Directed by:
René ClémentCinematography:
Robert JuillardComposer:
Narciso YepesCast:
Georges Poujouly, Brigitte Fossey, Amédée, Laurence Badie, Jacques Marin, Madeleine Barbulée, Bernard Musson, Denise Péronne, André Wasley, Suzanne Courtal (more)Plots(1)
Forbidden Games is a critically acclaimed 1952 French war film, directed by Rene Clement. 1940, Paulette (Brigitte Fossey), a young French girl is orphaned in a Nazi air attack during the battle of France. She is befriended by Michel (Georges Poujouly), the son of a poor farmer whose family take her in to their home to care for her. Together the two children forge a tight bond, attempting to come to terms with the realities of the death and destruction that surrounds them by creating their own reality, building their own small graveyard to bury dead animals they find. In this sealed universe they have created, Paulette and Michel live their experience and most wonderful love story. (StudioCanal UK)
(more)Reviews (2)
Forbidden Games represents such a sympathetic and refined kitsch that it compensates for the traumas of World War II. I do not mean that kitsch in a bad way, as I can imagine that emotions could be evoked from the audience in a disproportionately more effective and vulgar way. Nevertheless, the game of two children with a pet cemetery, the cuteness of a 5-year-old girl's expression, and the sympathetic squabbling of two peasant families simply invite this designation. If the screenwriter wanted and had the courage, he could have dealt with the bitter experiences of World War II in a much more painful and artistically demanding way. The film didn't offend me in any way, but as for the main plotline, it didn't affect me significantly either. If such a film were made a year after the war, I wouldn't hesitate to give it 4 stars, but after 7 years, it only seems purposefully driven. What I really liked, however, was the portrayal of the French countryside and its inhabitants - perhaps because a relatively short time had passed, the view is realistic and does not feel unnatural or forced like the current ideas of urban intellectuals about an idyllic life in the lap of nature. Overall impression: 65%.
()
A powerful film about how being a child is not easy, especially during war. Yes, children may have slightly disobeyed adult laws, but is it necessary to punish them for it? Adults simply think that everything they do is right, which is not necessarily true. The worst part is that this applies to many real-life cases.
()