La Promesse Blu-ray

La promesse is the breakthrough feature from Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, who would go on to become a force in world filmmaking. The brothers brought the unerring eye for detail and the compassion for those on society’s lowest rungs developed in their earlier documentary work to this absorbing drama about a teenager (Jérémie Renier) gradually coming to understand the implications of his father’s making a living through the exploitation of undocumented workers. Filmed in the Dardennes’ industrial hometown of Seraing, Belgium, La promesse is a brilliantly economical and observant tale of a boy’s troubled moral awakening.
 
Film Info
 
Belgium 
1996
94 minutes
Color
1.66:1
French 
Spine #620
 
Director-Approved Special Edition Features
 
New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Alain Marcoen, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
Conversation between film critic Scott Foundas and filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne
New interview piece featuring actors Jérémie Renier and Olivier Gourmet
Trailer
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: A new essay by film critic Kent Jones