Bruno (Jérémie Renier, magnificent) and Sonia (Déborah François, who reminds me of a younger Julie Delpy) are immature, teen lovers. They live on the streets of Seraing, Belgium, getting money from Bruno's gang's petty crimes. Sonia gives birth to a baby boy, Jimmy, but Bruno is totally indifferent. He sells his newborn son without Sonia's consent, and she has a nervous breakdown when he tells her what he did. Bruno then goes against all odds to get Jimmy back, but it won't be an easy ride.
"L'Enfant" is a beautiful, raw poetry about children who haven't grown up, and have their own kids without even knowing how to care of themselves. This is a film of silences, gestures that say more than a thousand words. "L'Enfant" is the first film by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne that I've had the opportunity to watch, and I couldn't be more satisfied. After reading great things about some of his other films - "La Promesse" (1996), "Rosetta" (Golden Palm at Cannes 1999), "Le Fils" (2002, Olivier Gourmet was awarded Best Actor at Cannes) -; now I understand why they're considered some of the most talented names making films nowadays. Their honesty and strength to tell this poignant story, which could easily become an absurd melodrama, is mindblowing. "L'Enfant" gave the Dardenne brothers a second Golden Palm at Cannes, and hopefully the pompous award will make more people curious to check this work of art. Nothing is as simple as it seems, and as we get into the nightmarish world of Bruno, we see he's not only an immature, cruel lad who sold his own kid, but someone who hasn't even begun to live.
Sad and remarkable, "L'Enfant" has some similarities with Hector Babenco's classic "Pixote - A Lei do Mais Fraco" (1981) and is certainly one of the year's best. 10 out of 10.
