Depression is a terrible thing. The opening scene of 'My Children' tells us that an awful thing has happened, and the rest of the movie provides the background to the tragedy. It's a slow-paced film, and for much of its length, it feels too slow-paced for its own plot: it's not easy to see how the status quo is going to descend into tragedy within the allotted time. In the event, the end is sudden and not directly provoked: the cause is rather internal, the final snapping of its protagonist amid inner despair. Nonetheless, depression can be induced by real-world causes, and the film is actually, aside from its dramatic conclusion, an intriguing study of a subtly abusive relationship between an elderly doctor who in effect adopted a Moroccan family. In return for his generosity, he sought control, more control than any one person should have over the lives of others. Director Joachim Lafosse strangely shoots many scenes through out-of-focus doorways, a stylistic tic that I didn't quite understand; but this a powerful study nonetheless, a disturbing portrait of a family life that is superficially idyllic, but somehow not right nonetheless
13 Reviews
Our Children
lasttimeisaw2 August 2012
A KVIFF screening, from French director Joachim Lafosse, before now the film has won a BEST ACTRESS award (for Émilie Dequenne) in UN CERTAIN REGARD competition in this year's Cannes.
It is an unsettling drama concerns a tragedy which would be quite a mind-shocker. The film begins with the wife lying in the hospital bed (clearly after some severe accident) and mumbling that her children should be buried in Morocco, so during the subsequent truth-revealing narrative, viewers are practically preparing ourselves to undertake a tremendous calamity (my speculation is a car accident), but the film will deliver a much stronger and crueler blow, the actual long-takes of the massacre are done in an eerily tranquil restraint (considerably withdrawn from the actual execution).
The foci are on the bizarre triangular relationship among three people, Mounir, a young Moroccan man and his French wife Murielle, live with elderly André a rich French doctor who had a paper marriage arrangement with Mounir's mother, so he could bring Mounir with him, and provide a job for him to work in his private clinic. So technically Mounir-André's quasi father- son bond has a deeper root (than Murielle, the clear intruder could imagine) although they are no blood linkage. Later, when their children consequently arriving in this world, step-by-step Murielle finds herself suffocated by the temporal life (possibly postpartum depression), and eagerly sways Mounir to go back to Morocco with their family, to start their life anew. But thing is slipping to an abyss when André cannot risk losing them and Mounir relies too much on him (both economically and psychologically) as well. Until the confrontation between Murielle and André finally occurs, the tragedy is inescapable.
A heavy string score is predestined to the solemn tenor, the film is a trifle long-haul (a 111 minute running time) and the transitions of the characters' mental activities are either too abrupt or too hackneyed, but Émilie Dequenne for sure has been splendidly extraordinary in her devastating role, her self-destroy interpretation is powerful enough to propel the story against its ill-fated destiny. The A PROPHET (2009, a 9/10) pair, Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup are sharing their leading status as the other two angles of the triangle hazard, and overtly the latter has a meatier presence.
There is a chafed undertone against the main plot, which I dare not to sidestep, the legality of paper marriage may not be the crux behind the tragedy, but nevertheless plays an influential part of the contemporary immigrant quandary.
It is an unsettling drama concerns a tragedy which would be quite a mind-shocker. The film begins with the wife lying in the hospital bed (clearly after some severe accident) and mumbling that her children should be buried in Morocco, so during the subsequent truth-revealing narrative, viewers are practically preparing ourselves to undertake a tremendous calamity (my speculation is a car accident), but the film will deliver a much stronger and crueler blow, the actual long-takes of the massacre are done in an eerily tranquil restraint (considerably withdrawn from the actual execution).
The foci are on the bizarre triangular relationship among three people, Mounir, a young Moroccan man and his French wife Murielle, live with elderly André a rich French doctor who had a paper marriage arrangement with Mounir's mother, so he could bring Mounir with him, and provide a job for him to work in his private clinic. So technically Mounir-André's quasi father- son bond has a deeper root (than Murielle, the clear intruder could imagine) although they are no blood linkage. Later, when their children consequently arriving in this world, step-by-step Murielle finds herself suffocated by the temporal life (possibly postpartum depression), and eagerly sways Mounir to go back to Morocco with their family, to start their life anew. But thing is slipping to an abyss when André cannot risk losing them and Mounir relies too much on him (both economically and psychologically) as well. Until the confrontation between Murielle and André finally occurs, the tragedy is inescapable.
