I remember what it was like almost 30 years ago when two unknown Belgian directors, the brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, showed their film ‘La promesse’ (The Promise, 1996) in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs sidebar. The film captivated the whole festival, it was like the discovery of a new cinematic continent. Their documentary-based and at the same time sophisticated form of socially committed cinema has long since set a precedent and influenced subsequent generations of filmmakers. In the meantime, the Frères Dardenne have become an institution in Cannes and have won everything that can be won at the festival.
They won prizes for best director, best screenplay and the Grand Jury Prize and with ‘Rosetta’ (1999) and ‘L'enfant’ (The Child, 2005) they even won the Palme d'Or twice. With ‘Jeunes Mères’ (Young Mothers), they were in the competition for the ninth time and some critics were already talking about a third Palme d'Or. Not without reason, as their new film about teenage mothers was one of the highlights of this year's festival on the next to last day. In the end, the Dardenne brothers were honoured for the best screenplay and won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.
The girls Jessica, Perla, Julie, Naïma and Ariane became pregnant as minors. They all come from difficult family backgrounds and live together in a social centre near Liège. The film alternates between the girls' individual stories and their everyday struggles.
Perla's (Lucie Laruelle) boyfriend Robin has just been released from prison and has no interest in her or their baby. Jessica (Babette Verbeek) is pregnant and desperate to find her mother, whom she has never met. Ariane (Janaïna Halloy Fokan) wants to give her child up for adoption to a well-off family and under no circumstances wants to move back in with her alcoholic mother, who has already set up a room for the grandchild.
Only Julie (Elsa Houben), who was a drug addict for a long time, wants to build a family with Dylan (Jef Jacobs), the father of her child. In the protected space of the ‘Maison Maternelle’, the girls find stability and support. Whether they keep their babies or decide to adopt them is entirely up to them. As viewers, we see how they find their way after many crises and develop a degree of autonomy for themselves.
What looks like a spontaneous documentary by the Dardenne brothers is the result of meticulous preparation; their style of realism is the result of an elaborate transformation process. ‘We don't simply want to depict reality,’ says Luc Dardenne. What looks so natural on the screen is an artistic condensation to reflect the characters and their milieu. 'We tell five stories of teenage mothers, we look at their social environment and the dysfunctional families they come from' (Luc Dardenne). The result is a film full of empathy that, without ever becoming sentimental, brought tears to the eyes of the most hardened critics.
The ‘Hollywood Reporter’ spoke of a ‘Teutonic wave on the Croisette’, which was rolling towards the festival in the face of three German films and reached its peak with Christian Petzold's ‘Mirroirs No. 3’. Before its premiere in the ‘Quinzaine des Cinéastes’ series, the Berlin director was greeted with enthusiastic applause from the French audience and met with ovations afterwards. You get the feeling that it was long overdue for Christian Petzold to be invited to Cannes. His new work is one of the best in Petzold's filmography. What is instantly striking is the cordial light created by his cameraman Hans Fromm and the friendly regard towards the characters.
Yet the story begins with a tragedy. Her boyfriend is killed in a car accident in rural Brandenburg, while music student Laura (Paula Beer) survives almost unharmed. She is found by Betty (Barbara Auer), who takes Laura in and nurses her after the accident. But as we gradually realise, her motives are not entirely altruistic. It is equally mysterious that she lives nearby, but separately from her husband Richard (Matthias Brandt) and her son Max (Enno Trebs), who run a garage together.
Paula Beer is slightly somnambulistic, comme toujours with Petzold, which is understandable given the trauma of the accident. The ensemble is excellently attuned to one another, more lively than one is accustomed to with Petzold. As if the master of cool performances had allowed his actors more heartfelt warmth this time. And it's nice to see Barbara Auer in a leading part in the cinema again. Laura prepares Königsberger Klopse, bakes plum cakes, plays the piano and thaws the frozen relationships. For there is a dark secret that has torn the family apart.
It's exciting to see how Laura's presence helps them get back together. Only the fact that Matthias Brandt, of all people, is supposed to look after the brake pads of a car strains credibility. In his manner, he looks more like the publisher Helmut from Petzold's previous film ‘Red Sky’. Incidentally, the title “Miroirs No. 3” refers to a piece from Maurice Ravel's piano cycle “Miroirs”, while we see Laura playing Chopin's Prélude No. 4 at an audition.