La Promesse (The Promise) is a 1996 Belgian drama film directed by The Dardennes, starring Jérémie Renier and Olivier Gourmet.
Igor (Renier), a teenager, helps his father Roger (Gourmet) in nasty business like putting up illegal migrants in squalid flats. One day, an African migrant falls from a scaffolding. Igor promises him to take care of his wife and child just before he dies from his injuries.
La Promesse provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Roger involves his teenage son in his nasty business, up to asking his help to dispose of a body. He encourages him to smoke cigarettes, to drink beer and to see prostitutes. He prevents him from taking a mechanic training. When he hears that Igor helped Assita, Roger flies into rage and hits his son. He hits Igor again when he finds him in the garage.
- All Bikers are Hells Angels: When Assita and her baby are on the streets, two bikers assault them. First they urinate on them, then they ride on their luggage, probably just because they hate black people.
- Attempted Rape: Invoked by Roger. Roger pays Nabil to assault Assita. Nabil acts as if he was going to rape Assita and Roger intervenes at the last moment to save her. Roger just wants to scare Assita to make her leave.
- Constructive Body Disposal: Roger and Igor hides the body of Amidou in the concrete of a house under renovation.
- Excrement Statement: Two bikers urinate on Assita and her baby from a bridge above them, probably just because they hate black people.
- Forged Message: Roger sends Assita a telegram signed under the name of Amidou to make her believe that Amidou is alive in Germany.
- The Gambling Addict: Amidou plays gambling games, has gambling debts, cannot pay the sum he promised to Roger or heating gas because he lost big.
- Good Samaritan: In the hospital, an African cleaning lady offers to pay for the treatment of Assita's baby. She also brings Assita and Igor to a clairvoyant and agrees to lend her identity card to Assita.
- Human Traffickers: Roger brings illegal migrants to Belgium and forces them to work on construction sites, while demanding high rents for squalid flats. When he needs to get rid of Assita, he decides to sell her as a prostitute in Germany.
- The Illegal: Amidou, Assita and the other migrants who are put up by Roger have entered Belgium illegally.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: In the beginning, Igor obeys his father and helps him in his nasty business. After promising Amidou to take care of Assita and her baby, Igor wants to help them and runs afoul of his father. Eventually, Igor parts with his father, because he cannot stand any more the way his father treats Assita.
- Missing Mom: Igor's mother does not appear in the film. When Roger hits Igor, a woman tries to intervene, but she does not seem to be Igor's mother.
- The Promise: Igor promises Amidou to take care of his wife Assita and her child just before he dies from his injuries. Igor has to act because Roger wants to make Assita leave and even plans to sell her as a prostitute.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: In the garage, Igor chains Roger up, but Roger tries to convince to free him. He tells that he will let Assita gp, that he did everything he did for Igor... Igor suddenly yells at him to shut up.
- Take Care of the Kids: Just before dying, Amidou asks Igor to take care of his wife and child.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In the beginning, Igor always obeys Roger and is complicit in all his misdeeds. After promising Amidou to take care of his wife and child, Igor distances himself more and more from his father and finally sides with Assita.
- White Man's Burden: Igor, a white teenager, helps selflessly Assita, a black woman, and her baby.
