The Promise
1996 · 94 min · Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)
Igor--a 15-year-old apprentice mechanic--spends his off hours at the beck and call of his father. Igor's father, Roger, is a low-life involved with smuggling undocumented immigrants into Belgium, and acts as their slumlord, housing them in barely livable conditions, and paying them menial wages to work construction on his building (among other scams). When the building inspector pays a surprise visit and Amidou falls off a scaffold in his hurry to hide, things start to unravel, particularly when Igor makes a promise to the injured Amidou that ultimately exposes the different values of Igor and Roger, and of Amidou's wife, Assita.
Emotional fingerprint
The Promise (1996) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Empathy 30%, Guilt 25%, Sadness 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure
- Empathy30%
- Guilt25%
- Sadness20%
- Inspiration15%
- Hope10%
AI estimate · no viewer votes yet
How we measure
AI estimate
Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.
Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.
Why it feels this way
The strongest emotional signals are Empathy, Guilt, Sadness. Genres: Drama. AI estimate.
Is it worth watching?
Consider this title if you are looking for Empathy, Guilt and Sadness. Its IMDb rating of 7.7/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 73/100.
How did it make you feel?
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Pick up to three · 0/3
Emotional journey
- Empathy
- Sadness
- Disturbing
Not enough subtitle evidence
No dominant emotion
Dominant emotion: Empathy
Dominant emotion: Disturbing
Dominant emotion: Tension
Dominant emotion: Sadness
Dominant emotion
| % | Approximate minute | Dominant emotion | Overall intensity | Empathy | Sadness | Disturbing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 % | ≈ 2′ | Empathy | 33 % | 27 % | 12 % | 22 % |
| 7.5 % | ≈ 7′ | Disturbing | 36 % | 28 % | 14 % | 30 % |
| 12.5 % | ≈ 12′ | Disturbing | 38 % | 25 % | 13 % | 34 % |
| 17.5 % | ≈ 16′ | Tension | 36 % | 21 % | 8 % | 27 % |
| 22.5 % | ≈ 21′ | Tension | 46 % | 33 % | 18 % | 28 % |
| 27.5 % | ≈ 26′ | Tension | 73 % | 57 % | 46 % | 50 % |
| 32.5 % | ≈ 31′ | Disturbing | 83 % | 66 % | 61 % | 70 % |
| 37.5 % | ≈ 35′ | Disturbing | 74 % | 60 % | 51 % | 68 % |
| 42.5 % | ≈ 40′ | Tension | 69 % | 57 % | 43 % | 59 % |
| 47.5 % | ≈ 45′ | Sadness | 68 % | 59 % | 45 % | 55 % |
| 52.5 % | ≈ 49′ | Disturbing | 69 % | 63 % | 48 % | 55 % |
| 57.5 % | ≈ 54′ | Empathy | 71 % | 65 % | 48 % | 54 % |
| 62.5 % | ≈ 59′ | Tension | 73 % | 66 % | 50 % | 50 % |
| 67.5 % | ≈ 63′ | Empathy | 71 % | 68 % | 51 % | 42 % |
| 72.5 % | ≈ 68′ | Tension | 75 % | 70 % | 51 % | 41 % |
| 77.5 % | ≈ 73′ | Empathy | 78 % | 73 % | 55 % | 43 % |
| 82.5 % | ≈ 78′ | Empathy | 70 % | 70 % | 51 % | 30 % |
| 87.5 % | ≈ 82′ | Empathy | 71 % | 71 % | 53 % | 30 % |
| 92.5 % | ≈ 87′ | Sadness | 82 % | 77 % | 67 % | 50 % |
| 97.5 % | ≈ 92′ | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence |
Man in a hole
Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.
Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.
Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.
Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.
Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.
Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.
AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗
Kadri — your film companion
AIAsk anything about The Promise. From the film’s own dialogue and FeelDB data, at your spoiler level.
Afterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers
Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.
0 responses so far
Feeling details appear after at least 3 viewers respond, to protect privacy.
Cast
Riri
Nabil
Amidou
The Garage Boss
Muller
The Postman
Geneviève
The Seer
Maria
Rosalie
The Jeweler
Details
- Directed by
- Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
- Written by
- Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Leon Michaux, Leon Michaux, Alphonse Badolo
- Type
- Movies
- Released
- 1996
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Country
- Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Tunisia
- Genres
- Drama
- Ratings
- Feels mostly
- Empathy
- Data updated
Where to watch
Subscription
Rent
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