Writing in VL-11/98, Mike D'Angelo said: "Pop quiz: You're a teenager in a Belgian suburb whose father runs an illegal immigrant labor network. Naturally, your pop's sketchy sense of ethics has rubbed off on you, and at 15 you're already an accomplished liar and thief. Nevertheless, when one of the immigrant workers falls from a scaffold on a construction site and is badly injured, you rush to his aid...until your father, fearing an investigation, intervenes, opting instead to deliberately let the man die. Before he breathes his last, however, the victim manages to extract from you a promise: to take care of his wife and infant child, who will be left without any means of support in an unfamiliar country. What do you do? This stark narrative culminates in one of the most harrowing familial confrontations imaginable… Belgian directing brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne create tension the old-fashioned way: not with rote equations like train + helicopter + plastic explosives = BOOM!, but with volatile human emotions and contrary wills." While never the sharpest looking film, La Promesse benefits from this otherwise extra-less DVD's solid transfer. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD/Blu-ray Review—Aug. 14, 2012—Criterion, 117 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its second appearance on DVD, and first on Blu-ray, 1996's La Promesse sports a great transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound on DVD, and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack on Blu-ray. Extras include a conversation between film critic Scott Foundas and filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne (60 min.), an interview with stars Jérémie Renier and Olivier Gourmet (19 min.), trailers, and a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Kent Jones. Bottom line: a welcome Blu-ray debut for this contemporary foreign classic.]
La Promesse
New Yorker, 93 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95 Volume 17, Issue 3
La Promesse
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