GFF 2013: Our Children

The wounds left behind by colonial Europe are still taking their time to heal and it’s arguable whether cinema has soothed or aggravated them. France in particular seems pushed to confront its past, often at the hands of outsiders such as Gillo Pontecorvo (The Battle of Algiers) and Michael Haneke (Hidden). Here we move next door to Belgium, the country's fraught involvement with Africa informing the metaphor of an overbearing parental relationship which leads to horrific tragedy.

Our Children's dual purpose narrative is reminiscent of Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies, but runs here at a different pace. While providing space for characters to breathe, it's at times too slow and restrained to sustain audience interest. The film's subtlety does, however, allow for typically naturalistic performances from Niels Arestrup and Tahar Rahim (both of A Prophet), while Émilie Dequenne excels as the crumbling mother Murielle. Based on a true Belgian infanticide case, this is a film which tackles serious issues that are both intensely personal and widely political, but which fails to offer understanding of subjects which are perhaps simply incomprehensible. [Alan Bett]