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Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
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Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.
All Critics (15) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (0) | DVD (2)
The messages come easily; the movie is never hectoring or doleful. The director's touch is light, his eye for the ways of farm folk and of children is sharp, and his heart is soft.
With its mixture of tones, its multiple plot focuses and its singular use of the virtuosity of Spanish guitarist Narciso Yepes on the soundtrack, it is very much its own film.
The movie is clearly not interested in sugarcoating or sentimentalizing WWII, even though Clément has every opportunity to do so.
[It] has gone from the exemplar of what expressive narrative filmmaking could be to something more elegiac: This is what it now rarely even dares aspire to.
As an indictment of war it is unsurpassed. As a work of art it is a notable contribution.
Emotionally gripping and unsentimental, there is a reason this superb film has remained an important influence and icon in international cinema.
Rene Clement's 1944 adaptation of Francois Boyer's novel is an exquisitely unsentimental movie about the corruptive effect of war on children.
The film has lost its initial power over time and now looks too contrived to be a masterpiece.
This touching film, winner of the Venice Festival award, draws us deeply into the secret world of haunted by death children, in post- WWII Europe where, among other "games," they build a cemetry for dead animals.
Perhaps not until Ponette in 1996 had another movie looked so closely at how death might be absorbed through the eyes of a small child.
It's difficult to fault a film that scrutinizes the veracity of childhood with such clarity.
powerful filmmaking in more ways than one, a story of innocence lost that you won't soon forget
Two children bond over creating a pet cemetery during WWII. The first fifteen minutes of this film are more effective than most blood-and-guts, modern-day war films. Focusing on the cavalcade of refugees and a little girl and her pet, director Rene Clement personalizes war that post-modern filmmakers balk from. The rest of the film follows Paulette, played with all the sweet innocence in the world by five-year-old Brigitte Fossey, and her friendship with Michel, a boy who lives on a farm. The children attempt to hold on to their innocence while coming to terms with the realities of death and war. The film loses me in the subplot about stealing crosses and neighborly rivalry; I suspect each of these relates to a metaphor Clement tries to develop or a commentary on religious comfort in times of sorrow, but I couldn't fully understand how the metaphor applied. Overall, Forbidden Games isn't a children's film, which is how many modern studios might have perverted it in order to fit the marketplace, and it isn't a war film; it transcends both generic categories and becomes something more profound.
Super Reviewer
Forbidden Games tells of a girl orphaned by war who met a boy from a peasant family. He loves her. She loves him. Theirs is not just a story of young star-crossed lovers, but more significantly, how war robs childhood of its innocence. It is a love story, with compelling selfless details and unfathomable depth. Unforgettable.
As I've said before stories with children in major roles are always a gamble for me. Rare is the child who comes across as believable, especially in dramatic situations. What a wonderful surprise this was as both Brigitte Fossey and Georges Poujouly do a remarkable job as Paulette and Michel. And not only are they the two youngest actors, they may well be the best two actors in the film (in my opinion). The first fifteen minutes of this film are (aside from some chessy stock war footage) truly gut wrenching. Which was completely unexpected coming from a film of this era and really set a tone for the trials and tribulations of poor little Paulette. Paulettes puppy Jocko was a real source of distress for me as well, although he is sort of the foundation (along with her parents) for what transpires later in the film. It was hard to get past some of his "scenes" without feeling uncomfortable. (Don't want to give too much away) While it does suffer from some predictable sub-plots and unintentional (era specific) cheesiness...the bulk of the film focuses on the innocence of children and speaks to their resilience. Though our two little scamps do go down a (slightly) dark trail, it is their love for each other that is the heart of the film. While this is no "Ponette" in terms of heartbreaking emotion...if the last ten minutes of this film dosen't tug on your heart strings...you may want to call a cardiologist and have your heart checked.
the description didn't prepare me for the amount of humor in the film. after a harrowing opening sequence, it follows a somewhat comical farm family in the french countryside, whose life goes blithely on while the younger children grow deeper into their obsession with death. ends rather abruptly. outstanding performance by the little girl who wasn't more than 5 at the time
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