"“An emotional and poignant study of character...”"

The last time we were subject to a film featuring both Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup it was in the outstanding A Prophet, and now the pair return on screen together, this time in Joachim Lafosse's Our Children – which may not be as compelling as the aforementioned feature, yet remains an emotional and poignant study of character.

The character in question is Murielle (Émilie Dequenne), a young Belgian woman with her whole life in front of her – happily married to her Moroccan husband Mounir (Rahim), and holding down a job at a local school, with the hope of one day starting a family.  However as time progresses and she gives birth to three daughters and a boy – her mental state declines rapidly, as she becomes overwhelmed with motherhood, and all that life has to throw at her.

Despite adoring her children as any mother does, it is their very arrival that inadvertently sparks the depression which suffocates Murielle. Her predicament is not helped by her lack of personal space either, as her family live alongside the affable yet authoritarian doctor André Pinget (Arestrup) – and although the setup helps financially; such repressive living arrangements eventually become a burden on a declining marriage and dysfunctional family dynamic that is in desperate need of revitalisation.

Our Children is an emotional and devastating depiction of one woman's tragic fall from grace, as we follow Murielle's gradual decline naturalistically, and with a strong degree of sincerity. There is no one moment where we witness Murielle snap, as her condition deteriorates slowly before our eyes. The fact there is no defining dramatic moment to pinpoint her decline works well as it appears more realistic as a result. There doesn't always have to be a heartbreaking, melodramatic moment to provoke depression as it can be born out of the most subtle of things and several contributing factors - and this is reflected poignantly by Lafosse.

However, I do feel that we should see more of Murielle prior to her emotional collapse as we simply don't get to know the more stable version of the mother well enough. Had we been further introduced to a more idyllic Murielle it would no doubt have maximised the emotional impact of when we see her turn. However you can't take anything away from Dequenne who is absolutely stunning as our lead, as she portrays the role with an incredible degree of both vulnerability and fragility, fully deserving of her Best Actress accolade at Cannes Film Festival this year.

Lafosse touches upon quite severe themes within the film, as the Belgian filmmaker makes a somewhat contentious decision in divulging the film's ending within the opening sequence. We aren't informed exactly of what occurs, but the film opens with Murielle lying in a hospital bed, frantically muttering the words “bury them in Morocco”, of course insinuating that at least two people have tragically passed away. We may not know exactly who she is referring too, but nonetheless as the picture progresses it becomes increasingly clear.

Revealing the film's ending works in a sense that it creates a tense atmosphere as you sit there anxiously expecting a tragedy, unable to feel at ease at any point during the film as a result. Alternatively, it takes away any of the surprise factor, and as we progress into the final quarter of an hour you can't help but sit there thinking “get on with it then”.

That aside, Our Children is an incredibly touching production, and one that simply can't help but move you. Lafosse can be accused of touching on issues and not fully covering them with enough conviction – that of André's relationship with Mounir and the cultural differences between the married couple – yet his portrayal of one woman's delicate state of mind is about as sincerely represented as one can remember in contemporary cinema.