La Promesse

La Promesse (lit. '"The Promise"') is a 1996 drama film written and directed by the Belgian brothers Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, starring Jérémie Renier and Olivier Gourmet. The film had its world premiere in the Directors' Fortnight section parallel to the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.^[4] The film was shot in chronological order.^[5][6]

La Promesse
Film poster
Directed by	Jean-Pierre Dardenne Luc Dardenne
Written by	Jean-Pierre Dardenne Luc Dardenne Léon Michaux Alphonse Badolo
Starring	Jérémie Renier Olivier Gourmet Assita Ouedraogo
Cinematography	Alain Marcoen
Edited by	Marie-Hélène Dozo
Music by	Jean-Marie Billy Denis M'Punga
Production companies	Eurimages[1] Les Films du Fleuve[1] RTBF[1] Samsa Film[1] Touza Productions[1]
Distributed by	Cinélibre (Belgium)[1] ARP Sélection (France)[1]
Release dates	May 1996 (1996-05) (Cannes) 9 October 1996 (1996-10-09) (Belgium)[2] 16 October 1996 (1996-10-16) (France)[1]
Running time	90 minutes[1]
Countries	Belgium[1] Luxembourg[1] Tunisia[1] France[1]
Language	French
Budget	€1.5 million[3]
Box office	$2.8 million[3]

Plot

The plot involves a father, Roger, who mercilessly trafficks and exploits undocumented immigrants. His son, Igor, is fifteen and an apprentice mechanic, who also works for his father in his labor contracting operation. When one of their illegal workers is seriously injured at the worksite, left to die, and the death concealed by Roger and Igor, a guilt-ridden Igor must choose between his father's chosen way of life and his promise to the dying man.^[7]

Cast

• Jérémie Renier as Igor
• Olivier Gourmet as Roger
• Assita Ouedraogo as Assita

Critical response

La Promesse received critical acclaim. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 95% approval rating, based on 22 reviews, with an average score of 7.8/10.^[8] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 82, based on 17 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[9]

Awards and nominations

• Belgian Film Critics Association (Belgium)
  • Won: André Cavens Award for Best Film
  • Nominated: Grand Prix
• César Awards (France)
  • Nominated: Best Foreign Film
• Los Angeles Film Critics (USA)^[10]
  • Nominated: Best Foreign Film
• National Society of Film Critics (USA)
  • Won: Best Foreign Language Film
• Online Film Critics Society Awards (USA)
  • Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film
• Satellite Awards (USA)
  • Nominated: Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language
• Valladolid Film Festival (Spain)
  • Won: FIPRESCI Prize (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
  • Won: Golden Spike (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)