Product Details

• Actors: Jeremie Renier
• Directors: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne
• Format: Blu-ray, Color, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Surround Sound, Widescreen
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Criterion Collection
• DVD Release Date: August 14, 2012
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0083V2W54
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,821 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

La Promesse draws on the considerable documentary acumen of its directors, Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne (Rosetta), to prove a revelation in narrative filmmaking. Shot on the outskirts of an industrial city in Belgium, the film follows Igor (Jérémie Rénier), the 15-year-old son of a single parent named Roger (Olivier Gourmet) who rents squalid apartments to recently arrived immigrants, many of them illegal. As Igor struggles to hold down odd jobs while assisting his father in crooked dealings, the Dardenne brothers plunge the audience into the thick of difficult issues--immigration, cultural and racial bias, bureaucratic injustices--without overtly politicizing or diminishing any of their characters. When Igor promises to help a young African woman, he finds he must choose between loyalty to his father and his own conscience. The beauty is in how the Dardenne brothers seem to share in the viewer's curiosity about the film's outcome, having captured a world so charged yet unadorned you feel the surprise of each new scene alongside the directors. An extraordinary film that bears repeated viewings. --Fionn Meade

Product Description

This is the breakthrough feature from Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne (The Kid with a Bike), who would go on to become a force in world filmmaking. The brothers brought the unerring eye for detail and the compassion for those on society’s lowest rungs developed in their earlier documentary work to this absorbing drama about a teenager (Summer Hours’ Jérémie Renier) gradually coming to understand the implications of his father’s making a living off of illegal alien workers. Filmed in the Dardennes’ industrial hometown of Seraing, Belgium, La promesse is a brilliantly economical and observant tale of a boy’s troubled moral awakening.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of 1998 February 17, 2000

By Scott D. Allen

Format:VHS Tape|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is not a warm fuzzy picture by any means, but it is film for people who love people and appreciate the higher instincts of mankind that transcend nationality, race, gender, and age. Does one follow instinctual bonds to family, or honor and committment to a worthy promise.

I absolutely loved this film...and so did my Parisian friends to whom I recommended it.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Flat-out my favorite film of the 90s December 1, 2000

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

If you haven't seen this one, well... Its emotional impact on me was devastating. I saw it when it opened, and a friend and I, who are normally quite talkative after a good movie, walked at least two city blocks afterwards before either of us said a word. I compare it in style to "The Dreamlife of Angels" (hand-held cameras, naturalistic acting, a plot that unfolds gradually and builds to a harrowing finale, and no musical score) and in theme to, of all things, "The Apartment" (main character is waist-deep in wrongdoing but has a crisis of conscience that forces him to re-evaluate himself and his actions). Please find a copy somehow, or go ahead and spend the money here -- I don't want Amazon to get angry with me.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Promise Keeper! July 29, 2009

By Judith Johnson VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Belgium documentary film makers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne deliver an unflinching glimpse into the horrors and exploitation of undocumented workers and the opportunistic people who prey on them in order to improve their own sordid, wretched lives. The directors also have an amazing eye for casting as all the actors are so natural that you think you are watching a documentary, rather than a compassionate piece of fiction.

The heart and soul of the piece is Igor portrayed by a stunning looking fifteen year old Jérémie Rénier (Summer Hours (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]) in an amazing first performance. Every good story needs a great villain and here it supplied by Igor's father Roger in a bravura performance by Olivier Gourmet (Rosetta [Region 2 Import - Non USA Format]). The lying, cheating, brutal Roger exploits everyone near him and even though he loves him, poor Igor is no exception.

The motherless boy has been pulled out of school under the pretense of an apprenticeship so his dad can use him to help run the family business of human trafficking. Absent of any moral teachings or decent role model, Igor is no angel himself:an expert forger of fake identities, purse snatcher, and lying to immigration officers. However, he is still a mechanically inclined 12 year old who snatches a few precious minutes to work on a motorized soap box type car with his friends and paints his dingy teeth with white-out to mimic the dazzling smiles of the Africans whose passports he is altering....

