Customer Reviews

Forbidden Games

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In French the title of this movie is perhaps appropriate, but in English it is misleading. What is "forbidden" about the games that the children play has nothing to do with sex (the usual designation of "forbidden" in English). Instead what 11-year-old Michel Dolle (Georges Poujouly) and 5-year-old Paulette (Brigitte Fossey) do that is forbidden is they steal crosses, from the cemetery, from the top of a horse-drawn hearse--Michel even attempts to steal the rector's crucifix. They do this as a way of coping with death. The crosses are for dead animals, her dog, some chicks, a worm, etc. that they have buried in a little plot under the mill near a stream.

But this is not a horror show or anything like it. Instead, René Clément's celebrated tale of childhood love is actually a strongly religious anti-war movie of incredible delicacy, laced with humor and poignancy.

It begins with an air attack on a stream of people (presumably Parisians running from Paris) along a country road trying to escape the encroachment of the Nazi army. Little Paulette is in a car with her parents and her little dog, Jock. They are gunned down by a German fighter plane. Paulette's parents and the dog are killed. Paulette is left alone carrying the dead dog in her arms. Eventually she wanders onto a farm where she is met by Michel who takes an instant liking to her and becomes her protector and her friend. His is a peasant family of farmers who really don't need another mouth to feed, but they take her in. She is so clean, they exclaim and she smells so good. She is from Paris. She has just undergone the most horrible terror, the death of her parents and her dog, and now she must somehow come to grips with that loss. What transpires is a child's interpretation of the healing power of religious ritual and symbol.

Clément uses the world of the children as a counterpoint to the war in the background and as a gentle satire on the church. The children make a game of religion and in doing so demonstrate the healing power of ritual and sacrament.

What makes this totally original and deeply symbolic film work is the uncluttered and naturalistic vision of Clément and his wonderful direction of his two little stars. Fossey in particular is amazing. She is completely unaffected and natural, an adorable little girl suddenly alone in the world who must make a new world for herself against great odds. Her sense of personal integrity and her strong will makes us believe that somehow she will succeed. Incidentally, Fossey's performance here in conveying the creative world of the child should be compared with 4-year-old Victoire Thivisol's performance in Jacques Doillon's Ponette (1996), as should the skill and vision of the directors. Both are deeply religious films that rely on the pre-socialized world of the child to show us our own spirituality.

Also very good is Poujouly as the farm boy who loves little Paulette and shows that love by assuming the psychological and spiritual responsibility for helping her to overcome the tragedy of being so brutally orphaned. He is himself experiencing a pre-adolescent coming of age, a transition exemplified by rebellion and a growing independence of mind and spirit. Poujouly is intense and fully engaged, so much so that in one scene we can see him mouth in unison Paulette's lines in preparation for his time to speak. Clément left this in perhaps because he knew it would further characterize Michel's intensity.

This film won the Grand Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1952 and an Academy Award the same year as best foreign film. It is one of the wonders of the French cinema, a masterpiece of the human spirit not to be missed. See it for the children, whose strength of character can inspire us all.

My mom once told me about a film she watched as a child where she said she cried and cried and had to be led out of the movie theater. Years later, we watched Rene Clement's "Forbidden Games" on tv and she turned to me and said, "Omigod, that's the film." The film has perhaps one of the most shattering endings ever filmed. But the whole entire film is infused with unbearable sadness: what happens to children who are heartbroken?
Paulette (Brigitte Fossey, in an almost disturbingly realistic performance) is orphaned during a Nazi war raid. She clutches onto her dead puppy. Paulette ends up stumbling upon a rather provincial family living on a farm, and quickly forms a tight bond with a slightly older boy named Michel (Georges Poujoly). The two youngsters soon develop a morbid ritual of building a pet cemetary. They steal crosses from the local cemetary for this ritual. The symbolism is clear -- Paulette, who has lost everything, becomes obsessed with death, because death is all she understands. The bond between Michel and Paulette is touching and painful at the same time -- the younger Paulette clings to Michel because she has nothing left.
Forbidden Games is one of the most powerful anti-war films ever made. By focusing on children, Clement emphasizes the horrible toll war makes on the innocents -- families, children, even beloved pets. Brigitte Fossey as I mentioned earlier is simply astounding as Paulette. Round-face and blond, she is no less cute than Shirley Temple, but her face expresses more fear and heartbreak than 99% of adult actors. And the ending ... well, if you're not moved, than get rid of that stone and go shop for a heart.
The dvd has an alternate beginning and ending, which wisely was dropped. If you see the film, you'll know what I mean.

Forbidden Games deals with the reaction of a couple of children -Paullette, who losses both her parents as the consequence of an air attack, and Michel, the youngest of a peasant family in which Paullete finds refuge- in the context of the horrors of war, in this case, the second world war, in 1940.

