It’s evident that the Dardenne brothers, who have a special interest in children, had sufficient reason to participate in producing this movie. In his previous two films, Hedi (2016) and Dear Son (2018), director Mohamed Ben Attia focused on a mother excessively involved in her son’s life and a father fixated on his son’s health and future. In his new work, the director once again brings the father and son dynamic to the forefront. However, this time, the son is much younger. Majd Mastoura, who played the son in Hedi, now appears as the father, making the theme more akin to a redemptive version of Dear Son. Behind the Mountains, then, becomes the story of a father who turns his gaze from reality towards an ideal direction. The subdued record of the journey involving, ‘a father out of prison, his one who witnesses the father’s miracle, and a shepherd who joins them on their path’ is a quiet adventure and a mysterious crime story. At the same time, the film is a touching fable, as the name of the son’s school, La Fontaine, indicates. (LEE Yong Cheol)