Rating: 
Summary: Perfect Silence
Review: This is one of the few films I've ever seen where looks and gestures actually communicate more loudly than any words. Olivier's facial expressions are absolutely perfect, and we don't need anyone telling us what he's thinking - or even him talking about what he's thinking to someone else (which is what surely would have happened if this had been a Hollywood film).
Not much happens in this movie - at least in terms of events. What does happen is touching and startling. You wonder why Olivier is following his new carpentry apprentice (Francis) through the street, and you're pretty certain that you know why, based on the title of the film and Olivier's own reactions. But you soon learn that you're wrong. And you're so wrong that it's really quite a shocker.
The ending has just the right amount of suspense, tension, and tenderness - and you will not likely forget this film for a very long time.
Rating:
Summary: An exceptional film
Review: This movie is absolutely first-rate. There is not a speck of melodrama in it. Olivier Gourmet who plays the teacher is phenomenal. He's in every scene. He plays the emotionally shipwrecked father with great depth. There are no smiles, no frowns, no anger. You're never quite sure what retribution might happen. The ending is quiet and powerful.For those interested in the craft of film-making, there are two lengthy, excellent interviews with the Dardenne brothers and with Olivier Gourmet. The DVD transfer is excellent; the subtitles are quite readable. There isn't a great deal of dialogue in the film, so reading the subtitles is no bother. If you like serious films, this one is a keeper.
Rating: 
Summary: please make it stop!
Review: What do we have here in this film? Face of guy in extreme close up. Back of guy in extreme close up. Back goes down stairs, which you sort of see in the background. Face goes up stairs. Down stairs again. Upstairs, the face goes. Face at home. Woman visits Face. Camera to her. Camera to Face. Her again. Face again. SAY something already. Someone. Anyone. Extreme close up, all the time. Camera shaking. Felt ill, I did. Queasy. Nineteen minutes, and I could not bear a second more.
Rating:
Summary: THE AGONY OF MORAL CHOICE
Review: With some staggery candid camerawork and next-to-none minimalistic soundtrack, which is no doubt rather demanding on the senses, The Son manages to lay a gruelling texture of moral dilemma and the intrigue that goes with it. Olivier Gourmet plays a carpenter, with an uncanny ability to judge the metric distance between any two points on a board, perhaps a metaphor for his character's moral precision. (I have never seen Gourmet before, but if wins awards, I will know exactly why.) This carpenter develops a liking to a younger apprentice. It's eventually revealed that this liking is linked to a tragedy in the past, that continues to cast a pall over several of the film's characters. I will not not dilvulge the exact nature of that tragedy, that'd spoil the enigma, but the film is relentless in outlining its ramifications -- the angst, guilt, confusion, and how the carpenter finds himself both drawn to and repulsed by the youngster. The overall ambience of the film may be bleak and murky, but its pervasive human spirit is very rewaring for all the patience it demands. Not recommended for casual filmgoers, but a very meditative example of arthouse for the more discerning eye.
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