‘The Son’: an emotionally-charged story

Islamabad
Director: Jean Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Lok Virsa film club ‘Mandwa’ returns this weekend after a gap on Saturday (November 7) with a film titled 'The Son'.
The film would be screened at 6 p.m.
The Son (Le Fils) from 2002 is a France-Belgium co-production, directed by Jean Pierre Dardenne and his brother Luc Dardenne.
The French filmmakers are so good in making subtle and delicate subjects and the kind of refined treatment they give to their films are exceptional. 'The Son' is the story of Olivier who has lost part of his life. The agony and sadness is evident from his face and manners. And in this sadness and agony appears a new character. Frances is a sixteen-year-old boy who wants to work under Olivier as an apprentice and he also wants to become his role-model. Francis has been released from a reform school. As the events progress, Olivier gets to know about the dark past. Francis was locked up and he has spent five years in the prison.
'The Son' shows us ordinary folks but the effect and impact it creates is not ordinary. The film is complex with feelings and emotions and it is better not to reveal the major plot twist. The directors have dealt this with care and sincerity. The two main characters are believable. Olivier is not simple and has two sides to his complexity -- he can be good and he can be malicious as well at the same time, and this makes him interesting. He is not a cardboard character.
Forgiveness plays a central role in 'The Son' and the drama created is subtle as well as absorbing. The tragedy and darkness are interwoven into each other with brilliant cinematic imagination.
In this emotionally-charged story, silence plays a role which is as important as the dialogue and this creates the real power. Both characters in the end earn viewers' respect and understanding. The film would stay with us long after the screening is over.
The author can be reached at aijazzgul@gmail.com