Well Deserved Praise

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This film more than any others I have seen gives me a more complete understanding of the terror that was life in Occupied France,and part of my Family history. The lives of the Priests and others who hid Jews were a reality.This movie brings that reality to my own eyes. My Grandmother was born to a French Socialist family from Nice (Many Italian families,lived on the French Mediterranean Coast and Savoy) who sheltered my Grandfather,who was an American agent,spying for years on Mussolini and French Fascists,predecessors the Vichy Traitors. They also hid many Italian Jewish families fleeing deportment to German Concentration camps. To hide Jews was to put you and your immediate family in horrible danger of deportation and internment in a Camp. Before watching this film what I had was the stories of my Grandparents,Aunts and Uncle who were young at the time.FDR pulled my Family out of France in 1938,since Noni had married my Grandfather and by that time had 4 children and my Mother on the way. All had been exposed and the chance of their assassination,or deportation to Italy or worse Germany was very real.Louis Malle deserves credit for bringing the unspeakable terror and heroic efforts of normal French folk who outside the Resistance who heroically hid many Jewish families and Socialist Resistors from the North and Paris from Vichy traitors,Nazis,and Italian Fascisti.It shed a light for me on the actual situation my Mother's family lived with daily. He is to be commended especially for his treatment of the Catholic Clergy in the same situation. Many died in the Camps for sheltering Jews,since his usual treatment of the Clergy is often not so sympathetic.A great and realistic portrayal by Malle of everyday people caught up within a Fascist Regime and very illuminating for the present time here in the United States. Who knows what we will have to do to do considering the course of the present political situation. Gives me pause. Very sensitive and truthful.

I first saw the film in my high school French class and remembered it to be a touching drama based on friendship, hope and despair. During World War II, Julien and his brother Francois stay at a Catholic boarding school, where they, along with the priests, hide their Jewish friend Jean from the Nazis. The cinematography of the film is brilliant as it captures the aura and atmosphere of 1940s France, and the horror, fear and despair of war. Unlike many war films, which depict battles and violence, this film captures the backgrounds of these youngsters' lives and describes what it is like to live in an era of war. The trauma war inflicts on their lives are also powerfully depicted.A solid plot, though slow at times, with superb acting and steady-paced drama, this movie is truly a work of art and fans of the drama genre of movies should give it a watch.Grade B

Goodye Children is the Engilsh translation of the title and director Louie Malle has created one of the best World War II dramas ever made. It is based on his childhood memories at a Catholic boarding school.Julien is a spoiled rich kid who is introduced to three new students, one of them, Jean, is very quiet, and his fellow classmates shun him. One night, Julien wakes up and sees Jean praying while wearing a yarmulke. It turns out that the school is hiding Jewish kids from the Nazis. The two slowly become friends, and when Julien's parents visit they bring Jean with them to a high class restaurant where German officers are dining. A patron is expelled during an ugly racist argument.A cook at the school is caught stealing food and selling it on the black market. In order to save himself he informs the Gestapo of the presence of Jewish hideaways and Jean is taken away. The priest in charge was also put in a camp by the Germans. The final part of the film is devastating and Malle has done the true story a great justice by this work.

Despite being made in the late 1980s, this film watches very well today and is set to be a timeless classic.The production values are fair and the scripting becomes a little plain at times, though the unfolding of a friendship in a boarding school environment is sublime, highly character driven and commands your undivided attention.But more than that - this film captures an era where ordinary life was turned on its head in the shadow of German occupation. Being neither a war or holocaust film, it delves into the plight of young Jews and those of a different faith that put themselves at risk to try and save them from the Nazis.The closing 20-30 minutes of the film is remarkably moving, yet remains wholesome and understated. European cinema at its best is something to behold, providing a strong reflection on the "human" character and delivering spellbinding, raw emotional depth while maintaining story line simplicity. Au Revior Les Enfants is truly a brilliant film.