Le silence de Lorna (2008)

Directed by: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | 105 minutes | drama | Actors: Arta Dobroshi, Morgan Marinne, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Alban Ukaj, Olivier Gormet

‘Le silence de Lorna’ is the brightly realistic portrait of the young Albanian woman Lorna (Arta Dobroshi) who entered into a marriage of convenience with the junkie Claudy (Jérémie Renier), in order to obtain Belgian nationality. The Dardenne brothers have built up name and fame with their penetrating and strongly psychological dramas. They won their first Golden Palm in 1999 at the Cannes Festival with ‘Rosetta’, a second in 2005 with ‘L’enfant’. ‘Le silence de Lorna’ was awarded the best screenplay winner in Cannes in 2008.

Sham marriages involve a lot of money and almost always there is a criminal organization behind it with significant financial interests. For these criminals, money is paramount and the end justifies the means. Lorna’s ‘marriage’ to the junkie Claudy is only for the outside world. In the house where they stay for so long, they sleep in separate rooms. Claudy desperately tries to break free from his addiction, but the dealers keep knocking on the door. He transfers his money to Lorna in order not to buy drugs and voluntarily locks himself in the apartment where they live. He can’t go out on the street if Lorna keeps taking the key with him. In his desperation, however, he constantly calls her at work, causing her to be confronted with his problems again and again. However, they are condemned to each other. As long as she has not yet acquired Belgian nationality, they must remain together. Even after that, they cannot immediately divorce, that could still get Lorna in trouble. She entered into this marriage for money and to make the papers and thus her dream, a snack bar with her Albanian boyfriend, come true. At the same time, she maintains a relationship with her Albanian boyfriend Sokol (Alban Ukaj), who always works somewhere in Europe to earn a quick buck. The latter is aware of the conspiracy, Lorna and Sokol will – when everything is behind them – build a new future with a ‘clean slate’. So for them too the goal is sacred.

For this sham marriage with Claudy, Lorna has received a lot of money from Fabio (Fabrizio Rongione), a local bad boy. Lorna will receive even more if she can later remarry with a Russian who is willing to pay a lot for it. It is therefore in Fabio’s interest that the marriage between Lorna and Claudy ends without Lorna’s Belgian nationality being endangered.

Lorna is initially ‘married’ solely for the money. Fabio plans to let Claudy die of a drug overdose. Lorna is aware of this, but increasingly realizes Claudy’s problems. She sees his struggle with his drug past that he desperately tries to get rid of. She is faced with a major ethical dilemma. Does she still want to fully cooperate with this or is there perhaps something else possible? The scenario then suddenly makes a number of surprising strokes and the dramatic developments follow each other in quick succession.

Arta Dobroshi’s playing is very convincing. The actress from Prishtina (Kosovo) was discovered there by the Dardenne brothers and had to learn French in a few months. She acts very naturally and because of the limited amounts of dialogue, the emphasis is mainly on the portrayal of her moods and feelings, which she knows how to interpret convincingly. Jérémie Renier (Claudy) is a regular actor with the Dardenne brothers and proves himself – very emaciated for his role as a junkie – again insistently this time. Olivier Gourmet has a tiny guest star as an agent who asks some questions. Unlike in previous films by the Dardenne brothers, the camera work this time is relatively static. That fits perfectly with the atmosphere that this film evokes. The photography is especially beautiful, the characters and characters are beautifully developed. How long can you be silent? How much do you sacrifice for the hope of a better future? What price are you willing to pay? Questions that are all discussed in the context of this film and in which sense the film also contains a message.

Although the problem appears melancholy, the film is by no means a psychological wear and tear. This is partly due to the environment, which is completely different this time, not in the impoverished industrial environment of Seraing, but in the city of Liège itself, where the atmosphere of the big city resounds. This makes the film lighter in tone. The story itself is – however contradictory it may sound – for a not insignificant part a beautifully layered story of love and hope. ‘Le silence de Lorna’ is penetrating and intimate at the same time. Passivity turns into action. Feeling and understated. Highly recommended!