Director: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Year Released: 2008
Rating: 2.0
Immigrant Lorna (Arta Dobroshi) lives in Belgium with a junkie just so she can marry him and acquire citizenship - this being under orders from her "real" boyfriend, a pimp/hustler - and afterwards she's supposed to kill off that same junkie (OD!) and then marry a Russian thug (it's a tad jumbled and impractical, I know). As much as I'd like to blame the clunky handling of the plot - the Boys from Belgium aren't used to structure - I think it's the fact that it's a Battered Broad movie that makes me dislike it so: self-punishing Lorna just goes from abuser to abuser before losing her mind completely (at least with Rosetta, another creation by the filmmakers, you can excuse her actions because she's a teen and living under different circumstances). I suppose I agree with the generic sentiment that some women are merely pawns in the hands of men - and may even aid in their own abuse - but the only way 'out,' as presented here, is through suicide and/or madness: not exactly healthy (or profound) alternatives.
