Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This must have been the first movie I ever saw. It was showing at a small art house theater in New Haven Connecticut. Marie-Louise was mesmerizing to the eyes of a five year old. The Second World War affected the lives of our family and of all our neighbors but not in the cataclysmic way of families all over Europe. After more than 60 years this affecting wartime story of a child's escape by train, desperately trying to protect one cherished keepsake, is still powerfully vivid to me. The next two films I recall were Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North, and Man of Aran. I've recently seen both of those again. I wish Marie-Louise were available today.