Les Diables, which in English is The Devils, is another film that won't be on my wish list for long. I expect to see it in October. It features Vincent Rottiers who appears to be making his film debut. The official website is at (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) it is possible to download the trailer from there. The story summary is courtesy of the Toronto International Film Festival.

In his uncompromisingly intense yet delicately emotional second feature, Christophe Ruggia presents the world of two youngsters abandoned by their mother. Fearlessly, and with a keen sense of identification, he builds a deeply troubling universe where the children seem caught in a vortex from which they cannot escape.

Chloé (Adèle Haenel) is 13 years old and unable – or unwilling – to speak. Damaged by years of abandonment, she cannot bear to be touched, but loyally and unquestioningly follows her younger brother, Joseph (Vincent Rottiers). The years on their own, running from every home to which they have been sent, have made Joseph mature and cunning far beyond his years. He looks out for Chloé, fully aware that the special nature of her trauma could cause them to be separated at any turn, but prepared to fight at all costs to preserve the only family either sibling has ever known. He is fiercely protective of his sister, jealously guarding her from any attempt to make her whole again.

Theirs is a mutual dependency of tragic proportions, but to gain any sense of health and normality in their lives, the cycle will somehow have to be broken. When they end up in a hospice for runaways and disturbed children, and in the care of a professional psychiatrist, a door opens for the first time – but will the two of them enter?

Ferocious, emotional, kinetic and restless, Les Diables marks the arrival of a filmmaker with the courage to face this material without flinching. The clarity of Ruggia’s direction and the unaffected, wonderfully honest performances of Haenel and Rottiers combine to create an unforgettable experience. In this steel-tipped film, the world of children is stripped of its pastel glow and rendered as a stark urban cage, making Joseph’s ardent, inexhaustible love for his older sister meaningful, if deeply troubling.
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Zabladowski, thanks for bringing us this update of your review after seeing this film. I've got to tell you that your reviews are some of the best I've ever seen here, and I couldn't appreciate your efforts more. A thousand thank-you's to you for taking the time to share your thoughts about these great film festival movies with us both before and after you've seen them.

I do hope I get to see this one sometime, and I hope they don't censor it to where it loses the power and sensuality that you've protrayed here. It's hard to find truly "honest" movies in the U.S. anymore when they deal with the issues that children face.

Love,
Sir J

I really hope I get to see this one day. Thanks for your updates and awesome reviews, Zab. The boy's got some really beautiful eyes!