In Search of ‘Bare Realism,’ The Dardenne Brothers Keep Turning Their Camera on Society’s Overlooked Members
variety.comPeter Debruge Chief Film Critic If I were to count on one hand the most preeminent humanist filmmakers of our time, the first two fingers would have to be dedicated to Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.
Bringing empathy and insight to stories of immigrants, outcasts and the working poor, the Belgian siblings have dedicated their career to observing characters Western society prefers to overlook.
In that time, the brothers have screened every one of their 12 features at Cannes, collecting two Palme d’Or trophies — in 1999 for “Rosetta” and 2002 for “L’Enfant.” The Dardennes keep the prizes in the office they share at their Liège-based production company, Les Films du Fleuve. “They are in an armoire so the sight of them doesn’t weigh too heavily on our shoulders when we start working on a new film,” they tell Variety.
Few directors have produced as thematically or aesthetically consistent an oeuvre as the Dardennes, whose direct, observational style gives the impression that audiences are watching real people in real time.
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