Synopsis
Igor, aged 15, and his father Roger deal in housing and peddling illicit labor in the outlying districts of Liege, Belgium. Scams, lies and swindling rule their lives. When one of his father’s illegal workers gets injured on the job and asks Igor to promise to take care of his wife and baby, Igor finds himself at a crossroad. He wants to keep the promise, but the price would be to betray his father.
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Cast
- Jérémie RenierIgor
- Olivier GourmetRoger
- Assita OuedraogoAssita
- Florian DelainRiri
- Hachemi HaddadNabil
- Rasmané OuédraogoAmidou
- Jean-Michel BalthazarThe Labour Inspector
- Frédéric BodsonThe Garage Boss
- Jean-Paul DermontMuller
- Alain HoltgenThe Postman
Recommendations
- 100
Newsweek
Urgently, without sentimentality, "La Promesse" shows us the birth of a conscience, and its cost. This fleet, powerful movie may prove to be a classic. [30 June 1997, p.79] - 100
Chicago Tribune
Both sides of the story -- the larger context and the intense and intimate drama -- are painted with an absolutely unswerving sense of truth. And, as we watch this movie, full of violence, injustice and compassion, there is barely a moment that seems calculated or contrived. - 88
ReelViews
Despite being a low-key production, La Promesse speaks volumes about how we treat other human beings and what it means to truly grow up. - 88
Boston Globe
Hurtling from the screen with a vigor and importance that are all but absent from contemporary film, it's a deeply moving social drama, raw and gritty in style, shining with moral purpose as it delivers a scathing take-it-into-the-streets critique of feral capitalism and racism. [18 July 1997, p.D1] - 80
The New York Times
The integrity of the film, whose directorial team has collaborated on numerous Belgian documentaries, extends to its sad final moments, in which nothing is left neat and tidy. - 80
Washington Post
Bleak and post-industrial, this is no easy film to watch. It hasn't a conventional image of beauty anywhere within its grim 93 minutes, being shot in harsh natural light that somehow plays up the grime and chill of back-alley life. But by the end, it's suffused with something utterly rare: moral beauty. [27 June 1997, p.D6] - 78
Austin Chronicle
La Promesse is a penetrating coming-of-age story, one that argues that adulthood begins with the emergence of moral convictions. - 75
Miami Herald
La Promesse (The Promise) makes filmmaking look easy. The movie is deceptively simple, a tight little drama about guilt and conscience in which the creators' strings are completely invisible. It's fine storytelling in its purest form. [31 Jan. 1997, p.27G]
