OUR CHILDREN
Directed by Joachim LaFosse
2012
Ms. Hen was shocked at the beginning of this film because it
shows a mother in a hospital bed telling doctors that her husband wanted the
children to be buried in Morocco. At first Ms. Hen thought the children died in
a car accident, since the mother was in a hospital bed as well. It took the
entire film to discover what really happened.
Murielle and Mounir are an ordinary young couple in love.
Mounir is from Morocco and Murielle is Belgian. He lives with a doctor in
Belgium, Andre Pignet, who has been and still is a type of guardian for him.
Murielle and Mounir get married and have children. They stay living in the
house with the doctor, and the tightness of space constricts the couple. They
think they don’t have any autonomy, since they depend so much on his charity.
Murielle and Mounir have four children and they both work.
Mounir works as a doctor with Andre and Murielle is a teacher. Murielle tells Mounir
that she thinks that they should move back to Morocco so they would only need
one salary. He thinks it’s a good idea and he proposes it to the doctor, who
becomes irate. Andre tells Mounir that he didn’t sacrifice by bringing him to
Belgium and raising him and giving him a good education so he could just move
back to Morocco. Andre tells Mounir to think about his girls and what kind of
life they would have in his home country.
Mounir and Murielle give in and they buy a bigger house with
the doctor. She is overworked and tired and has a difficult time taking care of
the children. She most likely suffers from post-partum depression. She doesn’t
pay attention and leaves the gate open on the stairs once and one of the
children falls.
This film is based on a news story that happened in Belgium.
The film depressed Ms. Hen because it showed how hard life could be when you
have too many children and are watched by someone who says he cares, but wants
you under his thumb. The doctor had good intentions in the beginning, but
toward the end, Ms. Hen could see he was wielding his power.
Murielle and Mounir’s children did not die in a car crash:
they died because Murielle killed them. She called them up the stairs one by
one and murdered them somehow, but the viewer does not discover the method. She
called the emergency phone line and told them that she had wanted to kill
herself, but she couldn’t, so instead she killed her children.
Ms. Hen enjoyed this film, even though it brought her down.
It shows how difficult real life can be. Ms. Hen thinks this is not a film to
escape reality, instead it shows bleakness. Someone’s life can be excruciating,
though the situation might not be apparent. Some people can think there’s no reason to go
on. Ms. Hen thinks there’s always a reason to go on. But, on the other hand,
she’s not Murielle.
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