For all the ways Belgium’s Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are rightly hailed as masterful contemporary realists with an abiding compassion for society’s fringe strugglers — the poor, the undocumented, the criminal, the victimized — they’ve just as easily earned their place as some of the greatest suspense directors of all time.
Their street-level stories, frequent Cannes winners since 1999’s “Rosetta,” typically hinge on a central desperation tied to simple survival, but when played out with their trademark visual restlessness and character-driven purposefulness, they’re often as nail-biting as any genre exercise or melodrama.
Which makes “Young Ahmed,” the pair’s latest dispatch from the viewpoint of a troubled soul — in this case, a 13-year-old Belgian boy in the dangerous throes of religious fanaticism — both a typically unnerving entry in their canon, and a strangely distancing one, given the impenetrability of its lead’s self-destructiveness.
Also Read: In 'Young Ahmed,...
Their street-level stories, frequent Cannes winners since 1999’s “Rosetta,” typically hinge on a central desperation tied to simple survival, but when played out with their trademark visual restlessness and character-driven purposefulness, they’re often as nail-biting as any genre exercise or melodrama.
Which makes “Young Ahmed,” the pair’s latest dispatch from the viewpoint of a troubled soul — in this case, a 13-year-old Belgian boy in the dangerous throes of religious fanaticism — both a typically unnerving entry in their canon, and a strangely distancing one, given the impenetrability of its lead’s self-destructiveness.
Also Read: In 'Young Ahmed,...
- 3/5/2020
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
It may have taken nearly 25 years, but the typically admired Dardenne brothers have turned controversial and divisive–which, history tells us, is a common consequence of portraying radical Islam. How amply they’ve addressed the topic in Young Ahmed is not quite my territory–those seeking a discussion would be well-advised to read Soheil Rezayazdi’s Filmmaker interview–but in psychological portraiture it represents a revitalization from 2016’s narrative-dependent (albeit undervalued) The Unknown Girl. As played by Idir Ben Addi, Ahmed marks one of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s most fascinating creations.
I was fortunate enough to sit with the duo at last fall’s New York Film Festival and pore over Young Ahmed‘s particulars: its conforming and deviating from the Dardenne visual palette, its reliance on Muslim communities, and how to gauge whether or not an audience’s response is in fact correct.
Thanks to Nicholas Elliott, who provided on-site translation.
I was fortunate enough to sit with the duo at last fall’s New York Film Festival and pore over Young Ahmed‘s particulars: its conforming and deviating from the Dardenne visual palette, its reliance on Muslim communities, and how to gauge whether or not an audience’s response is in fact correct.
Thanks to Nicholas Elliott, who provided on-site translation.
- 2/21/2020
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Jean-Pierre Dardenne on Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed): “We're always very concerned with avoiding imagery …” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
With Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed), starring Idir Ben Addi as Ahmed, featuring Myriem Akheddiou, Victoria Bluck, Claire Bodson, Othmane Moumen, Olivier Bonnaud, and Cyra Lassman, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne enter a new realm of their oeuvre.
And yet their latest film, for which they won the top director prize at Cannes, is very much in line with what they do best. They illuminate seemingly impossible situations that are deeply grounded in social realities. Body language, quotidian objects, and a hesitant glance speak volumes.
Luc Dardenne on Idir Ben Addi as Ahmed: “We define the character not by his psychology, but by his accessories.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In the second half of my conversation at Ian Schrager's Hudson Hotel with the master filmmakers, I started out...
With Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed), starring Idir Ben Addi as Ahmed, featuring Myriem Akheddiou, Victoria Bluck, Claire Bodson, Othmane Moumen, Olivier Bonnaud, and Cyra Lassman, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne enter a new realm of their oeuvre.
And yet their latest film, for which they won the top director prize at Cannes, is very much in line with what they do best. They illuminate seemingly impossible situations that are deeply grounded in social realities. Body language, quotidian objects, and a hesitant glance speak volumes.
Luc Dardenne on Idir Ben Addi as Ahmed: “We define the character not by his psychology, but by his accessories.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In the second half of my conversation at Ian Schrager's Hudson Hotel with the master filmmakers, I started out...