A heavy string score is predestined to the solemn tenor, the film is a trifle long-haul (a 111 minute running time) and the transitions of the characters' mental activities are either too abrupt or too hackneyed, but Émilie Dequenne for sure has been splendidly extraordinary in her devastating role, her self-destroy interpretation is powerful enough to propel the story against its ill-fated destiny. The A PROPHET (2009, a 9/10) pair, Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup are sharing their leading status as the other two angles of the triangle hazard, and overtly the latter has a meatier presence.
There is a chafed undertone against the main plot, which I dare not to sidestep, the legality of paper marriage may not be the crux behind the tragedy, but nevertheless plays an influential part of the contemporary immigrant quandary.
Horrible act. Terrible destiny
guy-bellinger15 December 2015
The film is directly inspired by the case of Geneviève Lhermitte, a Belgian woman who, in 2008, brutally murdered her five children.
What in the world drove this hitherto model mother to such a barbarous act... is the anguished question asked by writer-director Joachim Lafosse (also Belgian) in this intense if somewhat restrained drama. A question all the harder to answer when the deplorable "heroine" of this family tragedy was at a loss, as she put it, "to understand what has happened, for I still haven't understood. I acted the opposite way to what I thought."
Lafosse cannot provide THE answer, it goes without saying. How could he since the real-life murderess in person proved unable to understand herself? But he tries hard to come as close to the truth as possible. In any case, he refuses to condemn her. Instead, he describes thoroughly all the stages of the way of the cross she undergoes before committing her irreversible act.
Co-written with Matthieu Raynaert and Jacques Audiard's favorite screenwriter Thomas Bidegain, "A perdre la raison" indeed follows the various developments of the affair very realistically even if the names and a few details have been changed (after all this is a fiction work, not a documentary) : Geneviève has become Murielle and her husband is named Mounir instead of Bouchaib. Plus, the couple in the fiction has four children whereas they had five in the real situation. As for their evil genius, he is not Dr. Michel Schaar any longer, but Dr. André Pinget. Basically however, all the seeds of the tragedy sown in real life are present in the fiction and in it too the wild wind cannot but be reaped: once established the toxic relationships between Murielle (who craves the intimacy of a love nest), Mounir (whose gratefulness to his foster father lets him invade it) and André (who gives the couple everything but controls their lives from A to Z), the infernal machine is activated and – a constant in classic tragedy – nothing can stop it.
Such an approach will naturally be effective only if it rests on strong acting performances, which is fortunately the case here. Emilie Dequenne ("Rosetta", "La fille du RER") is deeply moving as Murielle, this Mother Courage - Mater Dolorosa turned Medea, while Tahar Rahim ("Un prophète", "Grand Central") translates to perfection Mounir's affectionate but weak temperament. As for Niels Arestrup ("Un prophète", "Diplomatie"), the formidable actor proves more menacing and terrifying than ever in the role of the couple's Nemesis hiding beneath a friendly exterior.
Quite a gripping work, "A perdre la raison" is a film experience you will find hard to forget. Both a cold analysis of a tragic news event and the sympathetic portrait of a desperate woman, it is one of the most impressive movies shown in 2012.
What in the world drove this hitherto model mother to such a barbarous act... is the anguished question asked by writer-director Joachim Lafosse (also Belgian) in this intense if somewhat restrained drama. A question all the harder to answer when the deplorable "heroine" of this family tragedy was at a loss, as she put it, "to understand what has happened, for I still haven't understood. I acted the opposite way to what I thought."
Lafosse cannot provide THE answer, it goes without saying. How could he since the real-life murderess in person proved unable to understand herself? But he tries hard to come as close to the truth as possible. In any case, he refuses to condemn her. Instead, he describes thoroughly all the stages of the way of the cross she undergoes before committing her irreversible act.
