The films of the brothers Jean-Pierre (1951) and Luc (1954) Dardenne oftenhave the name of their protagonist in the title. Think of their breakthrough_rosetta_ (1999) which won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. Laterthe brothers also introduced us to Lorna and young Achmed.
“All our films are portraits of individuals,” says Luc Dardenne during aninterview in Amsterdam, where he previewed his latest film with his brotherJean-Pierre. Tori et Lokita attends. Why does it work so well to dismantlebig issues through small stories? “Cinema is the art form par excellence thatcan zoom in on details or individuals. It knows how to individualize abstractproblems to the maximum,” says Luc Dardenne. “At the same time, you can’tgeneralize characters. That’s why we have the movie Tori and Lokita namedafter the main characters. He is not about the refugees, the masses, but abouttwo young people, two unaccompanied minors (unaccompanied minor aliens) with aname and a face. Through the film screen, the spectator comes face to facewith individuals.”
Rain of prizes
The film world has appreciated their work for almost a quarter of a century:in addition to two Golden Palms, Luc and Jean-Pierre’s stories rooted insocial reality have won numerous awards in Cannes over the years, such as bestdirector, best script or the Grand Prix. Tori et Lokita was awarded aspecial Golden Palm earlier this year on the occasion of the 75th edition ofthe French festival. If no prize is available, they will make one up for them.
The Dardennes, originally activist documentary makers from the industrial rustbelt around Liège, are never interested in entertainment, they want to achievesomething. In their breakthrough film rosetta from 1999, a breaking point inEuropean art-house film, the young protagonist is looking for work anddignity. Rosetta at the time embodied the precarious conditions on the fringesof the labor market; the film gave the final push to a law already in place toimprove working conditions for teenagers in Belgium.
Read also the review of Tori et Lokita (●●●●)
The Dardennes often named their films after their main character, sometimesafter the archetype that he is: the child, the boy with the bicycle, theunknown girl. But they always do one thing: look at a major social problemthrough the eyes of an individual. Often these are young, defenseless peoplewho still have a lot to learn, who are at the beginning of their lives. Toriand Lokita , about two African minor asylum seekers, tells such a personalstory about refugee problems. This gives the outdoor sleepers in Ter Apel aface.
From bad to worse
The films of the Dardennes have a recognizable social-realistic style. Thebrothers are not averse to melodrama, with relay plots in which things go frombad to worse. The ultimate goal is to wake up the public, whether it concernsunemployment, crime, (unwanted) parenthood, youth care or bureaucraticobstacles that marginalized groups encounter.
The story of Tori and Lokita the directors based on a short newspaper reportabout the large numbers of unaccompanied minors who end up illegally inBelgium, they say. They did meticulous preliminary research before writingtheir screenplay. “We spoke with representatives of official agencies and aidworkers, we investigated the criminal circuit. Most AMVs who disappear fromview end up in a shadow world or downright underworld of crime andprostitution. They are under pressure from people smugglers who keep askingfor money. They are always short of money. That makes them extra vulnerable.
„Besides, the majority come. You must have a heart of stone after seeing Toriand Lokita not being able to read their stories on the faces of the sleepersin Ter Apel. already traumatized in Europe. During their long journey here,they have often had to deal with sexual abuse and other forms of violence,which has reduced their resilience.”
Jean-Pierre: “One thing was certain in advance. Whatever happened, nothingshould undermine Tori and Lokita’s allegiance and loyalty. They are friendsuntil death do them part.”
Tori and Lokita sometimes has something of a grim fairy tale. Luc Dardenne:„But fairytales are not so fairytale-like at all. We have become moreinterested in the more mythical proportions of ordinary stories. Theunderground cannabis plantation where Tori and Lokita end up is like the bellyof the whale from the Bible story of the same name.”
Enemy image
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s films are always full of empathy for their maincharacters, but they don’t judge the bad guys – they are at best observed froma distance. The creators have become more mellow and hopeful over the years,while politics and society became more divided and polarized. The brothers donot follow the zeitgeist.
To what extent do Tori and Lokita, entangled in drug trafficking, confirm theimage of illegal aliens as criminal aliens? Doesn’t that also make it a farfrom bed show for the viewer?
Jean-Pierre Dardenne: „We do not want to say that every refugee is one hundredpercent pure on the degree, we do not have to paint icons. At the beginning ofthe film we see Lokita during an interrogation. We can hear from the voicesoff-screen that they don’t believe her, rightly so or not. But then also theway to the help, which Lokita needs, is cut off.
“But it is an interesting question. Do we need more unambiguous narratives inthis fragmented world, should film viewers be able to identify with maincharacters more than before? As a result, perhaps our films no longer reachthe younger generation, who are used to Netflix narratives? That’s somethingwe need to think about.”