Morally and spiritually the year’s most richly challenging and inspiring film, The Son’s documentary-like restraint makes for comparatively demanding viewing at first, but the difficulty of the first viewing becomes irrelevant in light of its rewards. The Dardenne brothers’ handheld camera closely follows a middle-aged carpenter working with troubled teens as he focuses on one particular boy. A nearly religious parable of humanity, fallenness, and grace, The Son’s achievement is one of showing, not telling; telling much more would diminish the showing (though many reviews will rob you by doing just that).

This film was included in the 2004 Flickerings @ Cornerstone Festival. Click here to learn more about the film's appearance at Flickerings.

Another film by the Dardennes is La Promesse, also on the Top100.