Co-written with Matthieu Raynaert and Jacques Audiard's favorite screenwriter Thomas Bidegain, "A perdre la raison" indeed follows the various developments of the affair very realistically even if the names and a few details have been changed (after all this is a fiction work, not a documentary) : Geneviève has become Murielle and her husband is named Mounir instead of Bouchaib. Plus, the couple in the fiction has four children whereas they had five in the real situation. As for their evil genius, he is not Dr. Michel Schaar any longer, but Dr. André Pinget. Basically however, all the seeds of the tragedy sown in real life are present in the fiction and in it too the wild wind cannot but be reaped: once established the toxic relationships between Murielle (who craves the intimacy of a love nest), Mounir (whose gratefulness to his foster father lets him invade it) and André (who gives the couple everything but controls their lives from A to Z), the infernal machine is activated and – a constant in classic tragedy – nothing can stop it.
Such an approach will naturally be effective only if it rests on strong acting performances, which is fortunately the case here. Emilie Dequenne ("Rosetta", "La fille du RER") is deeply moving as Murielle, this Mother Courage - Mater Dolorosa turned Medea, while Tahar Rahim ("Un prophète", "Grand Central") translates to perfection Mounir's affectionate but weak temperament. As for Niels Arestrup ("Un prophète", "Diplomatie"), the formidable actor proves more menacing and terrifying than ever in the role of the couple's Nemesis hiding beneath a friendly exterior.
Quite a gripping work, "A perdre la raison" is a film experience you will find hard to forget. Both a cold analysis of a tragic news event and the sympathetic portrait of a desperate woman, it is one of the most impressive movies shown in 2012.
Haïr A Perdre La Raison.
dbdumonteil26 September 2014
Few artists can do what Mister Arestrup does.A character actor in the noblest sense of the word,he never gives you the impression he overplays ;yet,he can be frightening ,makes you blood run cold ,while remaining extremely restraint.In the five last years ,his two portrayals (the wine-grower in "Tu Seras Mon Fils " ,and the stepfather in "A Perdre La Raison") are among the most impressive in the contemporary French cinema.
A Young couple (she is a French Teacher,he is a Morrocan immigrant)sees their life ,slowly but inexorably ,elude them.The Young man's stepfather he calls his Godfather provides them with everything a Young couple may wish :no problem to make ends meet .But the lack of intimacy becomes hard to bear for the Young woman who would like to share a true home with her husband.But the wealthy man does not want his protégés to run away and he 's using financial blackmail as well as emotional blackmail.They are under "tutelage" :the Young man ,who seems immature sees his protector as a merciful God but his wife is not prepared to accept it.This house is not big enough for the three of us.
It's putting off the inevitable;the last scene ,showing the house of "happiness" ,filmed in fixed camera shot ,could not have been more harrowing.
A Young couple (she is a French Teacher,he is a Morrocan immigrant)sees their life ,slowly but inexorably ,elude them.The Young man's stepfather he calls his Godfather provides them with everything a Young couple may wish :no problem to make ends meet .But the lack of intimacy becomes hard to bear for the Young woman who would like to share a true home with her husband.But the wealthy man does not want his protégés to run away and he 's using financial blackmail as well as emotional blackmail.They are under "tutelage" :the Young man ,who seems immature sees his protector as a merciful God but his wife is not prepared to accept it.This house is not big enough for the three of us.
It's putting off the inevitable;the last scene ,showing the house of "happiness" ,filmed in fixed camera shot ,could not have been more harrowing.
An unsettling and claustrophobic tragedy.
johnnymurphy1514 August 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Belgian Director Joachim Lafosse takes on a very uncomfortable subject. We are practically told the subject of the film from the beginning when we see 4 small coffins coming out of a plane. We then go back to happier times when the central couple first get together. Obviously this is going to lead up to the tragic finale when the 4 children are murdered, so there is always an impending sense of doom and unease when watching the film. The cinematography adds to this very well as the frames always have something out of focus in the foreground, almost a voyeuristic perspective like they are being watched all the time. Also the frame always seems cluttered and the shots always close up giving a claustrophobic feel.