Igor is placed in an almost untenable position when he "promises" to care for the wife and child of a dying African man under his supervision. This promise causes an almost spiritual awakening in our young protagonist and forces him to make difficult moral choices for the first time in his own exploited life. Sadly, the film ends on a very ambiguous note but one hopes the protagonist will have a better, more hopeful future due to living up to his word. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars La promesse November 30, 2012

By Virginia L Thompson

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

A powerful movie on a difficult subject. I recently showed this to my French class because of the immigration topic, but it is so much more! Along the way the young Igor finds redemption for a life that has been less than honest. It is definitely one that will get the students talking and thinking about our global issues, the human condition! My first class to view it completely erupted in an uproar at the ending, perfect for a discussion on the issues. As a teacher, I highly recommend this movie to all French and sociology/psychology teachers out there! And anyone else wanting to present a more realistic world view!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Coming of age boy developing conflicts with father September 9, 2012

By Ednaldo Silva

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

Superb coming of age film in which a pause, driven by rising consciousness, leads a young boy to develop conflicts with his father, and to engage in autonomous decision-making of right over wrong. The film is devoid of sentimentalism or saccharine actions. Reminds of Jerzy Grotowski's poor theater in which the set is stripped of ornamentation. The camera is always moving, keeping close contact with the diverse characters. Great film with impeccable acting and directing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A thought provoking, moralistic drama December 1, 2012

By Dennis A. Amith (kndy) TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Blu-ray

The Dardenne brothers, Jean-Pierre and Luc, have created a good number of award-winning films.

From the 2002 film "The Son" (winner of the "Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Cannes Film Festival), 2005 film "The Child" (winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival), 2008 film "Lorna's Silence" (winner of "Best Screenplay" at the Cannes Film Festival) and most recently with their 2011 film "The Kid with a Bike", which won the Grand Prize of the Jury for "Best Film" at the Cannes Film Festival.

With films that are highly anticipated for their quality writing and direction, back in the 1980′s, the Belgian duo were known for their documentaries. And with their 1987 film "Falsch", the Dardenne Brothers had the opportunity to direct a major feature 1992 film, "Je pense a vous".

And the film didn't do well.

Suffice to say, the film would go against everything that the Dardenne Brothers enjoyed. Having to be on a tight schedule preventing key reshoots, budgetary inconveniences and not shooting a scene in order. The experience turned the Dardenne Brothers off and both discussed that if they do a film, they do things by their own terms, even if it means shooting a low-budget film.

So, in 1996, the Dardenne brothers worked on "La Promesse" (The Promise). A film in which they had complete control over. No need for expensive equipment, they will shot with a handheld camera. No need for spending a lot of money on talent, they would work with unknown talent. And no more having to shoot scenes in different order.

And with this film, it earned them a Cesar nomination for "Best Foreign Film" and winning the Brussels International Film Festival for "Best Belgian Film".... So, when the Dardenne Brothers discuss their filmmaking, for films, "La Promesse" is their beginning and the way they have been doing their films ever since. They call the shots and do what they feel they need to do, to make a film. In other words, complete control over their films.

And "La Promesse" would be released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of the Criterion Collection.

VIDEO:

"La Promesse - The Criterion Collection #620″ is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:66:1 aspect ratio). It's important for people to remember that this was a low-budget film and was filmed via handheld, so you are going to get shaky movements. But this is a cleaner version than the previous DVD release.

The Criterion Collection really went all out in cleaning up the video from any imperfections. I didn't notice any scratches or dust. In fact, I was pausing quite a bit because the film looks so clean. Picture quality has a good amount of grain and for the most part, the film does look good but you do see some softness at times. But by no means does that ruin one's viewing of the film. Colors look good and if anything, if you own the earlier DVD release, "La Promesse" on Blu-ray would be a major upgrade. The clarity of this film in HD is impressive!

According to the Criterion Collection, the transfer was supervised by director of photography Alain Marcoen, this new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm blowup interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean, while Image Systems' Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"La Promesse - The Criterion Collection #620″ is presented in French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Once again, The Dardenne brothers went back to the basics with this film. Its dialogue is clear and there is a segment where Igor and Roger are singing, which is also crystal clear. But I notice no pops, hiss or any problems during my viewing of this film.

