Directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne

It’s an admirable skill, being able to create tension and drama out of realistic and domestic situations, a craft the Dardenne brothers have continued to perfect with each film. The film doesn’t waste anytime setting up backstory or character: straight-away we’re launched into the dramatic situation of our protagonist (played brilliantly by Marion Cotillard), as she has to find the courage to fight for herself and her family. It’s a film that presents us with real, moral complexities: a film where everybody has something to lose. The Dardenne brothers have created something incredibly broad and complex out of something which would only seem to be a minor detail in the fabric of our lives. I hope they continue to do so.

A-