The couple in question (most notably the wife) undergoing this scrutiny and claustrophobia are Mounir (Tahar Rahim) and Murielle (Emilie Dequenne). Mounir is a Morroccan immigrant who legally lives in Belgium because of his adoptive father Dr Andre Pinget (Niels Arestrup). He lets Mounir live in his house and has also given him a job at his practise. As a man of considerable wealth, Dr Andre Pinget helps the couple when they get married and has them both living with him, and tags along on their honeymoon. He has also married one of Mounirs sisters, purely as an arrangement so she can live in Belgium. Basically I see Dr Pinget as a man who wants to free people from the 'oppressive' Muslim culture of Morrocco so they can live 'free' lives in Belgium. With the whole arrangement of Mounir and Murielle living under his roof with 4 children, and with Dr Pinget's influence over Mounir, this proves very stifling for Murrielle. Murielle is expected to look after the children at all times and is blamed entirely if anything goes wrong. While Dr Pinget proves useful for any medical and financial assistance, he lacks emotional sensitivity and compassion. He makes Murielle feel guilty every time she protests about the situation and feels she can't talk to her husband as he always agrees with Dr Pinget. With seemingly no way out, Murielle gradually sinks into a downward spiral towards a pit of depression. The face of happiness you often see at the start of the film descends into a face of despair and desperation. This obviously leads to the tragic event which is done with subtlety, but still shocking.
This is based on a true story which took place in Belgium. I feel the Director re created these events not to gain the understanding of an audience, but to have the audience ask questions and come to their own understanding of such an horrific event. I feel one point which is raised and not often discussed in reviews I have read is about how in some ways Western culture can be just as oppressive as Muslim culture. I feel this is significant, at a time where many of the worlds problems tend to be blamed on Muslim culture, which I feel is a very misguided view. Part of the blame of Murielles downfall is because of a masculine household, lack of compassion from the male characters and inability to express true feelings. I found the only compassionate character was Mounir's mother, a devout Muslim. She is the only person who shows sympathy towards Murielle, especially in a tender scene where they embrace at the airport. The desperation in Murielle's face and her inability to let go shows her desperation for feminine connectivity.
The more you think about it, more questions arise. Did Murielle really have a hard time? She has everything she needs. Does she have a history of mental illness? The film does not hint at this and is left open. Is Dr Pinget a bad person or is he doing what he feels is right? Should we feel sympathy for Murielle? These are only some of the questions I had. I felt there where too many questions and some story threads were left unfinished. One of the biggest flaws of the movie was the fact that Mounir was not featured in the final 30 minutes of the movie. I felt his character needed some closure and at least a scene with Dr Pinget. As far as performances are concerned, it was expertly acted. I feel Emilie Dequenne is one of the best performances I have seen this year so far this.
A memorable film for obvious reasons, but not a film I would want to experience again! Check out my film review blog - www.projectionistreview.wordpress.com
The couple in question (most notably the wife) undergoing this scrutiny and claustrophobia are Mounir (Tahar Rahim) and Murielle (Emilie Dequenne). Mounir is a Morroccan immigrant who legally lives in Belgium because of his adoptive father Dr Andre Pinget (Niels Arestrup). He lets Mounir live in his house and has also given him a job at his practise. As a man of considerable wealth, Dr Andre Pinget helps the couple when they get married and has them both living with him, and tags along on their honeymoon. He has also married one of Mounirs sisters, purely as an arrangement so she can live in Belgium. Basically I see Dr Pinget as a man who wants to free people from the 'oppressive' Muslim culture of Morrocco so they can live 'free' lives in Belgium. With the whole arrangement of Mounir and Murielle living under his roof with 4 children, and with Dr Pinget's influence over Mounir, this proves very stifling for Murrielle. Murielle is expected to look after the children at all times and is blamed entirely if anything goes wrong. While Dr Pinget proves useful for any medical and financial assistance, he lacks emotional sensitivity and compassion. He makes Murielle feel guilty every time she protests about the situation and feels she can't talk to her husband as he always agrees with Dr Pinget. With seemingly no way out, Murielle gradually sinks into a downward spiral towards a pit of depression. The face of happiness you often see at the start of the film descends into a face of despair and desperation. This obviously leads to the tragic event which is done with subtlety, but still shocking.
