Cannes follower will probably remember Belgium directors Dardenne Brother's Golden Palm winner "The Child" (2005). "Lorna's silence", latest Cannes winner (best screenplay) from them features again male lead Jeremie Renier who plays yet another "fringe" character, but of a different variety (irresponsible juvenile the last time; junkie this time). The female lead Arta Dobroshi however is a new face, chosen after a meticulous selection process.
The realistic world that underlies the plot is the illegal immigration business in Belgium, through sham marriages. In some cases, the customer, after securing the Belgium identity card, becomes a "service provider", in both cases through the arrangement of an underground organization. Lorna (Dobroshi) is such a case. In the context of this film, the life of Lorna evolves around three men: Claudy (Renier) the hired husband who got her into Belgium from Albania, Sokol her lover who is away most of the time seeking work and Spirou the goon who arranged her sham marriage with Claudy and is now employing her service for a new customer: a wealthy Russian.
Unlike Hollywood melodramas, the story here unfolds with relentless, grim reality as Spirol plans to kill Claudy (using drug overdose) to make way for the Russian while Lorna tries to achieve the same result by a lengthy and frustrating process of divorce application. In her race against time, she also develops, quite reluctantly, affection for Claudy who successfully quits the drug addiction.
The film has much to offer: sharp depiction of a deficient society, keen observation and thoughtful development of characters, skillful, lean cinematic narration (comparable to Hemmingway's prose). It touches by an unflinching stare at life rather than contriving manipulation of the audiences' emotion
The realistic world that underlies the plot is the illegal immigration business in Belgium, through sham marriages. In some cases, the customer, after securing the Belgium identity card, becomes a "service provider", in both cases through the arrangement of an underground organization. Lorna (Dobroshi) is such a case. In the context of this film, the life of Lorna evolves around three men: Claudy (Renier) the hired husband who got her into Belgium from Albania, Sokol her lover who is away most of the time seeking work and Spirou the goon who arranged her sham marriage with Claudy and is now employing her service for a new customer: a wealthy Russian.
Unlike Hollywood melodramas, the story here unfolds with relentless, grim reality as Spirol plans to kill Claudy (using drug overdose) to make way for the Russian while Lorna tries to achieve the same result by a lengthy and frustrating process of divorce application. In her race against time, she also develops, quite reluctantly, affection for Claudy who successfully quits the drug addiction.
The film has much to offer: sharp depiction of a deficient society, keen observation and thoughtful development of characters, skillful, lean cinematic narration (comparable to Hemmingway's prose). It touches by an unflinching stare at life rather than contriving manipulation of the audiences' emotion