- 2/20/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Cannes Film Festival Best Director winners for Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed) Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne joined me for a conversation at Ian Schrager's Hudson Hotel the day after the North American Premiere of Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed) at the New York Film Festival. The film stars Idir Ben Addi as Ahmed with Myriem Akheddiou, Victoria Bluck, Claire Bodson, Othmane Moumen, Olivier Bonnaud, and Cyra Lassman.
Marion Cotillard's walk turned her into a reluctant Western hero in Two Days, One Night. Here, Young Ahmed (Idir Ben Addi), an adolescent boy, living in a small Belgian town, suddenly grows distant from his surroundings. His body is changing and out of control and so are his thoughts. The words of the local Imam (Othmane Moumen) and the video of a cousin who died a martyr's death inspire his radical thoughts.
Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne joined me for a conversation at Ian Schrager's Hudson Hotel the day after the North American Premiere of Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed) at the New York Film Festival. The film stars Idir Ben Addi as Ahmed with Myriem Akheddiou, Victoria Bluck, Claire Bodson, Othmane Moumen, Olivier Bonnaud, and Cyra Lassman.
Marion Cotillard's walk turned her into a reluctant Western hero in Two Days, One Night. Here, Young Ahmed (Idir Ben Addi), an adolescent boy, living in a small Belgian town, suddenly grows distant from his surroundings. His body is changing and out of control and so are his thoughts. The words of the local Imam (Othmane Moumen) and the video of a cousin who died a martyr's death inspire his radical thoughts.
- 10/9/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Fitting their preoccupations with contemporary Europe’s working class, the latest from Belgian’s preeminent filmmaking duo, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, seeks to boldly tackle the radicalization of a Belgian-Arabic teen. Their approach in Young Ahmed is as compassionate and conscientious as one can expect from the brothers—they’re master storytellers operating at their most consistent and polished—yet it lacks the moral specificity of their best work or formal daring of their second-most-recent outing (The Unknown Girl), the end result being a derivative misstep.
At school, the erratic Ahmed (first-time actor Idir Ben Addi) displays intense animosity for his instructor, Madame Inès (Myriem Akheddiou), who seems to genuinely care for him and worries about his recent rash behavior. Ahmed rushes to leave class early, refusing to say goodbye and asserting that it’s unacceptable for a true Muslim to shake a woman’s hand. This opening uncannily mirrors...
At school, the erratic Ahmed (first-time actor Idir Ben Addi) displays intense animosity for his instructor, Madame Inès (Myriem Akheddiou), who seems to genuinely care for him and worries about his recent rash behavior. Ahmed rushes to leave class early, refusing to say goodbye and asserting that it’s unacceptable for a true Muslim to shake a woman’s hand. This opening uncannily mirrors...
- 9/24/2019
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Kino Lorber has acquired U.S. rights to Young Ahmed, the latest film from Belgian directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne to bow at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Best Director prize this year. The film is having its North American premiere at the upcoming Colcoa French Film Festival in Los Angeles, and it will hit theaters in early 2020, followed by VOD .
The pic centers on a Belgian-Arab Muslim teenager named Ahmed (Idir Ben Addi) who lives in a small town with a secular single mother and siblings. He has frighteningly become radicalized through the influence of a magnetic, local extremist imam and becomes fixated with killing his female teacher in the name of his religious convictions.
Kino Lorber Svp Wendy Lidell and Wild Bunch’s Eva Diederix made the deal along with CAA Media Finance.
“We are proud to present to Us audiences the latest masterwork from Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne,...
The pic centers on a Belgian-Arab Muslim teenager named Ahmed (Idir Ben Addi) who lives in a small town with a secular single mother and siblings. He has frighteningly become radicalized through the influence of a magnetic, local extremist imam and becomes fixated with killing his female teacher in the name of his religious convictions.
Kino Lorber Svp Wendy Lidell and Wild Bunch’s Eva Diederix made the deal along with CAA Media Finance.
