Young Mothers

The Dardenne brothers’ latest drama is one of the most compassionate, compelling and heart-warming films you’re likely to see all year. 

Focussing on the lives and experiences of a group of teenage mothers living in a mother and baby home in Liège, we meet Jessica who desperately seeks to make contact with her own mother who gave her up for fostering; Julie who, with baby Mia, is turning her life around; Perla whose partner has just been released from a young offenders’ institution and Ariane, a 15-year-old who plans to give up her baby for adoption.

All of the young women are treated with dignity and compassion and, unlike some social realist films, their situations are not allowed to be the issues that drive the narrative. The emphasis here is on very real young women learning to make their own decisions as they become both mothers and adults.

This is a film full of gentleness and love and features a wonderful finale that you will think about for weeks to come.

Belgium/France, 2025. Directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. With Lucie Laruelle, Babette Verbeek, Janaïna Halloy Fokan, Elsa Houben. 106 mins. 12

Tickets from £5. 10% off for BAC Supporters

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