The Son (Le Fils; 2002)

Raw, intense and powerful. Olivier Gourmet (who won Best Actor at Cannes) gives a masterful performance as a Belgian carpentry instructor who becomes obsessed with a new student (Morgan Marinne). The Son (2002) centers around these two characters, and I'll say no more except that what happens, and why it happens, transforms the way we look at film--and ourselves--by reaching profound levels of the human condition.  Yes, I'm being vague; but once you see the movie, you'll understand why.

Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne direct with immediacy, constructing the film out of unbearably intimate close-ups and long, over-the-shoulder shots from Olivier's point of view, so that we see everything he sees.  Don't think you know where the movie is headed based on my brief description, because you're probably wrong.

This is a great, awe-inspiring film, and it's no surprise that it has been making critics' best-of-the-decade lists left and right.  See it immediately.

2002; starring Olivier Gourmet, Morgan Marinne; directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne; 100 min; Not Rated; in French w/ English subtitles.