“We are proud to present to Us audiences the latest masterwork from Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne,...
- 9/20/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Kino Lorber has acquired the U.S. rights to “Young Ahmed,” the latest film from Belgian auteurs Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the distributor announced Wednesday.
The film made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where the Dardenne Brothers won the Best Director prize, and it will play at the upcoming New York Film Festival following a North American premiere at the Colcoa French Film Festival in LA. This acquisition gives Kino Lorber five films playing in Nyff’s main slate, including Kantemir Balagov’s “Beanpole,” Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’s “Bacurau,” Pietro Marcello’s “Martin Eden” and Nadav Lapid’s “Synonyms.”
The film will be rolled out in theaters in early 2020, followed by VOD and home video release.
“Young Ahmed” is a portrait of a 13-year-old, Belgian-Arab Muslim teenager named Ahmed (played...
The film made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where the Dardenne Brothers won the Best Director prize, and it will play at the upcoming New York Film Festival following a North American premiere at the Colcoa French Film Festival in LA. This acquisition gives Kino Lorber five films playing in Nyff’s main slate, including Kantemir Balagov’s “Beanpole,” Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’s “Bacurau,” Pietro Marcello’s “Martin Eden” and Nadav Lapid’s “Synonyms.”
The film will be rolled out in theaters in early 2020, followed by VOD and home video release.
“Young Ahmed” is a portrait of a 13-year-old, Belgian-Arab Muslim teenager named Ahmed (played...
- 9/18/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
“Young Ahmed,” which won the best director prize at Cannes for Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, has been acquired for the U.S. by Kino Lorber. The film will have its North American premiere at Colcoa and will go on to play at New York Film Festival.
Set in a small town, “Young Ahmed” follows a Belgian Muslim teenager named Ahmed (played by newcomer Idir Ben Addi) who lives with his secular single mother and siblings, and falls under the influence of a magnetic extremist imam. Ahmed is radicalized and becomes fixated on killing his female teacher in the name of his religious convictions.
“We are proud to present to U.S. audiences the latest masterwork from Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne,” said Kino Lorber senior vice president Wendy Lidell, who negotiated the deal with Eva Diederix, head of international sales of Wild Bunch and CAA Media Finance. “Like all their great films,...
Set in a small town, “Young Ahmed” follows a Belgian Muslim teenager named Ahmed (played by newcomer Idir Ben Addi) who lives with his secular single mother and siblings, and falls under the influence of a magnetic extremist imam. Ahmed is radicalized and becomes fixated on killing his female teacher in the name of his religious convictions.
“We are proud to present to U.S. audiences the latest masterwork from Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne,” said Kino Lorber senior vice president Wendy Lidell, who negotiated the deal with Eva Diederix, head of international sales of Wild Bunch and CAA Media Finance. “Like all their great films,...
- 9/18/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Updated: Talk to anyone on the Croisette and they would have bet that this year’s Cannes Palme d’Or belonged to Pedro Almodovar and his latest movie Pain and Glory.
Not so, as South Korean director Bong Joon-ho finally got his due in his fifth time at Cannes, winning the Palme d’Or for his thriller Parasite about a lower class family who find themselves working in esteemed positions for a rich family — an opportunity that goes very sideways. The film dotes on several themes from class struggle, to global warming with some comedic jabs at North Korea. It’s the first time that South Korea has taken the Palme d’Or home. Parasite is also the second-back-to-back Palme win for an Asian director here at the fest. Last year, Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda took home the Palme for Shoplifters which was nominated in the foreign language category at the Oscars.
Not so, as South Korean director Bong Joon-ho finally got his due in his fifth time at Cannes, winning the Palme d’Or for his thriller Parasite about a lower class family who find themselves working in esteemed positions for a rich family — an opportunity that goes very sideways. The film dotes on several themes from class struggle, to global warming with some comedic jabs at North Korea. It’s the first time that South Korea has taken the Palme d’Or home. Parasite is also the second-back-to-back Palme win for an Asian director here at the fest. Last year, Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda took home the Palme for Shoplifters which was nominated in the foreign language category at the Oscars.
- 5/25/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
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