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L' Enfant Sauvage (The Wild Child) (1970)

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100

Average Rating: 8.4/10
Reviews Counted: 27
Fresh: 27 | Rotten: 0

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100

Average Rating: 8.5/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 0

No consensus yet.

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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 3,579

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Movie Info

Based on a real-life case study, recorded in Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard's 1806 volume Memoire et Rapport sur Victor de L'Aveyron, The Wild Child is spiritually in line with Fran�ois Truffaut's other films about the pains of adolescence. Truffaut himself plays Dr. Jean Itard, a doctor working at Paris' Institute for the Deaf and Dumb. Itard takes on the challenge of Victor (Jean-Pierre Cargol), a nonverbal "wild boy" found abandoned in the woods. Realizing that the Institute's rather cruel methods

PG, 1 hr. 25 min.

Art House & International, Drama

Directed By: Fran�ois Truffaut

In Theaters: Feb 26, 1970 Wide

On DVD: Jul 24, 2001

United Artists

L' Enfant Sauvage (The Wild Child) Trailer & Photos

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Cast

Jean-Pierre Cargol
Victor
Fran�ois Truffaut
Itard
Jean Daste
Prof. Philippe Pinel
Francoise Seigner
Guerin
Paul Vill�
Remy
Claude Miller
Monsieur Lemeri
Robert Cambourakis
Peasant
Tounet Cargol
Child at Farm
Eric Dolbert
Child at Farm
Fr�d�rique Dolbert
Child at Farm
Pierre Fabre
Orderly at Institute
Jean Gruault
Visitor at Institute
Gitt Magrini
Peasant
Annie Miller
Mme. Lemeri
Nathan Miler
Lemeri Baby
Guillaume Schiffman
Child at Farm
Mathieu Schiffman
Child at Farm
Mlle. Theaudiere
Child at Farm
Eva Truffaut
Child at Farm
Laura Truffaut
Child at Farm
Jean Mandaroux
Doctor Attending Itard
Jean-Fran�ois St�venin
Peasant
Ren� Levert
Police Offical

Critic Reviews for L' Enfant Sauvage (The Wild Child)

All Critics (28) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (27) | Rotten (0)

The Wild Child is fascinating not only for its Tarzan-like true-life story, but also for what it says about the process of nurturing and educating children, and the tools we use -- language, discipline, affection -- to do so.

February 19, 2009 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

| Comment

Steven Rea

Philadelphia Inquirer

Top Critic

Nearly four decades after its release, The Wild Child remains startling for its humane clarity, for Nestor Almendros's brilliant black-and-white photography, and for the sense that Truffaut is achieving filmmaking mastery on a very small scale.

February 5, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Globe

| Comment

Ty Burr

Boston Globe

Top Critic

An enduring film of enchanting and provocative revelation.

January 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times

| Comment

Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

Nearly 40 years after its initial release, Francois Truffaut's The Wild Child (L'Enfant Sauvage) still manages to cast its haunting, poetic spell.

December 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Ann Hornaday

Washington Post

Top Critic

Rather than present a clich�d fall from grace, Truffaut elicits ambivalence by closely tracking the Enlightened scientist's optimism; after the fascination, our inchoate sadness seeps in.

November 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Village Voice

| Comment

Nicolas Rapold

Village Voice

Top Critic

Everybody connected with this unusual, off-beat film made in black-and-white rates kudos.

May 28, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Variety

Top Critic

Makes a heartfelt entry in Truffaut's filmography, yet another story of an unwanted kid.

August 16, 2011 Full Review Source: East Bay Express

| Comment

Kelly Vance

East Bay Express

Francois Truffaut was not only a founder of the French New Wave, he was a passionate and keen chronicler of young people, how they grew and evolved and sought purpose in a larger world.

May 1, 2009 Comment

Jason Heck

Kansas City Star

A fascinating film, with an astonishing performance by young Cargol.

March 13, 2009 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

| Comment

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Truffaut plays Itard, a representative of the Age of Reason who never questions the benefits of civilization...Truffaut the filmmaker is more suspicious of Itard's motives...

February 13, 2009 Full Review Source: Playback:stl

| Comment

Sarah Boslaugh

Playback:stl

Truffaut never upstages the astounding Cargol; both performers underplay in perfect harmony, turning the story into a duet of paternal affection and paradise lost.

November 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Time Out New York

| Comment

David Fear

Time Out New York

Offers a reassuring liberal outlook that has the hubris to think that one can cure anyone who is ill with proper education and treatment.

November 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comments (2)

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A deeply moving film.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

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Time Out

often overlooked film will stimulate educators and anyone interested in the learning process

April 2, 2005 Full Review Source: Old School Reviews

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John A. Nesbit

Old School Reviews Source: Old School Reviews

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Audience Reviews for L' Enfant Sauvage (The Wild Child)

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Many have criticised Francois Truffaut for making Wild Child, claiming that the film is far too clinical but is also of a subject matter that he wasn't academically capable of telling correctly. Many people criticised David Lynch in exactly the same way when he made The Elephant Man, which is now regarded as a classic

November 22, 2011

Anthony Lawrie

Super Reviewer

Based on the subject and the director's nationality, I assumed that this film would be some kind of restatement or exploration of Rousseau's "noble savage" theory, and though there is some of this discussion in one or two lines, the film doesn't spend much time juxtaposing modernity and the "wild"

February 26, 2011