Our Children (2012)

AKA: A Perdre la Raison
Directed by: Joachim Lafosse
Starring: Tahar Rahim (Mounir), Emilie Dequenne (Murielle), Niels Arestrup (André Pinget)
Country: Belgium; Effed Up Belgian Movies
Language: French (Eng Subs); Effed Up French Films
Runtime: 01:50:55
Genres: Based on a True Story, Family, Mental Illness

Plot – Spoilers:
The stealthy effects of dependency, possessiveness, jealousy and a stifled daily routine on a vulnerable woman.

A young teacher Murielle is in love with a Moroccan, Mounir, who was adopted as a boy by an affluent doctor, Andre. The doctor seems always caught up in his work but offers his house to the couple when they decide to get married and is also liberal with gifts. Murielle sees no reason to refuse his presence in their lives as everything he offers only adds to their comfort as a young couple starting out, especially since Mounir, though a doting husband, seems incapable of striking out on his own and relies heavily on Andre.

Based on the case of Geneviève Lhermitte, this goes a little deeper, perhaps speculative, as it ponders on the relationship between son and adoptive father – why did an ageing man bring a young boy from a poor village and then later feel jealous of him as a grown man with a new partner. What were in those pills that Murielle often accepted from Andre. Our Children chooses subtlety, whether for its pointers or for the shocking finale, and does this without dipping into pretension.