This is based on a true story which took place in Belgium. I feel the Director re created these events not to gain the understanding of an audience, but to have the audience ask questions and come to their own understanding of such an horrific event. I feel one point which is raised and not often discussed in reviews I have read is about how in some ways Western culture can be just as oppressive as Muslim culture. I feel this is significant, at a time where many of the worlds problems tend to be blamed on Muslim culture, which I feel is a very misguided view. Part of the blame of Murielles downfall is because of a masculine household, lack of compassion from the male characters and inability to express true feelings. I found the only compassionate character was Mounir's mother, a devout Muslim. She is the only person who shows sympathy towards Murielle, especially in a tender scene where they embrace at the airport. The desperation in Murielle's face and her inability to let go shows her desperation for feminine connectivity.
The more you think about it, more questions arise. Did Murielle really have a hard time? She has everything she needs. Does she have a history of mental illness? The film does not hint at this and is left open. Is Dr Pinget a bad person or is he doing what he feels is right? Should we feel sympathy for Murielle? These are only some of the questions I had. I felt there where too many questions and some story threads were left unfinished. One of the biggest flaws of the movie was the fact that Mounir was not featured in the final 30 minutes of the movie. I felt his character needed some closure and at least a scene with Dr Pinget. As far as performances are concerned, it was expertly acted. I feel Emilie Dequenne is one of the best performances I have seen this year so far this.
A memorable film for obvious reasons, but not a film I would want to experience again! Check out my film review blog - www.projectionistreview.wordpress.com
excellent portrait of the systemic effects of a depression
eelco-de-groot9 September 2017
I am not a professional reviewer nor a movie expert. I have been struck by this movie since I recognize a lot in my personal life. My wife suffers from a bipolar disorder, and it took us 10 years to understand what she has before we could start proper treatment. This movie shows in a subtle and nuanced way, without judging, the systemic and destructive effects of this dreadful illness.
I am fascinated by the way Joachim Lafosse, already at the age of 37, has been able to show the transformation of the relationship and behavior of the two other main characters, the partner and doctor. Many reviews suggest a perpetrator-victim relationship, for me Lafosse effectively showed that the whole family is a victim of this illness. In French "Tout comprendre c' est tout pardonner"; when you understand, you forgive. Very, very well done and the mother brilliantly played by Emilie Dequenne.
This is a must see for everybody who knows somebody with a mental illness.
I am fascinated by the way Joachim Lafosse, already at the age of 37, has been able to show the transformation of the relationship and behavior of the two other main characters, the partner and doctor. Many reviews suggest a perpetrator-victim relationship, for me Lafosse effectively showed that the whole family is a victim of this illness. In French "Tout comprendre c' est tout pardonner"; when you understand, you forgive. Very, very well done and the mother brilliantly played by Emilie Dequenne.
This is a must see for everybody who knows somebody with a mental illness.
Devastating.
silvio-mitsubishi19 January 2019
The film sets out its stall very early, so we know within the first few minutes what we are about to see, but I spent ninety minutes in denial, hoping against all expectation that something would happen to change the course of the story.
The male characters are predictable without being cartoonish, but the female parts are outstanding. The Moroccan grandmother exemplifies the way the grandfather has been able to develop a God complex, critical of North African patriarchy while practicing it himself. It is the children's mother (Emilie Dequenne), though, who gives the most extraordinary performance. She is utterly compelling and places us, however unwillingly, into the position of the oppressed and abused. I am rarely a fan of child actors but Jade and Sohane could have been in a fly-on-the-wall documentary, so natural did they appear.
The end had a sense of horrific inevitability handled with the sympathetic discretion of Elvira Madigan, with the soundtrack adding to that comparison.
Staggeringly heartfelt, disturbing and painfully real. Truly devastating.
The male characters are predictable without being cartoonish, but the female parts are outstanding. The Moroccan grandmother exemplifies the way the grandfather has been able to develop a God complex, critical of North African patriarchy while practicing it himself. It is the children's mother (Emilie Dequenne), though, who gives the most extraordinary performance. She is utterly compelling and places us, however unwillingly, into the position of the oppressed and abused. I am rarely a fan of child actors but Jade and Sohane could have been in a fly-on-the-wall documentary, so natural did they appear.
