La promesse

Year: 1996
Country: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Tunisia
Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Cast: Jérémie Renier, Olivier Gourmet, Assita Ouedraogo
Genre: drama
Runtime: 90 min.
Age: 16+

Igor--a 15-year-old apprentice mechanic--spends his off hours at the beck and call of his father. Igor's father, Roger, is a low-life involved with smuggling illegal immigrants into Belgium, and acts as their slumlord, housing them in barely livable conditions, and paying them menial wages to work construction on his building (among other scams). When the building inspector pays a surprise visit and Amidou falls off a scaffold in his hurry to hide, things start to unravel, particularly when Igor makes a promise to the injured Amidou that ultimately exposes the different values of Igor and Roger, and of Amidou's wife, Assita.

Awards & Festivals:

Cesar Award Nomination - Best Foreign Film
Brussels International Film Festival - Best Belgian Film
Valladolid Iternational Film Festival - Best Directors, FIPRESCI Prize
Sattellite Award Nomination - Best Foreign-Language Film
Joseph Plateau Award - Best Belgian Film, Best Belgian Firectors, Best Belgian Actress
Namur International Film Festival - Best Film, Best Actor, Audience Award