 Box office, TV broadcast, international release Box OfficeTV broadcastsInternational distributorsInternational buyersInformation about the film DirectorsActorsSynopsisAboutProduction and distributionFull creditsTechnical detailsFestival Selections (4) | La Promesse (1996)
Directors Actors Synopsis Igor, is fifteen. He's an apprentice mechanic, a karting fan and above all his father Roger's son, involved, with him, in an illegal immigration racket. Igor takes to his father's scams with natural verve and innocence, not asking too many questions. Yet, one day because of a promise made Igor is forced to choose. Can he come clean without betraying his father? About
Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne may be compared to the Coen brothers (“Miller's Crossing”, “Barton Fink”, etc...) insofar as they work in total symbiosis. Yet as "engaged" film-makers, these young cineastes are more in the vein of Ken Loach than Mathieu Kassovitz. "Hate" opened up a whole new genre in French cinema. The less didactic "La Promesse", however, is much more credible. Like Loach, the Dardenne brothers don't judge, they simply present a slice of life. The torment of this microcosm on the fringes of society - the theme is that of a young delinquent (Igor) who has to choose between his "bastard" of a father (remarkably played by Olivier Gourmet) who killed a black, and his conscience - never tends towards either excessive anger or sentimentality. The young Jérémie Renier and Assista Ouédraogo give extraordinary performances, which, given their relative inexperience, is no doubt thanks to the Dardenne brothers who with this film have become "majors" of Francophone cinema.
Edward Behr, journalist and writer Production and distribution
Co-production : Touza Productions
Foreign production company : Samsa Film, RTBF - Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française, ERTT - Etablissement de Radiodiffusion Télévision Tunisienne, Touza Films, Les Films du Fleuve, Dérives
Film export/Foreign Sales : Seawell Films
French distribution : ARP Sélection
Full credits
Screenwriters : Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Sound Recordist : Jean-Pierre Duret
Press Attaché (film) : Marie-Christine Damiens
Editor : Marie-Hélène Dozo
Production Designer : Igor Gabriel
Music Composers : Jean-Marie Billy, Denis M'Punga
Costume Designer : Monic Parelle
Still Photographer : Christine Plenus
Technical details
Feature film
Genres : Fiction
Sub-genre :
Drama
Production language : French
Nationality :
Minority French (Belgium, Luxembourg, Tunisia, France)
Production year :
1996
French release :
16/10/1996
Runtime :
1h 30mn
Current status :
Released
Visa number :
88.450
Visa issue date :
26/07/1996
Approval :
Yes
Production formats :
35mm
Screening format :
35mm
Color type :
Color
Aspect ratio :
1.66
Sound format :
Dolby A
Festival Selections (4)
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