"D'Ardennen"(The Ardennes) is a rather raw and gritty film. It attempts to be a family drama while also being a bit of a crime story and the two genres blend decently. Sometimes, the changeover between genres throughout can be distracting, never allowing the viewer to fully sink their teeth into the storyline, which can ultimately lead to an unsatisfying experience for some. For me, however, it was still a very good watch. The cast is great here, including multiple characters from other movies in the same realm (Borgman, Bullhead, Rust and Bone, etc). This is a dark film in lighting and in its material. The story revolves around two brothers named Dave and Kenny who live a life of crime until one of them leaves behind the other in what looks like a botched home invasion. The older brother, Kenny, takes the fall and goes to jail while the younger brother, Dave, moves on with his life, attempting to leave his bad choices in the past. While in jail, Kenny's girlfriend, Sylvie, secretly leaves him for his brother, gets pregnant by him, and they begin a life of bettering themselves together....that is until Kenny's parole is granted and he is released from jail...as the same man he was the day he went in four years prior. The uppity and criminalistic Kenny clashes with his quieter, more put together brother setting the stage for a series of immensely bad decisions, overwhelming skepticism, and violence and murder in a back woods type of drama/crime film from director Robin Pront
Review of The Ardennes
