Au Revoir Les Enfants wasn’t just one of Louis Malle’s best works, it also
remains as one of the finest war time dramas ever made. Interestingly, as the
name suggests, instead of being dominated by adults, the principal protagonist
here was a kid, with the story taking place at a Catholic boarding school in
Naxi-occupied France. Julien, one of the boarders there, is an 11-year old kid
who is outwardly cocky but a confused soul within grappling with his hormones and besotted with his pretty piano teacher (Irene Jacobs). Unbeknownst to him, the school’s seemingly strict and
orthodox principal has been hiding Jews in order to prevent their persecution
at the hands of their country’s ruthless occupiers. Jean, a shy and soft-spoken
new boarder, happens to be one such closet Jew residing under a false identity.
Though their acquaintance doesn’t begin on a soft pedal, before long Julien and
Jean become close friends; and though some initial complexities arise when Julien
inadvertently stumbles upon Jean’s true identity, their bond grows even
stronger after that. However, as expected, tragedy strikes before long, and the
film ends on a heart-wrenching note with the young but fast maturing Julien
finding himself a helpless bystander to history. Despite dealing with a subject
as devastating as this, Malle succeeded in keeping emotions under control, thus
giving a wonderfully understated feel to the proceedings. The film was
semi-autobiographical in nature and thus a deeply personal project for him, and
his carefully controlled emotions finally broke through in the heartbreaking
monologue of the protagonist that this wonderfully enacted coming-of-age film ended with.
Director: Louis Malle
Genre: Drama/War Drama/Coming-of-Age
Language: French
Country: France
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