Review of Our Children

This film by Belgian director Joachim Lafosse speaks about the imminent clash of civilizations between two young people as the film contains numerous references to differences of culture. As a film about an important contemporary topic which is liable to draw diverse opinions,Our children largely fails to make great impact on viewers as it does not ask pertinent questions. What bothers the most is that the most elementary question of a mother killing all her five children without any remorse is never answered ? It can be surmised that the reason for this absence of a direct reply lies in the film being merely an ordinary story where viewers are made to be mute spectators of a series of incidents happening in the lives of the protagonists. Although the film features good acting by veteran actors Niels Arestrup, Emilie Dequenne and Tahar Rahim viewers might develop a feeling that the film fails to effectively deal with its main plot. It is observed that most films about murders in a family tend to sensationalize the issue by taking sides. A viewer would feel happy to learn that Joachim Lafosse chose to deliberately avoid such an artistic trap. Lastly, it is this quality which would work in his favor. Belgian film 'Our Children'/A Perdre La Raison is based on the real life incident involving a Belgian woman Geneviève Lhermitte who killed her five children in 2007. It was part of 'Un Certain Regard' section at 65th Cannes International Film Festival 2012.