The end had a sense of horrific inevitability handled with the sympathetic discretion of Elvira Madigan, with the soundtrack adding to that comparison.
Staggeringly heartfelt, disturbing and painfully real. Truly devastating.
Despite its selection at Cannes International Film Festival 2012,This is an ordinary film made by Belgian director Joachim Lafosse.
FilmCriticLalitRao3 June 2013
Warning: Spoilers
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.
Patriarchal European destroys spirited woman
maurice_yacowar2 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Two arcs propel Joachim Lafosse's remarkable Our Children. The most obvious and significant is the heroine Murielle's decline from a beautiful, loving, young spirit to a depressed, oppressed, despairing drudge. She proves the dictum, Biology is destiny. From her honeymoon through her four child bearings she loses her sense of self, her liberty, her control over her life. Her last action is her tragic resolve to save her three daughters and one son from their being ruined by the sexist, patriarchal system that destroyed her. Unable to grant them liberty she gives them death. Though her Moroccan husband Mounir claims he doesn't want to raise his daughters in his sexist homeland, Murielle is destroyed by a European patriarch in Belgium.
Dr. Pinget provides the antithetic arc. His apparent generosity and care are gradually exposed as heartless self-serving power and authority. Having married a young Moroccan woman, he leaves her in her homeland but brings one of her brothers, then eventually the other, to Europe variously to serve him. When his hopes to have Mounir join his medical practice are dashed, he hires him for office work. He pays for Mounir and Murielle's honeymoon, then agrees to join them. He shares his house with them, then to keep them buys them an estate where he again lives with them. His callousness towards Murielle drives her tragedy.
The tension between the Moroccan family and the fat, hedonistic, impotent but suffocatingly powerful white European doctor adds another compelling theme. This domestic tragedy is also a parable for European colonialism. The white power insinuates itself into its colony, funds it, wins its trust and affection, imposes its own culture, but for all its pretense of generosity and care insists on dominating it and imposing its will. Any move to independence is suppressed as an affront to nature and to reason. (The film's original French title is A Prendre la raison, or Insanity.) That ruthless power is what the male patriarchy shares with the European colonial tradition.
The film opens with a woman crying, begging that her four children be buried in Morocco. So it's a whodunit. Except here the killer is the true victim. For more see www.yacowar.blogspot.com.
Dr. Pinget provides the antithetic arc. His apparent generosity and care are gradually exposed as heartless self-serving power and authority. Having married a young Moroccan woman, he leaves her in her homeland but brings one of her brothers, then eventually the other, to Europe variously to serve him. When his hopes to have Mounir join his medical practice are dashed, he hires him for office work. He pays for Mounir and Murielle's honeymoon, then agrees to join them. He shares his house with them, then to keep them buys them an estate where he again lives with them. His callousness towards Murielle drives her tragedy.
The tension between the Moroccan family and the fat, hedonistic, impotent but suffocatingly powerful white European doctor adds another compelling theme. This domestic tragedy is also a parable for European colonialism. The white power insinuates itself into its colony, funds it, wins its trust and affection, imposes its own culture, but for all its pretense of generosity and care insists on dominating it and imposing its will. Any move to independence is suppressed as an affront to nature and to reason. (The film's original French title is A Prendre la raison, or Insanity.) That ruthless power is what the male patriarchy shares with the European colonial tradition.
The film opens with a woman crying, begging that her four children be buried in Morocco. So it's a whodunit. Except here the killer is the true victim. For more see www.yacowar.blogspot.com.
Horrible
milleniums-biatch28 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I have to say, I was quite curious while viewing this film, being Belgian and interested in local/European (non-extra-commercial) cinema.
What a disappointment this turned out to be. Just like another reviewer already wrote it, the introduction is just too long for the viewers to forget it quickly, which keeps you waiting during the whole movie what is going to happen and who is going to do it.
The movie itself sends you on different paths, until in the end, you realize the movie was not about who or what, but about how, and you realize you've been watching a movie about oppression in its worst stereotype.
