Dear Son

In this powerful domestic drama, coproduced by the Dardenne brothers, an elderly Tunisian dock worker (Mohamed Dhrif) prepares to retire, while his son, Sami, studies for his college entrance exam and his wife splits her time between home and out-of-town relatives. Theirs is a reserved life, shut off from much of the outside world. But Sami begins having migraines, and later goes missing, leaving a note: he has left for Syria. The film largely keeps its focus on those left behind, even while it explores the complex psychological and economic factors that led Sami to join a jihadi group.