The Dardennes retain a company of returning players: Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, and Olivier Gourmet. Such loyalty is rare and touching.
Lorna's Silence(Le Silence de Lorna)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Belgium, France, Italy · 2008
Rated R · 1h 45m
Director Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Starring Arta Dobroshi, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Alban Ukaj
Genre Crime, Drama
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Lora and Sokol, two Albanian emigrants living in Belgium, dream of leaving their dreary jobs behind to open a snack bar. To attain money and a permanent residence status, Lora becomes an accomplice to an intricate plan devised by mobster Fabio.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
Lorna's Silence is engrossing and powerful, which may be just another way of saying it's a film by the Dardenne brothers. If it falls a bit short of the standards of their best work, that is only because it is not quite a masterpiece.
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
Like earlier Dardenne films, Lorna’s Silence is naturalistic, yet this one, beautifully shot in 35 mm film by Alain Marcoen, achieves a poetry of bereftness.
The film doesn't pack the same cumulative wallop as the brothers' earlier work, but its low-key artistry, immaculate construction and fine performance by relative newcomer Arta Dobroshi should rouse the usual fest acclaim and arthouse interest.
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
A gritty, deceptively low-key, no-fuss, no-frills movie of consistent originality and surprise in which suspense arises straight up from the heroine's evolving character.
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
A stunning study of one desperate woman's conscience.
Watching Lorna's attempt to balance self-interest and empathy can be heartbreaking. If Lorna's Silence as a whole doesn't rank among the Dardennes's best, it does follow the money to moments and characters that are unforgettable.
The androgynous Dobroshi is in nearly every scene. She has an exceptional screen presence that brings authority to her portrayal of a woman seeking redemption. As for the Dardennes, they prove yet again that nobody does human frailty the way they do.
Users who liked this film also liked
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
(Jayce et les Conquérants de la lumière)
Teenager Jayce and his friends search for the only weapon that could defeat their mortal enemies.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Canada, United States • 1985
- Creator J. Michael Straczynski, Jean Chalopin
- Cast Darrin Baker, Charles Jolliffe, Valerie Politis, Len Carlson, Gilles Tamiz, Giulio Kukurugya
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Fandango At Home
You, the Living
(Du levande)
Several separate vignettes work together to tell a story about the highs and lows of human nature.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, Germany, France • 2007
- Director Roy Andersson
- Cast Håkan Angser, Eric Bäckman, Patrik Anders Edgren, Björn Englund, Lennart Eriksson, Pär Fredriksson
- Genre Drama, Comedy, Music
- Available on Kanopy
Police
Mangin, a police detective in Paris, is investigating a Tunisian drug ring when he falls in love with the girlfriend of one of the criminals.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1985
- Director Maurice Pialat
- Cast Gérard Depardieu, Sophie Marceau, Richard Anconina, Pascale Rocard, Sandrine Bonnaire, Frank Karaoui
- Genre Crime, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Nosferatu the Vampyre
(Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht)
A real estate agent seeks to buy property from Count Dracula, whose true interests lie in the agent's wife.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- West Germany, France • 1979
- Director Werner Herzog
- Cast Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor, Walter Ladengast, Martje Grohmann
- Genre Drama, Horror
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Fandor Amazon Channel, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Crackle, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Shout! Factory TV, Freevee, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
In Bruges
Shoot first. Sightsee later.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2008
- Director Martin McDonagh
- Cast Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy, Thekla Reuten, Jordan Prentice
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Crime
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Waltz with Bashir
(Vals Im Bashir)
When a young soldier has trouble accessing memories of a massacre, conversations with others help piece his memories together.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Israel, France, Germany • 2008
- Director Ari Folman
- Cast Ari Folman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Dror Harazi, Ronny Dayag
- Genre Animation, Documentary, Drama, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Babette's Feast
(Babettes gæstebud)
A French housekeeper with a mysterious past cooks an exquisite meal for a circle of pious, stoic villagers.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Denmark • 1987
- Director Gabriel Axel
- Cast Stéphane Audran, Bodil Kjer, Birgitte Federspiel, Jarl Kulle, Jean-Philippe Lafont, Bibi Andersson
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Triage
Some live. Some die. Some are changed forever.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ireland, Spain, Belgium • 2009
- Director Danis Tanović
- Cast Colin Farrell, Paz Vega, Christopher Lee, Kelly Reilly, Jamie Sives, Branko Đurić
- Genre Drama, Thriller, Mystery
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Extra Man
An eccentric man teaches a young romantic the art of escorting wealthy older women as an "extra man".
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United States • 2010
- Director Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
- Cast Kevin Kline, Paul Dano, Katie Holmes, John C. Reilly, Dan Hedaya, Alicia Goranson
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Crackle, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Plex Channel
Heartbeats
(Les amours imaginaires)
Heartbreaker, that's you.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2010
- Director Xavier Dolan
- Cast Monia Chokri, Niels Schneider, Xavier Dolan, Anne Dorval, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, Olivier Morin
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
The Impossible
(Lo imposible)
A close-knit family is separated while on vacation in Thailand after a massive tsunami hits.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain, United States • 2012
- Director J.A. Bayona
- Cast Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast, Marta Etura
- Genre Thriller, Drama
- Available on fuboTV, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Paramount+ with Showtime, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, AMC on Demand
Victoria
A Spanish woman newly relocated to Berlin meets a group of mysterious men at a club and decides to follow them on their dangerous escapade in this film shot in one continuous take.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2015
- Director Sebastian Schipper
- Cast Laia Costa, Frederick Lau, Franz Rogowski, Burak Yigit, Max Mauff
- Genre Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
The Unknown Girl
(La Fille inconnue)
A Belgian doctor, feeling partially responsible, becomes obsessed with the death of an unknown woman.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Belgium, France • 2016
- Director Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne
- Cast Adèle Haenel, Olivier Bonnaud, Jérémie Renier, Louka Minnella, Nadège Ouedraogo, Christelle Cornil
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Calibre
A weekend hunting trip descends into a nightmare as two friends attempt to cover up a horrific hunting accident.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2018
- Director Matt Palmer
- Cast Jack Lowden, Martin McCann, Tony Curran, Ian Pirie, Cameron Jack, Cal Macaninch
- Genre Thriller
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Unwanted
(T'padashtun)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Kosovo, Netherlands • 2017
- Director Edon Rizvanolli
- Cast Adriana Matoshi, Jason de Ridder, Niki Verkaar, Hugo Koolschijn, Celia Nufaar
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, VUDU Free
Beau Is Afraid
A paranoid man embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to his mother’s funeral.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States, United Kingdom, Finland • 2023
- Director Ari Aster
- Cast Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane, Denis Ménochet, Kylie Rogers, Stephen McKinley Henderson
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Available on fuboTV, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Paramount+ with Showtime, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Hoopla