According to the Criterion Collection, the film was released theatrically with a 2.0 surround soundtrack. The disc, however, features a 5.1 surround soundtrack, remastered at 24-bit from the original LCRS magnetic masters used for the theatrical mix. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"La Promesse - The Criterion Collection #620" comes with the following special features:

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne - (1:00:25) Conversation between film critic Scott Foundas and filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne shot in 2012 in Liege, Belgium.
Jeremie Renier and Olivier Gourmet - (18:33) 2012 interviews with Jeremie Renier (Igor) and Olivier Gourmet (Roger).
Trailer - (1:16) The original theatrical trailer for "La Promesse".

EXTRAS:

"La Promesse - The Criterion Collection #620" comes with a 16-page booklet with the following essay "One Plus One" by author Kent Jones.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"La Promesse" is film by filmmakers that the cineaste can truly appreciate.

Not only is it a film that goes against traditional filmmaking but it's a wise stand for the Dardenne brothers to denounce big film industry practices by creating a film, done their own way, their own style with no regrets. And most importantly, they are filmmakers who stayed true to that practice. And most importantly, there is a semblance of their style that is reminiscent of a hint of Italian Neorealism by capturing the lives of those economically challenged and not forcing one's economic pain through acting but through visual means.

The Dardenne brothers have done documentaries on this before. They know the troubles that people go through and they try to portray that in their films.

"La Promesse" is rather fascinating because it is a film that deals with a father and son who make their living by exploiting illegal immigrants. The son doesn't know too much about how his father is towards the workers, he just learns and does everything his father tells him. And because Igor deals with these people who rely on them quite a bit, because he is younger, he does have compassion for them because they don't have much money and are trying to survive.

But his life changes when he sees a man die in front of him. A man who asks him to watch over his wife and child, which Igor promises the dying man, that he would do. And this is the turning point of where he sees his father differently. His father is more concerned about himself, that he wouldn't rescue anyone. In fact, he would go so far to pay people to make things worse on other tenants that live in the apartment building. His father has no compassion and in some way, similar to the undocumented workers that he uses, in many ways, Roger uses his son Igor as well.

And we know this father and son relationship is quite odd. We see Roger taking out his son to have some fun and be around women, his son smokes and pretty much has not been able to live his young life, as his father tends to use him to do these jobs for these undocumented workers quite frequently.

But it's that conundrum of seeing a teenager, who saw a man die and his father trying to cover his death up by burying him under cement. Igor can't forget, even if he wanted to, because the dead man's wife is always trying to look for him. And while Roger tells her that he disappeared possibly because of debt, we see her using guts from a chicken to tell her where her husband is. And inside, she feels that he is nearby. And for Igor, the pain he sees his wife in, as she tries to find him and raise a baby is too much for boy to handle.

And we then see Igor starting to have compassion, the opposite of his father, who has little. It's money, business for him and it starts to eat away at his son.

"La Promesse" is a moral tale, or of a moral awakening. This is a film that does not try to sugarcoat things, nor is it a film meant to have answers. But it's that documentary style that the Dardenne brothers are known for that leads "La Promesse" to its efficacy. The outstanding performances by Jeremie Renier and Olivier Gourmet seems natural.

As for the Blu-ray release, for those who owned the older DVD release of "La Promesse" will be happy to know that this film looks very good on Blu-ray considering that this is a low-budget film. There are some people who may not like the handheld camerawork but a low-budget and the Dardenne brothers willingness to get away from major costs by eliminating a lot of major equipment during a film shoot was important to them. But still, the film looks and sounds very good on Blu-ray and is worth upgrading to. And there are two special features with interviews plus a trailer and essay booklet included.

Overall, "La Promesse" is a film that showed the world that the Dardenne brothers have true potential but also earned the respect of cinema fans for their stand against what they don't like about big-budget filmmaking and following rules that inhibit their own personal style. So, they went about making their own film with a low budget, non-popular talent but making the film feel real to the audience. It's what they are excellent in doing for their films to this day!

A thought provoking, moralistic drama that introduced the world to the Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne and the "Dardenne Style" of filmmaking. "La Promesse" is highly recommended! Read more ›