The movie (unlike others dealing with children and war, like "Germany, Year Zero") does not portray a miserable and deadly environment. Certainly, war is sensed all the time, and the danger of falling bombs is ever present. However, the movie is set in the seemingly peaceful countryside, not among ruins and combats. That doesn't diminish the tragic context of the movie at all. Because we have witnessed what Paullette has gone through. And although Michel doesn't seem to have had any kind of traumatic loss, he's old enough to know what's going on, and what Paullette is suffering. Maybe, this explains the way Michel wants to please Paullette, in her way to direct her pain. Their game of stealing crosses to complete a "big" animal cemetery could be seen as a morbid and macabre play by chlidren spoiled by the war, transformed into monsters. However, we never question the innocence that remains in the main characters as children that they are: what's macabre is not what they do, it's the war that they are witnessing. They just channel the influence of war and its implicit dead without malice.

Whether this topic is analized as the simplicity of an ill influenced child's play, or through any psychological or mental connotations or meanings that could be applied, Forbidden Games is still, even today, a very original piece of cinema, that would hardly reach the same meaning if it's filmed today, without the context and recent history that influenced it back in 1952. Anyway, nowadays, any director that would try to make a movie like this would find himself being very cautious, and I think he would end up doing something too tragic or too simplistic. René Clement did the right thing with the material that was handed to him, and the story and its meaning is so powerful and well executed that can still be enjoyed today. And what seems to be an open ending, is useful to reminds us that in war, for children there are no happy ending stories.

Unlike what one might think about a movie made in 1952 and with children as the lead actors, acting is flawless. I said that we never question the innocence of the children, and that is due in great part to the looks and great work of Briggitte Fossey and Georges Poujoly, whom give great credibility to that premise.

Criterion Collection has made available this magnificent movie on DVD for the first time. As usual, it's a commendable work of restoration in many senses: in the sense of allowing more people -like me- to get to know this movie, and in the sense of giving it the best quality that the latest techniques allow.

The original French soundtrack is included, along with the english dubbed, both of them monophonic. Of course, english subtitles are included.

As Bonus materials we have alternate opening and ending, that would have given the movie a different context, less realistic, if you will. But I cannot help but think that they also could have given the story some more contrasting connotations. Also, there are interviews with the director alone and him with Briggitte Fossey (both from the 60's) and an interview with the actress in 2.001.

Unlike some other Criterion releases, there is no additional track with an expert shedding some light on aspects that might be of interest, but a little printed essay is included in a booklet.

Evocative b/w 1954 anti-war film by the French film master Rene Clement. The child actors in the film bring the horrors of war to us in a way that few blood and gore battlefied anti-war movies of today ever could possibly hope to convey. And the film contains a powerfully emotional ending that will be indelibly imprinted into your conscience forever.

I won't write a review detailing the plot, that has already been done here. This movie is a masterpiece. The child actors are sensational, the directing superb. Even the musical score is hauntingly beautiful (Jeux Interdits by Narciso Yepes.....I bought the song off itunes for my ipod.)

I read a review by Roger Ebert (he gave it a stunning review, of course) and he said it is not a tear-jerker. I disagree, the last scene made me cry....that lovely little girl Paulette calling out for Micel, with tears welling in her eyes....how can you not break down watching that? I am getting emotional just writing about it now.

The DVD is loaded with wonderful extras, including an alternate ending, interviews, etc...

All I can say is that this is one of the greatest films OF ALL TIME. You simply must see it. a CLASSIC MASTERPIECE. BRAVO!!!!!

Given the task of rating the 25 best movies of all time, I would include Rene Clements "Forbidden Games" along with "The Seventh Seal" and 'La Strada". I was knocked off my feet by the movie.

1940 France...the Parisians are fleeing the Nazi bombardment and the parents of a sensitive girl are both killed by the Nazi planes. Her dog is another victim. Wandering aimlessly, she is befriended by a country family and particularly by a slightly older boy who forges a "love" if not a real attachment to this little girl.

To give meaning to her loss, to mourn, to comfort her dead pet, to avoid confronting the enormity of the events, the girl buries her dog and then buries other animals next to the the dead animal...stealing bits and pieces of gravestones or crosses from a cemetery. Her accomplice is the young farm boy. Eventually, they are discovered and separated.

What are the "Forbidden Games". Of course, stealing from other graves is a forbidden game...but the war and intolerance and narrow mindedness of the adults is the "other forbidden game" After all the second "game" created the first.

