L'Enfant!

French movie about two young tearaway twenty year-olds dealing with parenthood.

The Dardenne brothers have received their second Cannes Palme d'Or for L'Enfant. This movie is an exploration of life on the edge of society depicting a succession of seemingly mundane events.

Two young tearaways find themselves facing parenthood. The commonplace atmosphere in L'Enfant changes dramatically after the young father commits a disgraceful crime.

Bruno (Renier) is an immature and wild twenty-year old who has just had a child with his girlfriend Sonia. He supports himself by stealing and by living off the social benefits Sonia (Segard) receives as a single mother. Sonia is wild but is in disbelief over Bruno's cavalier attitude to fatherhood.

L'Enfant depicts an immature and reprehensible young man. Bruno decides to have his baby adopted illegally for easy money and virtually tries to sell off his own child. When Sonia discovers Bruno's scam, she goes into a state of shock and has to be admitted to hospital. Bruno retrieves their son realising that he has gone too far.

In doing so, the two thugs who arranged the black market adoption demand Bruno pay them the money they lost. Sonia moves the baby back to their old apartment and refuses to see Bruno. In desperation, Bruno tries one last act of thievery and realises he is in way over his head.

L'Enfant runs as part of the Dublin International Film Festival. L'Enfant will be screened on Wednesday, 22nd February at Screen 1 at 8.30pm.

L'Enfant opens at the IFI on Friday, 10th March.

Irish Film Institute
6 Eustace Street,
Temple Bar,
Dublin 2.
Tel:+ 353 (1) 6795744