L' Enfant (The Child) - 7

Written and directed by brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, this film is the story of a man in a middling (not desperate, not about to get out) poverty who has recently had a child. While not really involved as a father his love for his girlfriend drives him toward trying to take responsibility for both. But his old habits of petty theft and making a quick buck are not so easy to escape. He eventually hears of a scheme in which he can put his son up for adoption (through the black market) and make money. The mother is less than impressed with this discovery, and while the child is eventually returned to the right hands the couples relationship is forever changed as issues of trust and commitment are challenged. The film asks very realistically and honestly whether love does in fact conquer all. A very good film.