La Promesse
A teenage mechanic caught in his father's migrant-smuggling racket must choose between obedient complicity and a dangerous act of conscience.
Overview
A young mechanic grapples with the moral complexities of his father's criminal life.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- intimate
- bleak
- serious film night
- social justice cinema viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, compassionate, and unsentimental work of social realism anchored by its moral tension and performances.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Igor's promise to Amidou forces him to reject Roger's exploitative values and act according to his own conscience.
Roger houses undocumented immigrants in unsafe conditions, underpays them, and uses their labor in construction scams.
The film centers on workshops, construction sites, cramped housing, and handheld-feeling proximity to Igor's actions and dilemmas.
Igor works at Roger's beck and call while gradually confronting his father's criminal treatment of workers and tenants.
Films like La Promesse, and why
Movie Details
- Directors
- Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
- Release Date
- 1996-08-07
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (188)
Cast
- Jérémie Renier
- Olivier Gourmet
- Assita Ouedraogo
- Florian Delain
- Hachemi Haddad
- Rasmané Ouédraogo
- Jean-Michel Balthazar
- Frédéric Bodson
- Jean-Paul Dermont
- Alain Holtgen
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is La Promesse about?
- A teenage mechanic caught in his father's migrant-smuggling racket must choose between obedient complicity and a dangerous act of conscience.
- What is La Promesse like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of La Promesse as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is La Promesse violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in La Promesse as mild.
- What did critics think of La Promesse?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, compassionate, and unsentimental work of social realism anchored by its moral tension and performances.
- Which films are like La Promesse?
- Films with a similar feel include Rosetta, The Child, and In This World.
- How long is La Promesse?
- La Promesse runs 94 minutes.
- Where can I watch La Promesse?
- In United States, La Promesse streams on Criterion Channel.
