Film Review: Au revoir les enfants

Director: Louis Malle

This is my first review of a film that I haven't gotten up and gone to the cinema to see which means I feel I lose some of the magic watching through my laptop in my bed despite how comfortable it is. I've seen less subtitled films than you'd think so it's still quite a new experience for me. My girlfriend highly recommended 'Au revoir les enfants' and many others which I am still to watch. It tells the story of Julien Quentin (played by the adorable Gaspard Manesse) who is sent to a private Catholic school in the country by his mother who stays with his father (never shown) in Paris.

The children within the film are very natural and do a great job of portraying the usual teasing and games amongst them. Any outsiders are initially teased and not trusted which in this case is Jean Bonnet (Raphael Fejto) who has his vitamin biscuit licked so he cant eat it and is picked on at break whilst trying to read. But where the film really excelled was in the lonely moments that Julien had, you could see how much he was desperately missing his mother and the familiarity of Paris. His day dreaming in the bath showed him remembering these times and the persistent bed wetting showed that there was an inner turmoil but none of this weakness was shown in front of his friends to avoid the bullying. Later in the film we realise that the children are having to grow up very quickly in learning to deal with what should be adult issues.

With this being a relatively unknown film to many UK viewers I have tried not to spoil any of the story by letting you know what happens so you can enjoy the story for yourself but the film shows the different attitudes felt within German occupied France. As the film progresses you start to learn the feeling felt by the majority of the country against the collaborators and in some cases what lengths ordinary people will go to defy the German control. As I say I'm trying not to give too much away but its a film that really shows how the small things that people do can have a huge effect on other peoples lives which is something I loved about the film.

In case you are worried, reading the subtitles is not a distraction when you are watching but it can make it more difficult to judge an actors performance. That certainly wasn't the case here with the two main characters really standing out but I must say Mme Quentin (Francine Racette) is quite scary looking at first but actually turns out to be a loving mother of her son. His father is never shown as he is struggling with depression as his working life gets worse as a factory owner and presumably the conditions under the Nazis worsen in Paris.

Gaspard Manesse as Julien Quentin

3.5/4 at times the children lull you into forgetting the hardship people faced in these times but the issues are brilliantly dealt with.