As a visual statement of intent, the sight of five small white coffins slowly ascending into the hold of a plane is pretty unequivocal. This is one of the first scenes of Our Children, a Belgian set drama from director Joachim Lafosse and it sets the tone for a film that winds its way towards an inescapably tragic ending.
Our Children begins in a hospital, where a woman is being treated for unspecified injuries while hysterically requesting that her children be buried in Morocco. We then flashback several years to happier times, when the woman, Murielle (Emilie Dequenne) was falling in love with Mounir (Tahar Rahim). Mounir is a Moroccan man who was brought to Belgium and adopted by Andre, a wealthy doctor (Niels Arestrup). Andre invites the couple to live with him while they find their feet but what begins as a mutually beneficial living arrangement soon becomes a stifling environment for Murielle. As Murielle and Mounir’s family grows in size, they begin to grow apart and Murielle feels more and more trapped by her life.
Though the film may attract audiences thanks to the reuniting of Rahim and Arestrup, who starred opposite each other in the fantastic The Prophet, the revelation here is Dequenne. She gives an exceptional performance; her transformation from a vibrant girl to a heartbroken, empty shell of a woman feels horribly believable. We can feel the impact of each little disappointment and criticism as they slowly chip away at her personality. It is a subtle, compassionate performance. Rahim and Arestrup again work well together. Their ambiguous relationship is an intriguing power play; Mounir is extremely grateful to Andre for taking him into his home and supporting his career but in return has given Andre a level of control over his life that borders on ownership.
Our Children is certainly not an easy watch but its tragedy unfolds in a delicately balanced and utterly believable way; both Dequenne’s performance and its poweful conclusion linger in the mind.