting + screening of The Music Room.
Credits
Producer
Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne, Delphine Tomson, Denis Freyd
Screenwriter
Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne
Cinematography
Benoit Dervaux
Editor
Marie-Hélène Dozo
Production Design
Igor Gabriel