The Son (2002)

Brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's The Son won the Palm d'Or at Cannes in 2002, cementing their reputation as the go-to siblings for consistently excellent realist dramas. All based in nondescript industrial Belgian towns (where the brothers are from), the Dardenne's construct their films with a formal rigor that recalls the (overly self-conscious and short-lived) Dogme movement, and perhaps more favorably, Robert Bresson. Like all of their films, The Son is shot with only available light, handheld camera, and no score.

The less that is known about the plot the better, in order to preserve the rather ingenious narrative structure of the film. It revolves around Olivier, a carpentry teacher at a center for boys who have been released from juvenile detention. His obsession with one boy in particular is completely ambiguous, and rather discomforting. The Dardenne Bros. heighten this uncertainty by shooting relentlessly over his shoulder, rarely revealing his face. The result is fairly compelling, and when all is revealed everything unfolds beautifully (or maybe snaps shut like a trap), and a tad biblically. Here's a hint, the first time he is alone with the boy is in a cave-like locker room; the boy is asleep. The second time, the boy is relieving himself. Shades of 1 Samuel?

The film is really a quite profound example of grace as the only means for peace or reconciliation, in this case grace given from one human to another. In some sense, there is unity found in craft, and a craft that isn't without metaphor, as Olivier quietly teaches each boy the trick to carrying a heavy wooden beam. And boy-howdy do the Dardenne's love them some closing shots, which they frequently mention are directly Bressonian (compare L'Enfant (2006) and Pickpocket). This one does not disappoint.