I wrote the following review several years ago:
Au Revoir, Les Enfants (Goodbye, Children) France (1987): War/Drama103 min
Boy Actors: Gasparde Manesse as Julien, Raphael Fejto as Bonnet
A fatal glance... ( 5 STARS)
Directed by Louis Malle, based on his own childhood. It is 1944, at a Catholic boarding school in Nazi-occupied France. There are three new students, they are Jews, with new names and identities to hide them from the Nazis. Eleven year old Julien (Gaspard Manesse) befriends one of the new boys, Jean (Raphael Fejto) who, like Julien is not very popular with the other students. The two boys play, study and look at naughty postcards together. We share in their everyday life, the classroom routine, the air-raid drills, the school discipline. Julien eventually discovers that "Jean Bonnet" is not his friend's real name. They witness an anti-Semitic incident in a restaurant but Julien is far from being fully aware of the meaning behind it all. Later, when Nazis visit the school, in one fleeting moment Julien unthinkingly betrays his friend, an action that has tragic consequences, perhaps, the moment when he understands for the first time the horrible reality of racism.
This film is exceptional. It was nominated for an Oscar (Best foreign-language film). It also received a Best Original Screenplay nomination for Malle.
Gaspard Manesse as Julien is most impressive. Not just lovely to look at, he conveys a sensitive spirituality and the camera views him quite erotically at times. Even the school uniform, with shorts, beret, and cloak ads to the eroticism. Watch for the bath-house scenes.
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My movie Rating 10/10 My Boy Movie Rating 10/10
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