‘Young Mothers’ review: Five teenage mothers form the nucleus of the Dardenne brothers’ latest

Dir/scr: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne  France. 2025. 105mins

In a residential shelter for younger moms in Liege, Belgium, 5 women grapple with the challenges of parenting a new child, from the fundamentals of tub time and feeding routines to the knotty legacies of their very own troubled backgrounds. It’s a sometimes empathetic and genuine work from the two-time Palme d’Or-winning Dardenne brothers. However whereas the selection to observe 5 characters somewhat than only one or two is smart on one degree – there isn’t a single, defining expertise of being an underage mom in spite of everything – it does dilute the general energy of the image considerably.

Glimpses of younger lives really feel unvarnished and trustworthy

This newest from the Dardenne brothers was impressed by a go to to a maternal assist house  – the identical one wherein this movie is essentially shot – in the course of the analysis for a distinct movie. Thematically, it has a kinship with earlier works from the prolific duo. Like The Child With A Bike, it’s a considerate portrait of younger folks in institutional care; like Tori And Lokita, it presents a baby’s eye view of lives on the margins; like Palme d’Or winner The Little one, it reveals parenthood filtered by way of a lens of desperation and privation.

However whereas a few of the story strands in Younger Moms will doubtless tug at viewers heartstrings, others really feel skinny and underdeveloped. The movie is unlikely to match the prize-haul of the filmmakers’ earlier Cannes Competitors premieres, however is a strong arthouse title that ought to please current followers of the brothers’ compassionate, small-scale social realist research, though could wrestle to attract in new viewers. 

Jessica (Babette Verbeek) is closely pregnant, her childlike face incongruous above her swollen stomach. She’s as a consequence of give delivery in a matter of weeks however, earlier than she does so, she is determined to make contact with the delivery mom who gave her up into the care system as a new child. Jessica is definite that she would by no means do the identical along with her unborn daughter, however her want for solutions drives her to behave recklessly – behaviour that asks questions of her personal health to tackle the accountability of motherhood.

Perla (Lucie Laruelle), mom to child Noe, waits expectantly on the gates of a younger offenders establishment to greet her boyfriend and the daddy of her youngster, Robin (Gunter Duret). However when it turns into clear that he doesn’t see a future for the three of them collectively, she abandons the kid for 3 days, to try to influence Robin to reunite along with her. Elsewhere, Naima (Samia Hilmi) is launched in a single scene, her leaving social gathering from the assist house and a shifting capsule glimpse of a hit story. 

Essentially the most satisfying of the strands are these of Julie (Elsa Houben), a former addict and tough sleeper battling to get her life again on monitor along with her boyfriend Dylan (Jef Jacobs), and Ariane (Janaina Halloy Fokan), who’s at odds along with her bodily and emotionally abusive alcoholic mom Nathalie (Christelle Cornil) over her selections. Ariane has determined that, for the sake of her child and her personal possibilities of a greater future, she’s going to give the child up for adoption. Nathalie makes an attempt to coax Ariane to maintain the kid, making makes empty guarantees of sobriety and a peaceful and protected house atmosphere.

The Dardennes’ sometimes no-frills strategy signifies that these glimpses of younger lives really feel unvarnished and trustworthy. There may be, nevertheless, a level of predictability to a few of the plotting. The relapse klaxon might barely be any louder following an uplifting scene wherein Julie and Dylan be taught that they’ve been supplied their dream residence. Nonetheless, due to the robust work from the younger solid (not least the cute moppet enjoying Ariane’s child, who steals one of the crucial affecting scenes), the movie has a cumulative energy and a heartening message of resilience and optimism.