Is this film real? Does this film offer you any tools to get out of this kind of situation? The "male oppression" as depicted in this movie is certainly something which exists; every male in this movie uses authority to apply his rules and laws, and even opinions (in the case of André with Mounir, he clearly states he will not allow other options but living with him).
We live in a society governed by authority and this film, in the end, reinforces the feeling of helplessness. We are not helpless; this movie and its message are horrible. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone; it left me with a feeling of artificial disaster, useless drama. It felt as if I should have never watched this movie, I sold the DVD ASAP.
What a disappointment this turned out to be. Just like another reviewer already wrote it, the introduction is just too long for the viewers to forget it quickly, which keeps you waiting during the whole movie what is going to happen and who is going to do it.
The movie itself sends you on different paths, until in the end, you realize the movie was not about who or what, but about how, and you realize you've been watching a movie about oppression in its worst stereotype.
Is this film real? Does this film offer you any tools to get out of this kind of situation? The "male oppression" as depicted in this movie is certainly something which exists; every male in this movie uses authority to apply his rules and laws, and even opinions (in the case of André with Mounir, he clearly states he will not allow other options but living with him).
We live in a society governed by authority and this film, in the end, reinforces the feeling of helplessness. We are not helpless; this movie and its message are horrible. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone; it left me with a feeling of artificial disaster, useless drama. It felt as if I should have never watched this movie, I sold the DVD ASAP.
So raw it's almost unbearable
Sir_AmirSyarif3 September 2020
In 'Our Children' - based on the tragic real events of Brussels mother, Geneviève Lhermitte, who, in 2007, killed her five children - writer-director Joachim Lafosse skillfully shows how a comfortable domestic environment gradually becomes a prison for a woman and subtly suggests the reasons why she might be driven to commit her hideous crime. So raw it's almost unbearable. But the movie really belongs to Emilie Dequenne. Her portrayal of a character's descent from free spirit to crushed soul is spellbinding and makes this tragedy all the more heartbreaking.
Our Children ... Out of Reason
rajdoctor9 February 2021
What happens when a boy and girl meet from different cultures?
The excitement, the thrill, the joy of falling in LOVEz and spending life together. The dreamZ - the future plans etc.
Years go by - the babies are born, the work and life eats up the relationship The evil of time - deteriorates and suffocates everything we stood for.
This movie is about two lovers - Mounir (Tahir Rahim) a Morrocan immigrant living in Belgium and a Belgian girl Murielie (Emilie Dequence) falling in LOVEz and supported by the God-father of Mounir - Dr. Andre (Niels Arestrup) from being a catalyst in forming their LOVE-bond to blessing the couple to being with them in their honeymoon, to giving them shelter, money, food and even supporting their children.
Then what could go wrong? Murielie wanted freedom as a couple to live alone - and enjoy life, away from Dr.Andre - who uses kindness as blackmail and trap the young couple. Murielie feels suffocated and whenever she discusses with Mounir he always takes sides of Dr.Andre. Thus slowly and slowly Murielie feels isolated, disintegrated, and depressed becomes a routine housewives, bearing four beautiful children - caged and imprisoned within the burden of goodness and kindness shown by Dr.Andre.
What results in the end is so horrific and chilling that one goes aghast at the outcome.
It leaves the viewers devastated to say the least - viewing a claustrophobic tragedy destined to happen.
This superb movie is based on a true story.
It is a GREAT psychological drama of how slowly un-noticed the depression sets in through "subtle" everyday interaction of routine life and daily household chores. How a person feels isolated, neglected in a relationship, and above all how PATRIARCHY destroys completely a spirited young woman with dreams
The Director Joachim Lafosse has dealt with this very important subject with apt without taking sides and/ or blaming anyone, and left many questions unanswered.
Though in real life - when this incident happened - the society surely wanted a villain and thus was punished in the verdict.
The movie rests solely on the shoulders of Émilie Dequenne - who portrays Murielie so tenderly, graphically - showcasing her angst and silent sufferings with looks and stares. She literally makes an emphatical audience jump off their seat to extend a hand of help and hug her, give her support. It made me an instant life-long fan of Emilie Dequenne.
