Le Silence de Lorna (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgium, 2008)

Lorna's Silence
Le Silence de Lorna, Belgium/France/Italy, 2008
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

A new feature by Belgium's famed Dardenne brothers and at once restrained and anxious, The Silence of Lorna is an unsettling cinematic feast that leaves the viewers with much food for thought.

Young Albanian Lorna wishes to settle down in Belgium and is the film's main focus. The first sequence starts off the drama immediately and shows Lorna at a bank depositing money into her account, and then conversing with two different persons on the phone. Every minute gesture and sound counts, but the Dardennes are keen to create suspense by not giving viewers any information: there is no explanation why Lorna seems so nervous as she goes about her daily life, or why she avoids Claudy, the junkie who stays in her apartment but sleeps in the living room and seems to lead a separate life. Only gradually does it transpire that Lorna is married to Claudy in a fake marriage for the purpose of gaining Belgian citizenship. It is all part of the local syndicate's plan, which under the leadership of Fabio will put an end soon to this marriage, so that Lorna can marry again to a Russian willing to pay large sums to get into Belgium. These sums will contribute to what Lorna needs for the snack shop she plans to open with boyfriend Sokol.

Shot with the Dardennes' signature hand-held camera (in this case comparatively more static than in The Son or The Child), the drama unfolds in a gripping manner. Fabio plans to murder Claudy, so that the deal with the Russian can be closed soon. Lorna feels uneasy about this proposition and hits herself on the limbs and head, in the hopes that procedures for a divorce can be expedited. The divorce is approved, and Claudy realises Lorna has no more use for him and resorts to drugs again after having only become clean recently. In what would be the next scene (it is purposefully not revealed to the viewers), the syndicate deliberately causes Claudy to overdose and die. In the film's ensuing second half, Lorna appears to struggle with her conscience. The syndicate proceeds with the marriage plan with the Russian, which however eventually falls apart when Lorna believes and claims she is pregnant with Claudy's child (Lorna and Claudy do have sex once, but in reality Lorna is not pregnant). The reasons why Lorna is having such hallucinations are left unclear, but the fact that she no longer acts rationally makes her a burden for the syndicate. She therefore has to be sent back to Albania. On the trip, she attacks the syndicate errand-boy who is driving, runs into the forest and takes refuge in an empty hut for the night. As she makes a fire and curls up to sleep, she comforts and whispers to the unborn in her womb, "I will not let you die, as I let Claudy die."

For some viewers, this final utterance may well be the most important point of this tense but touching film. It may refer to the culmination of a person's guilt, as he hurts somebody else for his self-interests and is unable to remedy the damages in time; the redemption of shame in the final moment of love; and the catharsis provided by hope for the future. Because the impacting delivery of this line effectively closes the film, it may also come to define its gist, and mark the work as a portrayal of a person in times of desperation, conflicting loyalties and pain, rather than a direct statement on the issues of migration, European citizenship, or organised crimes.

But while there is no question to the Dardennes' superior artistry, is their product that which the above emotional readings make it seem-- apolitical, transcendental, sentimentally humanist? Viewers who revisit the film will very likely realise that there is more than what meets the eye.

One key aspect that may have escaped one's attention the first time is the film's necessarily political character, hidden behind the character-centred drama. Indeed, the citizenship trade is in and of itself a political topic, and every depiction of how the characters are affected by it is essentially an oblique political comment. The Dardennes make no pretence about the consequences that come with the criminal business: Lorna plays a substantial role in somebody else's murder and struggles with her conscience; Fabio and Sokol turn their back on Lorna when she starts behaving irrationally and causes the syndicate to lose money; Claudy dies as a direct result of the crime. Furthermore, the directors give the reality of these criminal undertakings material form by unequivocally showing the explicit involvement of money and the ubiquity of violence. In indirect and direct ways, the viewers are always invited to ponder upon the politics of crime. In fact, the narrative's political urgency is just as important as its affecting poignancy.

Another aspect that deserves attention and is worthy of debate, is how the Dardennes maintain a controlled distance from their characters and their fates. As much as they are politically conscious and aware how the criminal system damages individual lives, they do not make excuses for those who choose to be involved in it. At the same time that they do not judge their characters, they do not necessarily show them any sympathy or become complicit in their crimes. The film's ending scene is misleadingly tranquil, as it shows Lorna at peace, the fact that its meaning is ambiguous and does not actually resolve Lorna's situation undercuts the transcendental aura. The pessimistic undertow, already evident throughout, continues to hold sway till the very end. So in a way, the manner in which Dardennes conclude their work may be bleaker and more depressing than ideal, and their view of the human condition more pragmatic than sentimental. The directors certainly leave enough room for a variety of interpretations--this is unquestionably why the film's plot is intriguing, and where part of the overall charm lies.

The Silence of Lorna shows two intelligent directors at work, as demanding on themselves as they are on an intelligent audience, who will need to continue unwrapping the film to appreciate its multifarious complexity.