Yes, this is an anti-war film...but it is far more than that. It's a piercing psychological examination of the effect of war and parental loss on a young child. I thought the film was exceptional in every way - the acting, the molding of music to events, the photography, the truth of the picture. It is the equal of Hitchcock, the equal of Kurosawa, the equal of Kubrick's best pictures. No film addict - particularly someone who values foreign films - can complete his or her collection without this masterpiece of cinema.

Brigitte Fossey - the young girl - gives one of the best child performances in film, as does the older boy, George Poujuly. The director (and his wife) who helped to shape the film are to be commended for their ability to get such exceptional performances from ones so young. In France, Brigitte Fossey was awarded "best actress" - an achievement unmatched by any other five year old - Oscars or otherwise.

5 stars, ten stars, this is a picture that changes the way we look at the world.

I first saw this by accident, as one often does, late one night on telivision( yes..proof that something worthwhile has been shown on tv) and it really blew us away..a Beautiful little film about a little girl orphaned by the war and adopted by a farming family.She delelopes a very close frienship with the young boy of this family...and..well lets not spoil the rest...it is a really profound and moving film that has stayed with me ever since i saw it..yes, we loved and have been dying to see it ever since..iam so glad criterion are doing it..suber

Hollywood film critic, Leonard Maltin, nails it with this movie. The child stars of "Forbidden Games" (Juex Interdits) absolutely blew me away! The acting was so superb! The movie was SUPERB! Although a war drama, I think that it was a great comedy film, too. The two child actors provided the best lines--and the scene where Paulette (played by Brigette Fossey) buried and blessed her deceased dog was one of the most outrageous and funniest things I had ever seen. The ending, however, was tragic and very sad. I almost cried.

As for the music, I loved listening to Narciso Yepes's version of the enchanting Spanish folk melody, "Romance d'Amour." It was a delight to hear throughout the entire film. (By the way, just a correction: Yepes didn't play with a lute; it was a classical guitar!). And though I really enjoyed Yepes's playing, I still prefer Christopher Parkening's rendition of this beautiful tune. His musical interpretation of the piece is exquisite!

The DVD bonus features were a wonderful surprise--especially the archival interviews with Rene Clement and Brigitte Fossey, in addition to the alternate opening and ending scenes of the film. I especially love the comment Clement made during his 1963 interview. When asked if he liked actors, he said simply, "Yes, when they're not actors. Those are the great actors."

"Forbidden Games" will definitely be considered as Christmas gifts for both family and friends. I highly recommend watching it. Ultimately, this is one cinema classic you don't want to miss!

Death, an abstract concept with much mystery surrounding it, has countless people pondering what happens next. In the shadow of war, death becomes a tool of success, as the body count races towards an obscene amount while it augments fear in those who try to survive. However, in the light of a child's naïve understanding of the world, death has an oblivious meaning, as young children have just begun to discover their own existence. Thus, it is a consensus that children should be spared the agonizing awareness of death, and many children are consequently sheltered from the notion of death and other dark themes. Yet, director René Clément purposely shatters the life of innocence by portraying the taboo topic in Forbidden Games, as death exposes itself to a young girl in a close and personal manner amidst the Nazi's Blitzkrieg on Paris in June 1940.

The acoustics of a lute plucking an ancient and playful tune accompanied by a hand thumbing through the opening credits in a book launches Forbidden Games. It triggers the atmosphere of an innocent fairy tale, but it is not a fairy tale in the modern sense. Instead, the film delivers a darker and much grimmer story similar to those of the Brothers Grimm. As the final page of the book is turned, a caravan of cars, people, and other vehicles in a great hurry struggles to cross a river on a narrow bridge when a large number of Luftwaffe's death messengers begin to attack the escaping Parisians. In the middle of the fleeing convoy, a family with the daughter Paulette (Brigitte Fossey) and the dog Jock are stuck, as the car just broke down. In panic, people push the broken car out the way, as the father and mother witness their situation worsening.

With the car broken and off the road, the family has no other choice than to continue on foot across the bridge while the aerial war machines attempt to kill everything that moves. Amidst the chaos, Jock runs off crossing the bridge with the little Paulette chasing him. In terror, both the mother and father run after Paulette, and halfway across the bridge the parents throws themselves over Paulette protecting her from the bullets cutting through the air. When Paulette opens her eyes, both parents rest peacefully next to her on the dusty gravel road, as they have been pierced by large caliber machinegun shots. Carefully, Paulette studies her mom, as if she were sleeping. It is evident that the situation is foreign to her. The scene's culmination arrives when she notices Jock twitching uncharacteristically; as the poor dog's nerves send their final twitches through its limbs.

