By Daniel Barnes and Mike Dub DANIEL: As I’ve stated many times, the real purpose of these festivals is to fill in some of my more glaring cinematic blind spots. In my festival intro, I mentioned that “I came a little bit late to the Dardenne brothers party,” […]
The Son (2002; Dir.: Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes In my festival intro, I mentioned that actor Jérémie Renier served as the Dardenne brothers’ “on-again, off-again muse,” a blonde-mopped personification of moral turpitude and financial desperation in modern-day Belgium. That argument still holds water, […]
Rosetta (1999; Dir.: Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne) GRADE: A- By Daniel Barnes There persists an idea that the Dardenne brothers create aimlessly verisimilar films, but now that I’m five movies deep into their filmography (deep enough to create my first Dardenne Brothers Power Rankings), it’s clear that they […]
La Promesse (1996; Dir.: Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne) GRADE: B+ By Mike Dub In the hands of the right filmmakers, adolescence provides fertile ground for exploring the conditions that shape society. Far from just the finite crises of finding acceptance, achieving arbitrary victories, beating up a bully, and […]
By Daniel Barnes I came a little bit late to the Dardenne Brothers party (by the way, this party has the worst refreshments ever – it’s just Diet Mountain Dew and a bowl of loose prescription medication). Their most recent release Two Days, One Night was one of […]
By Daniel Barnes and Mike Dub DANIEL: First of all, Dub, I want to thank you for honoring my “no flats” policy for this festival wrap-up – I feel like the Palme d’Or calls for a little old-school glamour. As I wrote in my review of When Father […]
