Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Abandoned by his father, a young boy is left in the hands of an unqualified childcare provider.
The Dardenne brothers' precise, humanist drama about a boy searching for his absent father and finding surrogate care is characteristically restrained and naturalistic. The plot is simple but emotionally resonant, anchored by Thomas Doret's raw, kinetic performance and Cécile de France's warm portrayal of the foster mother. The Dardennes' handheld, close-following cinematography is their signature style — immersive but not groundbreaking beyond their established mode. The film is distinctly a Dardenne work but doesn't push their craft to new heights as Rosetta or L'Enfant did. The ending offers a quiet, hopeful ambiguity that fits the film's moral register without being particularly surprising. A solid, affecting entry in their filmography that sits slightly below their very best work across all dimensions.