The bridge scene presents powerful and gripping symbolism in multiple ways. For example, the scene suggests that Paulette is still unaware of life's mysteries, as when she reaches the bridge's midpoint. However, it is clear that she notices that there is something unusual with the situation, as she begins her journey across. Her reaction to the situation indicates that something new is happening, as she appears somewhat stunned to the gruesome event. It is not until a small wagon pulled by the old man picks up Paulette that she learns about Jock's condition when an old woman tells her that the dog is dead. Innocently, she responds, "It's dead." as the woman tosses the corpse into the river underneath the bridge. It is seems as if she has heard about death before, but is also apparent that she oblivious of the meaning of death. All the audience can do is sit and watch in sorrow, as the little girl fetches the dead Jock out of the shallow river.

Many people usually discuss death with their children at some point in their lives, but when Paulette recently became an orphan, she no longer has the luxury of being educated in the mysteries of life by her parents. Instead, she embraces the departed Jock while her footsteps aimlessly lead her into the woods. More symbolism surfaces here through the aimless wandering in the forest, which suggests that she is facing some confusion in the new situation. Nonetheless, the wandering also symbolically implies that she is wrestling with the idea of death. Her drifting eventually leads her to the farm boy Michel Dolle (Georges Poujouly) who brings her to his family.

In a crude and tactless manner, the poor Dolle family welcomes Paulette, as they seem more troubled with the basic needs than providing shelter for the little girl. Nonetheless, the Dolles takes the little girl in, as they quickly begin to school her in the farm life. It is a lifestyle that many might find unusual; some might even go as far as advocating that it is outlandish. It is a straightforward no-nonsense approach without any pretense of what ultimately will happen to all living beings, as death belongs to the everyday routine on a farm. It is not that the family is not concerned with death, but how they deal with it. The family's pragmatic approach to death feels awkwardly insensitive that brings thoughts of people being uncivilized, selfish, and immoral. Much of this sentiment emerges through the son Michel when he provides Paulette with what she desires.

The combination of catechism, word of mouth by the Dolles, and Michel's willingness to support of Paulette's newly acquired ideas begin to form a bizarre concept of death. Meanwhile, there is no safeguarding of what might seem appropriate and inappropriate, which allows the Michel and Paulette do whatever they want. It leads to the two starting a morbid game that has its roots in Paulette's unguided discovery of death. She has developed her own idea that Jock should not rest alone in the little grave. Without much thought, Michel provides all the help he can, as his childish infatuation with Paulette motivates him to do whatever it takes to ease her newly found agony. It leads the story into a ghastly direction that stains the basic notion of children's innocence, but it also provides an intriguing proposition of how children learn from their environment.

René Clément breaks the taboo of death and children by telling this story, but he does it tactfully and brilliantly through clever symbolism and remarkable scene framing. What truly emerges in the film is the corruption of innocence, a concept that Clément shows through ignorance and feverish emotions. In addition, he proposes that children display their view of the world through play. Furthermore, children learn from those around them, as they begin to reflect on their own experiences. Ultimately, it provides the foundation of a child's world perspective, and they begin to form their own ideas with or without guidance - sometimes these children are misled.

"Forbidden Games" was never a film I wanted to see. I didn't know anything about it, but I saw it on video store shelves a couple times. This movie is a perfect example of why a person shouldn't judge a "book" by its cover. The cover is, usually, the first thing someone notices about a film and the cover of "Forbidden Games" doesn't scream "see me!" Too bad, because it is (as you probably already know) a masterpiece. Opening in France, in 1940, during the German blitzkrieg of Paris;
We watch as hundreds of people flee for the countryside. Then we see a young girl named Paulette, whose parents are hurrying her along. She's too preoccupied with getting her dog Jock. As planes fly overhead, Paulette chases after the dog, which leads to the death of both her parents and her dog. After the corpse of the dog is thrown into a river, Paulette retrieves it and wanders into the countryside home of the Dolle family. There she meets a child a few years older than her named Michel, whose family has enough problems that they are hesitant to bring in a child. After all, Michel's brother Georges was just kicked by a horse and lies in bed dying. But the father of the Dolle family allows Paulette to stay. The title "Forbidden Games" refers to what begins to happen midway through the film between Michel and Paulette. After burying her dog, Paulette becomes obsessed with burying other animals around him. She enlists Michel's help in doing so, as well as retrieving crosses for the burial sites no matter how he gets them. Death is the theme of the film and it is a theme that is hammered into the ground. Anyone who watches this film should realize that it's a great film, but that doesn't always mean you'll enjoy it. After all, a lot of great films aren't necessarily entertaining. This film, however, is entertaining. If Jean Renoir's "Grand Illusion" was the most important film about World War I, than "Forbidden Games" is easily the most important about World War II. It's a wonderful, beautifully photographed, and superbly acted film that is largely unseen today. I urge you, if you're reading this and have not seen the film, to go see it.

GRADE: A