2016 Blind Spot Series: Au Revoir Les Enfants

-

What I knew going in: Nothing. I didn't read the plot summary until right before the film started, and I picked it based on seeing it pop up on others' lists previously.

 In 1944 France, Julien (Gaspard Manesse) is a young boy sent off to a Catholic boarding school during the war. He could somewhat be described as a "mama's boy." He wishes he could stay with her while his brother François (Stanislas Carré de Malberg) seems largely indifferent to being away. He's a bright kid who also tries to hide the fact that he occasionally wets the bed. But that's not the only thing he ends up hiding. A new student named Jean (Raphael Fejtö) shows up and becomes a bit of a rival to Julien. He's quiet, yet very bright and slightly  better in school than Julien. He soon learns a secret about Jean, and the two become friends.

 To put in perspective how good this movie really is, let me tell you about the DVD Netflix sent me. It was terrible. It had a massive scratch in it, but since I'm cutting it close to the end of the month, I watched it anyways. The dialogue didn't always match up to the character's mouths, but that wasn't the issue. The DVD actually stopped in the last chapter. It would not play. I had to search the ending on youtube and use their closed caption translation function. And even with all that, the ending was still profoundly powerful. 

 I'm just in awe of this movie. It's hard for kids to carry films, and you can tell Manesse and Fejtö were very green, but they make it all work. Their relationship progression felt natural. It's easy to think "not another movie set during WWII, but this doesn't even feel like that type of movie. It's instead a study on childhood friendships that mold Julien and Jean even during the horrors of war. 

 And I'm always here for a teacher referring to a student who wrote an essay as "a bit pretentious." That made me laugh harder than it should've.

 Recommended: Yes

 Grade: A+

 Memorable Quote: "Goodbye, children." - Father Père Jean (Philippe Morier-Genoud)

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 23, 2016 at 9:31 AM

    I really love this film!
    Nice review, you made me want to watch it again :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 23, 2016 at 11:21 AM

    O
    M
    G

    YES
    YES
    YES

    ReplyDelete
  3. StephApril 23, 2016 at 1:11 PM

    I'm so glad you loved this film. It's one of my favorite movies of all time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. thevoid99April 23, 2016 at 3:25 PM

    This is pretty much my favorite film by Louis Malle as I was just touched by the story as I think a lot of children need to see this. It is very powerful but without any kind of intentional sentimentality.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DanielApril 28, 2016 at 11:49 AM

    One of my all-time favorites from WAY back when. It was one of the first French films I ever saw (my Dad was a high school French teacher) and I feel instantly in love. I'm so glad you love it, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 28, 2016 at 2:24 PM

      That's awesome that it's been one of your favorites for a long time!

      Delete
  6. keith71_98December 5, 2016 at 9:53 AM

    Not sure how I missed this earlier in the year but I'm thrilled to see your score. LOVE THIS MOVIE! I've had a review written for over a year. Need to get it posted. Such a fabulous story and a great example of why I adore French cinema.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 5, 2016 at 7:32 PM

      This was hands down my favorite of my 2016 Blind Spots, so haunting.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more