Who decides the best fit for the kids? In Adam's sake, a skinny 4-year-old boy was accepted into a fractured pediatric ward, which the doctor attributed to malnutrition. A social worker is known as Adam's mother (almost not just a child herself) is forbidden from contact with her son, while hospital staff attempt to send him back to health. But Adam refused to eat, fighting the feeding custody ordered by the doctor unless his mother was present.

We pieced all the backstory together during the opening hours of Belgian director Laura Wandel’s emotional whirlwind, backed by a pair of outstanding performances by Léa Drucker, who plays the outstanding young actor in Adam.

From the beginning, we see Lucy trying to mediate between the impatient social worker (Claire Bodson) and the desperate Rebecca. The boy grabbed his mother's neck again and asked keenly anyone who would listen to her if she could allow her to spend the night.

In a tight and intense 70-minute process, Wandel plunged viewers into the crazy hustle and bustle of this Superman hospital, observing through fresh eyes a world we know from countless TV shows, like she made a daunting turf on her shocking 2021 debut. In that movie, Wandel developed a formal approach that was very suitable for her environment, taking the view of her 7-year-old protagonist as a student attempted to understand her daunting new environment. When seeing adults are either cut at waist (the teacher in the "Peanuts" comic), or have to bend into frames to interact with girls at the eye level.

Wander could have repeated the same strategy in "Adam's sake," but instead of portraying the action from the perspective of a poor child, she is in line with Lucy, adopting a dynamic observation style similar to producer Luc Dardenne. Photographer Frédéric Noirhomme Shadows Lucy and other characters stick the action through the long, uninterrupted Take the photographer Frédéric Noirhomme Shadows, occasionally staring at the protagonist's head (as Dardenne often does in "Rosetta.").

It's a bold strategy - at least the way "Birdman" and "Studio" deploy it - although Wandel intends to be less impressive about immersion, distinguishing "Adam's sake" from programs set by countless hospitals. Wandel hopes her audience weighs the philosophical aspects of the situation, revealing behind the scenes the power struggle and division decisions that complicate Lucy and his superiors’ ability to avoid Adam.

As the medical staff clearly pointed out, the bet was huge, referring to the situation in Adam, as if his whole life had been determined by it. Meanwhile, Rebecca drove at the intersection, smuggling in a goose-like plastic container like runny nose, and she insisted on feeding Adam instead of hospital food. Without proper sustenance, the boy risked an additional fracture, which made it particularly difficult to watch Rebecca throw away the prescription meal on Lucy’s back.

In particular, parents may find it difficult to deal with Rebecca’s self-deception, which stems from panic. Abandoned by Adam's father, she raised the boy alone, but her intuition was already detached. It’s not clear what she is vegan or some kind of religiously endorsed alternative, but Wander explicitly said that’s the point. Her focus is on various hierarchies in this hospital, where parents usually have authority – the mom has lost the legal system in some way.

Rebecca and Adam cultivated interdependence dynamics that were indistinguishable from others. She even locked herself in the hospital bathroom with her son for a moment and kidnapped him almost all. No wonder everyone on the staff seemed determined to limit Rebecca and limit opportunities with her son. Only Lucy seems to realize that they need mother’s cooperation to get Adam to drive, and her heroism is almost unrecognizable when bending the rules for her own benefit.

Lucy might think of Adam's best interests, but she finds herself at the bottom of a commanding chain where Adam's doctor, the ward supervisor (Alex Descas), ends up getting in the way of the law. The film is sometimes a bit dramatic, especially when Adam finally speaks his truth – it’s hard to believe what any child actually says – but Wandel respects the audience and her character enough to not pass judgment. Finally, “Adam’s sake” is not as effective as “the playground,” but most certainly confirms that Wander is a filmmaker that cannot be ignored.