A wealthy family slowly unravels as long-hidden secrets and desires are brought to light in The Child, a collaborative feature film from director duo Marguerite de Hillerin and Félix Dutilloy-Liégeois.
Loosely adapted from Heinrich Von Kleist’s novella, The Foundling, De Hillerin and Dutilloy-Liégeois shift the story to Portugal in the mid-16th century. Bela (João Arrais) is a young man and the heir apparent to his family’s business and wealth. His parents, Pierre (Grégory Gadebois) and Maria (Maria João Pinho), adopted him after their own son never returned from a sea voyage. Bela seems to have it all, his future secured through his inheritance, his adept business skills, and a fiancée already picked out for him. However, his love for Rosa (Inês Pires Tavares), a servant from Morocco who is desperate to return home, proves to be the catalyst for the family’s undoing.
When the young couple lets slip to a couple of confidantes their plans to leave everything behind and travel to Morocco, those closest to them work to break them apart, for various reasons. Pierre disapproves of Bela’s relationship with Rosa; it distracts Bela from thinking clearly about his future, and Pierre suspects Rosa of harbouring ulterior motives. Branca (Alba Baptista), a young servant, is jealous and has romantic feelings for Bela. Abbott Afonso (Albano Jerónimo)’s reasons for getting involved are murkier but connect to larger ambitions with the Inquisition. It all leads to misunderstanding and heartbreak for the young couple. Bela, left alone in the belief that Rosa has left him, becomes susceptible to unhinged thoughts and influences.
The effects ripple through the family, and many relationships become fraught with tension as confessions are made and secret affairs revealed to characters and viewers alike. Bela admits to a truth about his past that frames his character in a new light. Pierre’s hidden affair leads to the departure of a key character essential to the family’s structure. Maria loses herself to a shadow of a memory, which takes hold of Bela and becomes the nail in the family’s proverbial coffin. Meanwhile, Jacques (Loïc Corbery), an older-brother figure to Bela and a close friend of Pierre, provides occasional poetic voiceover narration throughout the film.
It all plays out against the backdrop of a shifting political climate as rumours spread, the church stirs, the Inquisition rises, and the monarchy’s survival is threatened. The upheaval of the merchant family at the heart of The Child seems to mirror that of the country at large.
Although the drama unfolds slowly at first, it picks up throughout The Child as one twist leads to another. Theatrical staging and set design along with close-ups of the characters’ faces create intimacy and heighten the sense of impending tragedy. Sometimes the film presents facial close-ups before providing any context, increasing the air of mystery. The film often plays with foreground and background to frame the actors in theatrical tableaux, while the careful colour coordination of costumes and sets works nicely with the film’s themes around desire. Many little asides in the form of stories, poems, dreams and memories are incorporated into the narrative and elevate the overall theatrical effect. The filmmakers also capitalize on the beautiful landscape and architecture available to them, and it stands out in the film along with the costumes.
Co-directors De Hillerin and Dutilloy-Liégeois first met on the set of Slumber of the Earth, a previous feature film directed by Dutilloy-Liégeois in which De Hillerin had an acting role. Since then, the pair have worked together to develop ideas and direct films. The Child is their most recent collaborative production.
The Child was selected for this year’s Rotterdam film festival (IFFR) as part of their trademark Tiger Competition.