Tori et Lokita

The Dardenne brothers' (Luc and Jean-Pierre) latest is another in their generally low key, but precisely well-observed tales. Adolescent Tori (Pablo Schils) and his older sister Lokita (Joely Mbundu) are African immigrants in Belgium who are fighting to remain in their new country together. Immigration officials are dubious of their claims with the elder woman being on particularly shaky ground.

The plot dynamics are, as is almost always the case with the Dardennes, less important than the day to day lives of the main characters. Tori and Lokita must not only deal with the government, but, also the prejudices of local law enforcement and citizenry, but, also an entire underground system which takes abusive advantage of their migrant status. It becomes an acutely painful reality that Tori and Lokita often are put in the position of breaking the law in order to remain "within" the law.

Schils and Mbundu have natural screen presences that transcend the dialogue. Their wills to survive shine through even if their characters may lack the ability to verbalize their struggle. Alban Ukaj is effective as a slimy local businessman who humiliates the immigrants even as he professes to be assisting them.

TORI AND LOKITA is a bit too brief to fully capture the totality of their lives, but, there's a humanity, and, for the Dardennes, even a bit of righteous anger that manages to make its points.

This has a large thumping heart deep down, where clearly the Dardennes brothers (Luc and Jean Pierre) want these characters to make it through some how and some way in their dire circumstances. There is (as David Erhlich notes in his review) anger underneath all of this, anger at how embedded exploitation of the undocumented are, how no one (insert meme) will think of the children and so on, how everything comes down to "where are your papers" and an absence of emapathy.

That may be enough for the film to power through in depicting these kids, Tori (Schils) and Lokita (Mbundu), who are exceptional as child/teen performers go for what they're asked to show and embody. This does work as a tension-filled thriller especially in the second half, but compared to some of the other Dardennes films it is almost expectedly sad and, when seeing Lakita in her indentured servitude in the Marijuana farm it becomes even sort of dreary as a stark drama of circumstance and dread.

This isn't to say the film isn't worth seeing because it does keep you absorbed into both of these kid's plight and also how resourceful and quick on his feet Tori is (you think they will be apart for three months but hey not so fast, guys). But once the Dardennes get us to that ending, for all of the film's virtue and how much heart Mbundu puts into her performance in particular, it all feels like "well... that really sucks" and the catharsis isn't as powerful as it should feel.

Maybe that's more my problem than yours, but since everything has been presented at such a Naturalistic slice-of-life key, that moment just feels like it... happens, and it just reminds me why I'll always hold something like De Sica/Zavatiini's Shoeshine - also about kids lost in a prison they can't escape until it is too late - in such higher regard because it goes for real *and* melodrama and feels more ambitious.

Splendid but difficult, wonderful but heartbreaking this is an important and excellent film by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne written, directed and produced. It is not a happy film but it certainly thrilling and awful, it is surely 88 minutes of harrowing, anxiety. Tori and Lokita are 11 and 16 year old youngsters posing as brother and sister having to work in the drug cartel as she hopes she will eventually get a card so she can work. Obviously a couple of young and dispossessed Africans who had gone from home into Italy and then on to Belgium but nothing is easy. All the time it is fascinating and gripping while these two actors are so brilliant that we believe that is really happening.

The Dardenne brothers normally pick an acute topic, mainly a social one, then feed it with a story and they have never failed to very accurately reflect the reality we are living in bringing their message to our heads and our hearts and making us ruminate on lots of things.

This time, they opted for the topic of clandestine children smuggled to Europe, desperately trying to survive in the world they believe in. We can see to what extremes they are ready to go in order to stay here and we know this is no game and there is absolutely no way back.

Terrifyingly real, tragic, moving, eye-opening, brilliant.

Stories about immigrants is becoming more and more common in the cinema. It's sadly an ever growing topic. But a lot of these films with this premise come from either one story or a series of stories from one particular country.

This particular tale has great authenticity both in its plot and homemade style with its hand-held camerawork.

There are some tough sequences and all of that along with sound character development makes for a tense and dramatic second half. It was almost like watching a documentary.

A lot of it is thanks to the two strong performances of Joely Mbundu and Pablo Schils. Their connection and on-screen friendship felt very believable and natural.

There's a lot they are having to deal and it paints a very interesting picture on how immigrants in this part of the world are treated.

I could be picky and say that the ending does leave a few loose ends and some of the choices felt rushed. But I didn't think it was a major drawback as it still some tense sequences that had me totally gripped.

I was surprised that it's just less than 90 minutes long given the subject matter. But I think what we got gave us enough of a glimpse into this dark and tough world.

Our investment is thanks to the two leads who give off strong natural sympathy and put us on their side early on.

The content is tough at times and the documentary approach gave it the rawness to make it work.