Young Mothers, directed by the celebrated French filmmakers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, is one of the most notable works of contemporary social cinema. The film premiered this year at the Cannes Film Festival, where it not only received strong critical acclaim but also won the Best Screenplay Award.
Shot in an almost documentary-like manner, Young Mothers directly addresses the problems and challenges faced by teenage mothers in modern societies.
This time, the Dardenne brothers focus intensely on realism and the depiction of everyday life. They draw the audience into the tense and complex world of four young mothers, portraying their psychological and social conditions in a tangible, humane way. Young Mothers offers a profound analysis of maternal responsibility, social and cultural pressure, and the impact of economic conditions on family relationships. Performances by Christelle Cornil, India Hair, Julie Ambondo, Lucie Laruelle, Elsa Houben, and others are delivered with remarkable restraint and mastery.
French cinema here tells the story of four teenage mothers living in the city of Liège, Belgium, who stand at the threshold of a new life as parents. Each comes from a different social background and faces distinct challenges related to child-rearing and family responsibility. They live in a supervised safe house run by social services, designed to prepare them for motherhood and bonding with their babies, or—if they prove unprepared—to entrust their infants to other families. The film presents these four narratives in parallel, deliberately avoiding sentimentality.
Jessica is a young woman who herself was given up for adoption as a child. Now pregnant, she is determined to break the cycle of abandonment and become a good mother to her daughter.
Ariane, unlike Jessica, comes from an unstable family; her mother loves her and her baby but lacks a sense of responsibility. Ariane struggles to secure a better future for her child, even if that means giving the baby up for adoption.
Perla becomes pregnant in the hope of preserving her relationship with a teenage boy, only to be met with complete indifference after his release from detention.
Julie, together with a teenage boy burdened by a past of addiction, tries to build a new path forward.
Ultimately, the Dardenne brothers suggest that even amid despair and tension, two people can still exist who are capable of planting seeds of love.
Without verbosity, Young Mothers examines not only the inner struggles of these women but also the pressures imposed on them by society and culture. The film intelligently targets structural problems—economic and social anxieties, as well as familial and societal expectations surrounding the role and responsibility of motherhood. It presents a stark, unembellished portrait of these women’s lives. While striving to be the best mothers possible, they face immense psychological pressure. Their choices, opportunities, and the complex world they inhabit are rendered with clarity and honesty.
Young Mothers is a very simple film, yet one filled with bitter realities. Instead of pity or judgment, it asks viewers to understand these young women. Female solidarity stands out as one of the film’s central narrative threads.
One of the film’s most distinctive qualities is the Dardenne brothers’ realist, near-documentary directing style. Known for their honest and precise observation of everyday life, they employ familiar techniques here: handheld cameras and close-ups naturally draw the viewer into the characters’ lived experiences. These cinematic choices are particularly powerful in scenes depicting interactions between mothers and children or within family relationships.
Nothing in Young Mothers feels overly dramatic or exaggerated. The directors avoid excessive music and long stretches of dialogue, instead focusing on the minutiae of daily life. This approach creates a deeply realist and contemplative experience, where emotions and inner conflicts are conveyed primarily through body language, glances, and silence. The film’s final sequence, which concludes with a poem titled “Adieu” by Guillaume Apollinaire, is especially moving and deserves praise.
The actors are not well-known faces, yet each character possesses depth, and the directors guide them with precision. Their performances are highly effective. The young actresses, particularly in the roles of the mothers, draw the audience in through restrained performances layered with complex emotions. Without any pretense or exaggeration, they fluidly express the inner and psychological struggles of these women, even as cultural pressures and social expectations attempt to confine them to predefined roles. The film shows how these young women must fight against such conditions while preserving their personal identity and individual freedom. The filmmakers’ refusal to slip into slogans can be counted among the film’s major strengths.
That said, one of the film’s weaknesses lies in the slow pacing of certain sections. Some viewers may feel that parts of the narrative—especially in the first half—lack momentum, with details occasionally lingering too long. In these moments, the film’s calm examination of relationships may feel less engaging to some. The crucial point, however, is that Young Mothers is not meant to be a thrilling or entertaining film, but rather a thoughtful, reflective, and contemplative work.
