Tori and Lokita (2023)
45%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: NA
The Dardenne brothers have done it again with their latest film, delivering a powerful and emotionally charged story that is both timely and timeless. The young actors, Pablo Schils and Mbundu Joely, give standout performances that carry the weight of the film’s heavy subject matter with ease. While some may mistake the Dardennes’ spare style for simplicity, the moral complexities and themes of dignity and depravity are anything but. This treatise on the fate of goodness is suffused with fury and tension, making it one of the brothers’ best films to date. Overall, this is a captivating and moving emotional journey that is not to be missed.
The film is like a rollercoaster ride, but instead of fun, it’s just a series of gut-wrenching drops. The poor main characters can’t catch a break! But despite the heavy subject matter, the young actors give amazing performances that will leave you in awe. The Dardennes brothers have done it again with their signature style of authenticity and urgency. Just make sure to bring some tissues, because this one is a tearjerker.
Production Company(ies)
Buddy Pic, Foreign Language, Topical
Distributor
Janus Films
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Liege, Belgium
MPAA / Certificate
NR
Year of Release
2023
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 28m
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Language(s):Afrikaans, French
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Country of origin:Belgium, France
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 24, 2023 Limited
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Pablo Schils, Joely Mbundu, Alban Ukaj, Tijmen Govaerts, Charlotte de Bruyne, Nadège Ouedraogo, directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, written by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jake Cole, Mark Kermode, Kevin Maher, Danny Leigh, Philip Concannon, David Parkinson, Edward Douglas, Aaron Neuwirth, Fred Topel, Avi Offer, Rene Sanchez, producer Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Delphine Tomson, MPAA rating, friendship, exile, Belgium, French (France), Janus Films, Digital 5.1, Pablo Schils, Joely Mbundu, Alban Ukaj, Tijmen Govaerts, Charlotte de Bruyne, Nadège Ouedraogo
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $5,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $5,000,000
Production budget ranking: 1,817
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,692,500
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Joely Mbundu – Lokita
Alban Ukaj – Betim
Tijmen Govaerts – Luckas
Charlotte de Bruyne – Margot
Nadège Ouedraogo – Justine
Jean-Pierre Dardenne – Director, Producer, Writer
Luc Dardenne – Director, Producer, Writer
Delphine Tomson – Producer
Director(s)
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Writer(s)
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Producer(s)
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Delphine Tomson
Film Festivals
Berlin, Cannes, Telluride
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (51) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (6)
The film subject its main characters to one indignity after another, and to such a suffocating degree that it crosses the line between representation and exploitation.
March 22, 2023 | Rating: 1.5/4
Jake Cole
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Schils and Mbundu keep the film’s feet firmly on the ground, delivering a hefty emotional punch built in equal measure on empathy, admiration and anguish.
December 4, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
It’s remarkably assured material, impeccably played and with restless political undercurrents, from two film-makers operating at a seemingly effortless pace.
December 2, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The Dardennes’ spare style can be mistaken for simplicity. Simple is a strange word for the moral knots of what the children must do to survive… And at the heart of it all is another enduring concern of the brothers: the fate of goodness.
December 1, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Danny Leigh
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
Humane and heart-breaking.
December 1, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Philip Concannon
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Meticulously controlled, but simmering with a tension that is suffused with fury, this treatise on dignity and depravity, aspiration and apathy is the Dardennes at their most accusatory and damning.
November 30, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
May not only be one of the Dardennes’ best films (in my opinion), but it seems to involve a narrative that’s far more timely and politically-relevant than some of their previous films.
March 22, 2023 | Rating: 7.5/10
Edward Douglas
The Weekend Warrior
Pablo Schils and Mbundu Joely are pretty strong as young actors tasked to carry this feature.
March 22, 2023 | Rating: 6/10
Aaron Neuwirth
We Live Entertainment
A bleak, but effective, drama.
March 20, 2023
Fred Topel
United Press International
A captivating, gripping and genuinely moving emotional journey. Pablo Schils gives a breakthrough performance.
March 17, 2023
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru
The Dardennes present the youngsters as bright spots of compassionate energy against the darkness of the wider world, and while some of the plot developments feel overly familiar, the emotion in this moving film always rings true.
February 16, 2023 | Rating: 4/5
Amber Wilkinson
Radio Times
The Dardenne brothers craft an empathic and urgent story with their characteristic touch of authenticity. [Full Review in Spanish]
December 31, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Rene Sanchez
Cine Sin Fronteras…
Plot
Tori and Lokita is a drama about two young people who develop a friendship after being exiled in Belgium.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels does not have any goofs listed for the film Tori and Lokita.
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