The remaining cast of Mounir and Dr.Andre too have played their part brilliantly. The director Joachim has extracted marvelous acting from little children.
At points it becomes unbearable to watch the movie and wants us to cry to intervene and turn the clock back.
But the real incident is history and can't be changed. GREAT work of cinema that I will surely remember for years
I would go with 7.75 out of 10 for this journey of joy to tragic despair.
The excitement, the thrill, the joy of falling in LOVEz and spending life together. The dreamZ - the future plans etc.
Years go by - the babies are born, the work and life eats up the relationship The evil of time - deteriorates and suffocates everything we stood for.
This movie is about two lovers - Mounir (Tahir Rahim) a Morrocan immigrant living in Belgium and a Belgian girl Murielie (Emilie Dequence) falling in LOVEz and supported by the God-father of Mounir - Dr. Andre (Niels Arestrup) from being a catalyst in forming their LOVE-bond to blessing the couple to being with them in their honeymoon, to giving them shelter, money, food and even supporting their children.
Then what could go wrong? Murielie wanted freedom as a couple to live alone - and enjoy life, away from Dr.Andre - who uses kindness as blackmail and trap the young couple. Murielie feels suffocated and whenever she discusses with Mounir he always takes sides of Dr.Andre. Thus slowly and slowly Murielie feels isolated, disintegrated, and depressed becomes a routine housewives, bearing four beautiful children - caged and imprisoned within the burden of goodness and kindness shown by Dr.Andre.
What results in the end is so horrific and chilling that one goes aghast at the outcome.
It leaves the viewers devastated to say the least - viewing a claustrophobic tragedy destined to happen.
This superb movie is based on a true story.
It is a GREAT psychological drama of how slowly un-noticed the depression sets in through "subtle" everyday interaction of routine life and daily household chores. How a person feels isolated, neglected in a relationship, and above all how PATRIARCHY destroys completely a spirited young woman with dreams
The Director Joachim Lafosse has dealt with this very important subject with apt without taking sides and/ or blaming anyone, and left many questions unanswered.
Though in real life - when this incident happened - the society surely wanted a villain and thus was punished in the verdict.
The movie rests solely on the shoulders of Émilie Dequenne - who portrays Murielie so tenderly, graphically - showcasing her angst and silent sufferings with looks and stares. She literally makes an emphatical audience jump off their seat to extend a hand of help and hug her, give her support. It made me an instant life-long fan of Emilie Dequenne.
The remaining cast of Mounir and Dr.Andre too have played their part brilliantly. The director Joachim has extracted marvelous acting from little children.
At points it becomes unbearable to watch the movie and wants us to cry to intervene and turn the clock back.
But the real incident is history and can't be changed. GREAT work of cinema that I will surely remember for years
I would go with 7.75 out of 10 for this journey of joy to tragic despair.
Shallow
christophe9230022 September 2013
A Perdre La Raison starts badly because within the first moments, Joachim Lafosse chose to reveal the final outcome: 4 little coffins, what's more white, one quickly can connect the dots which completely annihilates the element of surprise and ruins part of the interest of the movie, which anyway remains minimal.
Indeed, we're dealing with a superficial script, that raises a lot of questions but only offers a few answers which is very frustrating. One has trouble grasping the stakes and understanding the motivations because under the guise of suggesting, the movie never gets deeper on anything. The plot is very, very limited the dramatic resources are almost nonexistent and the lack of dialogues is as heavy as the atmosphere prevailing within this distinctive family, to say the least.
The character of André, quite intriguing and very well embodied by the ageless Niels Arestrup, is the only thing to remember.
Indeed, we're dealing with a superficial script, that raises a lot of questions but only offers a few answers which is very frustrating. One has trouble grasping the stakes and understanding the motivations because under the guise of suggesting, the movie never gets deeper on anything. The plot is very, very limited the dramatic resources are almost nonexistent and the lack of dialogues is as heavy as the atmosphere prevailing within this distinctive family, to say the least.
The character of André, quite intriguing and very well embodied by the ageless Niels Arestrup, is the only thing to remember.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
