F R I D AY, M A R C H 2 4 , 2 0 0 6The Child -- The Popsurfing ReviewHere's what I wrote after seeing the new drama The Child when itdebuted at Cannes.</p><p> The movie opens in NYC today:L’enfant/The Child *** ½ -- I just love the aesthetic of the BelgianDardenne brothers (“Rosetta,” “The Son,” etc.) and so more of the sameis just fine by me.</p><p> An on the skids young thief named Bruno (thehandsome and bruised looking Jeremie Renier) gets by with pettycrimes till his girlfriend shows up with their newborn son.</p><p> The twohave a great if juvenile relationship, always tripping each other up,spraying each other with a soda, giggling, laughing and so on.</p><p> Clearly,they’re in love as much as these two immature kids can be. (They’rearound 18 or so.) She’s waiting in line for something and he takes thenewborn for his first walk with papa and blithely starts using the kid tobeg for money. (He has no job, doesn’t even register when she suggestsgetting one and knows where all the free flophouse shelters are.) Thenhe just decides to sell the kid and within an hour has given it up andgarnered a handful of cash to split with her.</p><p> She, naturally, freaks out,attacking him and collapsing.</p><p> She’s taken to the hospital, he somehowstrives to get the kid back and all sorts of miserable complicationsensue.</p><p> As always with the Dardennes, the camera is right on top of theactors, creating a sense of intensity and immediacy far greater than youachieve by simply shoving a handheld into someone’s face. (It must betheir framing and long tracking shots that create an inherent tensionwhenever you’re following someone around.) Yes, familiar in every wayfor them, but I ate it up.</p><p> Some day I’ll write a book about their work:“The Back of the Head: The Films of the Dardennes Brothers.”POSTED BY MICHAEL IN NEW YORK AT 1:45 PM 2 C O M M E N T S :Anonymous said...This post has been removed by a blog administrator.6:08 PM Anonymous said...This post has been removed by a blog administrator.Next Blog»sal1mineo@hotmail.comSEARCH BLOG FLAG BLOGFOLLOW BLOGP O P S U R F I N G .</p><p> C O MS U R F I N G T H E WAV E S O F P O P U L A R C U LT U R EB Y M I C H A E L G I LT Z & F R I E N D SPOPSURFING.COM: The Child -- The Popsurfing Reviewhttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/03/child-popsurfing-review... 1 of 37/29/09 2:35 AMFAV O R I T E L I N K SAmericablogFive O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's BlogThe Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPNRadioCine-Blog -- George Robinson's BlogDocuments On Art & Cinema - DarylChin's BlogBrucie G's Wondrous Blog OfAdventure and Mystery -- BruceGreenspan's BlogB L O G A R C H I V E▼ 2009 (17)▼ July (3)1939 -- The Greatest Year ForMoviesSwimming Bans Those Hi-TechSuits!Best Movies Of The Year -- TheMaster List► June (3)► May (1)► March (2)► February (1)► January (7)► 2008 (86)► 2007 (781)► 2006 (2412)► 2005 (5)C O N T R I B U TO R SAaronMichael in New YorkBiboy POPSURFING.COM: The Child -- The Popsurfing Reviewhttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/03/child-popsurfing-review... 2 of 37/29/09 2:35 AMPOPSURFING.COM: The Child -- The Popsurfing Reviewhttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/03/child-popsurfing-review... 3 of 37/29/09 2:35 AM
