Keswick Film Festival

Synopsis

The Dardenne brothers have built their reputation on a series of award winning social-realist dramas around children based in the backstreets of Belgium. This one is no exception, both in its subject and its awards (sharing the Jury Prize at Cannes 2011 with‘...Anatolia’).

Here, 12 year old Cyril (Thomas Doret) is frantically cycling or running round town trying to find the father who has abandoned him to social services, as he cannot believe his father doesn’t want him. Desperate for a father figure, he falls in with ‘Wes’, a local drug dealer. Cyril’s potential to become good or bad, especially influenced by adults, is the Dardennes’ theme. His chances of turning out well are improved by a chance meeting with Samantha (Cécile de France), who agrees to ‘foster’ him at weekends, but Cyril does his best to mess this up too...