Belgian Film Next in Series
Penn State Behrend’s International Film Series will present the 1996 film La Promesse, on Monday, Oct. 10. The showing will begin at 7:00 p.m. in Room 117 of the Reed Union Building and is free and open to the public.
La Promesse, written and directed by Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, centers around a 15-year old boy named Igor (played by Jeremie Renier) and his single father, Roger (Olivier Gourmet), a corrupt smuggler and slumlord for illegal immigrants.
When a tenant is critically injured, the crooked Roger, fearful of police, allows the man to bleed to death. As he lay dying, the immigrant makes Igor promise to care for his wife and infant son. After helping his father bury the man in cement, Igor tries in every way he knows to honor his promise.
“La Promesse is a variation of that motion picture staple, the ‘coming of age’ story. The difference here is that the choices faced by Igor are more complex than is the norm,” one reviewer said of the film.
The International Film Series is sponsored by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Mary Behrend Cultural Fund. For more information, call (814) 898-6108.