PREVIEW: Our Children (15)

From renowned Belgian writer/director Joachim Lafosse comes his fifth feature film and based on the huge critical acclaim, quite possibly his best yet. Competing in the Un Certain Regard category at last year's Cannes Film Festival and winning the Best Actress award in the process, Our Children is a tense psychological drama inspired by the real-life incidents surrounding Geneivieve Lhermitte. On December 19, 2008 Lhermitte was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of her five children in February 2007, followed by an apparent failed suicide attempt. Although she was reported to have demonstrated serious mental issues, via regular psyhciatric appointments, she claimed that her motive to kill her own children was due to troubles at home. It's this aspect that the film ultimately attempts to portray...

Murielle (Emilie Dequenne) and Mounir (Tahar Rahim) love each other passionately. Ever since he was a boy, the young man has been living with Doctor Pinget (Niels Arestrup) who provides him with a comfortable life. When Mounir and Murielle decide to marry and have children, the couple's dependence on the doctor becomes excessive. Murielle finds herself caught up in an unhealthy emotional climate that insidiously leads the family towards a tragic outcome.

Marking Lafosse's second appearance amongst the bespoke nominees of the annual Magritte Awards (the Belgian equivalent of the Oscars), Our Children not only won Best Film and Best Director but was also selected as the official Belgian entry for the 85th Academy Awards. Even though it failed to make the final shortlist, there is no denying that this film, harrowing as the subject matter may be, is worthy of consideration (particularly yours) thanks to fantastic performances from the entire cast, especially from Emile Dequenne.

*Suffice to say that pathos is intertwined with pathology in Lafosse's fifth feature, inspired by a true story-but Murielle's decline isn't any less full of tough home truths.* Film Comment Magazine

Check out the trailer here:

Our Children (15) Monday 22nd at 7.45pm, Tuesday 23rd at 2pm, & 7.45pm, Wednesday 24th at 7.45pm