Martin Scorsese Calls ‘Tori et Lokita’ “One of the Most Devastating Cinematic Experiences”

The Dardenne’s “Tori and Lokita” is absorbing for most of its runtime. They just can’t stick the landing. That’s alright. It went over well with the Cannes jury last year who awarded the film a Special Jury Prize.

The film was released in the U.S. two weeks ago. It’s been one of the few cinematic highlights of the year so far, alongside “Pacifiction,” “A Plein Temps,” and “Cairo Conspiracy.” Seek all four of these titles out.

A major fan of “Tori et Lokita” also happens to be none other than Martin Scorsese. He went as far as to pen a letter to Variety, where he points out his admiration for the latest Dardenne:

TORI AND LOKITA is one of the most devastating cinematic experiences I’ve had in a long time. I’ve always admired the way that Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne make movies—their mastery is inseparable from their spiritual and ethical commitment to their characters, trying to make their way through an unforgiving world. TORI AND LOKITA is one of the Dardennes’ most harrowing films, and it’s also one of their greatest.

The film might not be on the same level as their best work, but it comes close, again proving how effective they are behind the camera, constantly luring us into these blue-collar worlds they invent with the help of non-professional actors.

There is no exploitation in “Tori and Lokita.” Set in Belgium, this is the tale of two orphans, a young boy and an adolescent girl, who have travelled alone from Africa, and become friends. She’s still considered an “illegal” and can’t get her citizenship papers straight to work legally. They both end working for a drug dealer at a Pizzeria and, obviously, things go bad.

It’s exactly what you’d expect from the Dardennes, but they are excellent storytellers and their camera always seems to be in the right place. This is a story of survival and you feel the desperation almost every minute. It is utterly gripping.

The two exceptional lead performances come from Alban Ukaj and Tijmen Govaerts, both untrained non-actors. The Dardennes love to pick faces we don’t recognize for optimal realism and it works again here.