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L'Enfant
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Dardenne brothers
Written by	Dardenne brothers
Produced by	Dardenne brothers Denis Freyd
Starring	Jérémie Renier Déborah François
Cinematography	Alain Marcoen
Edited by	Marie-Hélène Dozo
Production company	Les Films du Fleuve
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics
Release dates	17 May 2005 (2005-05-17) (Cannes) 14 September 2005 (2005-09-14) (Belgium)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	Belgium
Language	French
Budget	€3.6 million
Box office	$5.5 million

L'Enfant (English: The Child) is a 2005 Belgian film directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, starring Jérémie Renier and Déborah François. The film was released under its French title in the US, and as The Child in the UK.

It received critical acclaim and won the Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, among other accolades. In 2017, the film was named the fourteenth "Best Film of the 21st Century So Far" by The New York Times.

Plot

Bruno, 20, and Sonia, 18, are surviving on her welfare cheques and Bruno's petty crimes when Sonia becomes pregnant. While Sonia is absent, Bruno sells their baby to a black market adoption ring to make some quick cash. He tells Sonia, telling her that they can simply "make" another baby, but Sonia is sickened and faints.

Faced with Sonia's shock, and feeling regret for his mistake, Bruno buys the child back at a premium—but, after being turned away by Sonia, his mounting debts lead Bruno down a quick path to desperation. He also learns Sonia is pressing charges. He winds up in prison, and Sonia visits him, sharing a moment of despair.

Cast

• Jérémie Renier as Bruno
• Déborah François as Sonia
• Jérémie Segard as Steve
• Fabrizio Rongione
• Olivier Gourmet

Reception

Critical response

L'Enfant received mostly positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 86% approval rating, based on 106 reviews, with an average score of 7.5/10. The site's consensus reads, "The Dardennes continue to excel at presenting works of rigorous naturalism, with detached observations of authentic characters that nevertheless resonate with complex moral issues.". On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 87, based on 34 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Accolades

L'Enfant won the Palme d'Or in 2005 Cannes Film Festival, making directors Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne twice winners of the Palme d'Or, having won the award previously in 1999 with Rosetta. The film received the André Cavens Award for Best Film by the Belgian Film Critics Association (UCC). It was also nominated for Best Film and Best Actor (for Jérémie Renier) at the European Film Awards.

The film was chosen as Belgium's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards, but did not secure a nomination.

See also

• List of Belgian submissions for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

References

1. "L'ENFANT". JP's Box-Office. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
2. "The Child". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
3. Dargis, Manohla; Scott, A. O. "The 25 Best Films of the 21st Century...So Far". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
4. "L'Enfant (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
5. "L'Enfant (The Child)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
6. ^ "L'Enfant". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
7. "'L'Enfant' des frères Dardenne, Palme d'or d'un cinéma des marges". Le Monde. 21 May 2005. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
8. "Foreign film barred from Oscars". BBC. 23 December 2005. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
9. Madeline White. "L'enfant". Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
10. Alison James (29 January 2006). "Cesar noms feeling 'Beat'". Variety.
11. "L'ENFANT". Academy of Italian Cinema. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
12. "L'ENFANT". European Film Academy. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
13. "Nominalizari 2007" (in Romanian). Asociaţia pentru Promovarea Filmului Românesc. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
14. "Bästa filmen 2006: 'Ninas resa'". Expressen. 30 January 2006. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
15. "'L'Enfant' wint vijf Joseph Plateau Prijzen". De Tijd. 8 March 2006. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
16. "Prix et nominations : Lumières de la presse étrangère 2006". AlloCiné. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
17. "Past Award Winners". Toronto Film Critics Association. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2021.

External links

• Official website
• L'Enfant at IMDb
• L'Enfant at AllMovie

• 2005 films
• 2005 drama films
• Palme d'Or winners
• Films set in Belgium
• Belgium in fiction
• Films directed by the Dardenne brothers
• Sony Pictures Classics films
• Films about atonement
• Best French-Language Film Lumières Award winners
• Best Foreign Film Guldbagge Award winners
• Belgian drama films
• 2000s French-language films
• Les Films du Fleuve films
• 2000s Belgian films
• French-language drama films