Page - 9 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 02/02

In Search of the Human | 9www.jrfm.eu 2016, 2/2, 9–14 Stefanie Knauss In Search of the Human The Work of the Dardenne Brothers Editorial Close-ups of human faces and hands, shots that are anchored around human in- dividuals, with landscapes or cityscapes only present in so far as they represent the environment in which these individuals live and act, a camera that moves and breathes with human bodies, scenes defined by the actions and interactions of the characters, narratives of human despair and resilience, broken relation- ships and offers of trust – without wanting to delimit the multifaceted œuvre of Belgian filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, these prominent aesthetic and narrative elements of their films underline one central theme across their work, the search for the human. What is the human being? What are the condi- tions that hinder or promote human flourishing? How can human beings exist in an industrialized, technicized society? How can they maintain their humanity under dehumanizing conditions? These questions are not explicitly religious, let alone specific to Christianity, and they are treated in the films of the Dardennes without direct reference to religious traditions and their bids to make sense of human existence. And yet, with their exploration of what it means to be human and to interact with other human beings in a context that often inhibits good relationships and the good life, their films provide much food for thought for theology, the study of religions, and philosophy as they reflect on central an- thropological, existential, and ethical questions. The three articles in the theme section of this issue offer different perspec- tives on the Dardennes’ search for the human, spanning their work from La promesse (The Promise, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, BE/FR/LU/TN 1996) to Deux jours, une nuit (Two Days, One Night, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, BE/FR/IT 2014).1 From a philosophical-theological perspective, Isabella Guan- zini draws on Giles Deleuze’s notion of “belief in the world” to discuss how the Dardennes contribute to its (re-)creation in a secular world, focusing in par- 1 The most recent film by the Dardennes, La fille inconnue (The Unknown Girl, BE/FR 2016) had not yet been released at the time of preparation of this issue and unfortunately could not be included in the discussion in a more substantial way.