Director: Louis Malle
Screenplay: Louis Malle
Starring: Gaspard Manesse, Raphaël Fejtö, Philippe Morier-Genaurd, Francine Ranette
Running Time: 104 minutes
Genre: Period drama
France, 1944: The country is occupied by Nazi Germany, and Julien Quentin (Manesse) is a student at a Catholic boarding school in a small town. The tedium of school life is soon interrupted by the arrival of three new boys, one of whom, the socially awkward Jean Bonnet (Fejtö) is in Julien's class and dormitory. Jean soon becomes the target of bullying by the other pupils, and he and Julien dislike each other initially. However, after some time, Julien becomes increasingly fascinated with the bright, but strange, Jean, and the two strike up a tentative but genuine friendship. Julien eventually learns Jean's secret. His real name is Jean Kippelstein and he, and the other two boys, are Jewish, who have been granted asylum by the strict but compassionate priest who runs the school, to keep them safe from the Nazis.
This is an autobiographical film, detailing events from Louis Malle's own childhood in occupied France. Julien Quentin stands in for the young Malle. It's a beautifully made film, with great performances from the young cast. The realities of the occupation are largely kept away from the students, who live their lives in the school largely protected form the daily realities of Nazis and their collaborators, until it literally knocks on their door. It shows the banality of evil, and also everyday bravery and compassion in both active and passive resistance. The conclusion however is quietly devastating.
The film features the film debut of Irène Jacob, who would later star in The Double Life of Veronique (1991) and Three Colours: Red (1994), in a small role as a piano teacher. It also indirectly influenced Quentin Tarantino, while working as a clerk in a video store a co-worker had trouble pronouncing the title of the film and burst out with "I'm sick of these reservoir dogs!"
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