Le Silence de Lorna (2008) - film review

Lorna is a young Albanian woman whose dream is to settle in Belgium with her boyfriend Sokol and open a snack bar.   Through a gangster Fabio, she gains Belgian citizenship by marrying a Belgian drug addict, Claudy.  In return, Lorna agrees to help Fabio murder Claudy by faking a drugs overdose so that she can then marry a Russian hoodlum.  When Claudy makes an attempt to overcome his drugs addiction, Lorna has a change of heart and realises she cannot see him killed.  She applies for a fast track divorce which, against the odds, she is granted.  Unfortunately, Fabio has none of Lorna’s qualms and insists that they stick to their original plan.  Not long after Claudy’s funeral, Lorna becomes convinced that she is pregnant with his child.  Fabio insists that she must have an abortion before she marries the Russian, but this she is resolutely determined not to do...

With Le Silence de Lorna, the Dardenne brothers continue their relentless exploration of life in the grimier crevices of our society and again remind us of the depths to which mankind can sink if he really sets his mind to it.  The film has much in common with Robert Bresson’s Mouchette (1967).  Both revolve around a vulnerable young woman who, whilst flawed, has that spark of humanity which is completely absent from the world in which she lives.  Like Mouchette, Lorna is propelled by events into a violent rebellion which ultimately sets her on the road to redemption.  The only significant difference between these two immensely powerful works of cinema is that the Dardennes’ film is situated in a world that today’s audience can readily relate to, hence its impact is so much greater.  Mouchette seems like an abstraction, but Lorna is someone we feel we know.  

Over the past decade, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have won international acclaim for their distinctive brand of social realist drama, films which are concerned with the problems of disadvantaged people living on the edges of society, victims both of the state and of the lowlife that prey upon them.  Le Silence de Lorna is unquestionably their most compelling film to date, a work of exceptional poignancy and humanity but one that is crafted with sublime understatement.  This is not a film that sets out to play on our emotions or one that exaggerates reality for dramatic effect.  This is a film that shows us the world as it is, or at least one part of it that is irredeemably ugly and soulless.

Here the Dardennes take us on a journey into the world of people trafficking, a world in which ruthless gangster types manipulate, exploit and destroy the vulnerable for a quick buck.  This is the capitalist system at its most extreme, yet it does invite us to reflect on capitalism in its most general sense.  In the pursuit of individual wealth and happiness, do we not risk sacrificing a part of our humanity, and can we be certain that our comfort and well-being are not at the expense of someone less fortunate further down the food chain?

Whilst subject matter and technique certainly play their part, much of the power of the Dardennes’ films derives from the naturalistic performances from some very fine actors.  Le Silence de Lorna is no exception, and if this film stirs your soul it is probably as a result of Arta Dobroshi’s remarkable portrayal of the lead character.  When we first see Lorna, she appears to be every bit as unsympathetic and lacking in conscience as the thugs who employ her.  But just as we are about to give up on her, something happens.  Slowly, she begins to change.  Her compassion is aroused by the inhumanity of those who seek to exploit her and immediately we start to see her true nature.  By the end of the film, Dobroshi has constructed an authentic character of great depth and complexity.  Lorna is no longer the pitiful victim who can be bullied into murdering someone, but a tough cookie who can fight back and take a stand against the inhumanity that surrounds her.  This film goes way beyond mere social drama.  It is a humanist parable for our time, one that we can all learn from.

© James Travers 2010

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