Customer Reviews

The Wild Child [VHS]

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No-frills, pared-to-the-bone film by Francois Truffaut concerning the true story of a "savage" pubescent who was captured in a forest in France, living like a beast. The story takes place at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, but, rather curiously, Truffaut makes no political commentary about post-Terror France. All in all, this is a rather excellent idea, one to be emulated by other period-piece makers who clog their movies with "historical figures", famous events, or other data that don't have much to do with whatever story they're telling. Here, Truffaut sticks strictly to the point. (A miracle, considering this director's track-record!) Scarcely deviating from the source-material -- a journal by the doctor who took responsibility for the child, domesticated him, and attempted to train him up into a proper little Frenchman -- the director lets the story itself do all the work. The documentary-feel to the the movie brings many interesting themes, one by one, to the surface. Not the least of which is the relativism of "happiness". Bored of the endless lessons ("match this shape with this object", etc.), the boy runs off only to discover the forest has been spoiled for him forever by the doting doctor and his maid, by the delicious food, by the comfortable sleeping quarters, by the glasses of water and milk, and so on. He returns home willingly, but his face, upon hearing the doctor say, "Tomorrow, we resume our lessons," says it all. (This movie makes a thematic companion-piece to Nicolas Roeg's pessimistic *Walkabout*.) Also of note is that Truffaut reverts to black & white in this film (it was made in 1970), perhaps because he was concerned that the soft, lovely colors of the French countryside would encourage sentimentality. Indeed: the rather grim B&W photography, the clinical approach to the material, the serious implications underlying the story, and even his own wooden performance as the doctor, all combine to shoo away happy-ending seekers.

There may be another Francois Truffaut film about a boy coping with traumatic surroundings - 1959's "The 400 Blows" - which is far better known (and arguably his greatest), but an equally personal, affecting work is the film made 10 years later, "The Wild Child". Based on a true case of the late 1700's, it examines a doctor's attempts to educate a 10 year old mute boy found living among the elements in a French forest. Having been abandoned by his parents since infancy, the child must learn to adapt to civilized society and, through his efforts, forms a bond with the caring doctor. The film's fittingly archaic tone is actualized by the grainy black and white photography. Truffaut (in one of his few starring film roles) is natural as the resolute doctor; his earnest curiosity is appealing. Jean-Pierre Cargol, in the titular part, is particularly impressive; In what superficially appears to be a simple role (maladroit, non-human movements, dialogue basically limited to high-pitched grunts), his unmannered presence imbues the film with a near-documentarian authenticity. Another gratifying personal film from a leading director of the French New Wave.

"The Wild Child" was directed by Francois Truffaut and released in 1970. Truffaut has made some extraordinary movies, such as the Antoine Doinel series and "Jules et Jim." Unfortunately, this movie is given relatively little recognition, even though it truly is first-rate. Based on a true story, the movie concerns Victor, l'enfant sauvage - a boy found in the wilds of France. Truffaut cast himself as Dr. Jean Itard an 18th century physician who helps "tame" and educate the boy. Initially branded an "idiot" and uneducable by local townspeople, Victor is helped immensely by Dr. Itard through his humane treatment.

The story is fascinating and quite gripping. In addition, the movie raises interesting questions regarding "civilized" behavior and ethics, as it compares Victor to various people in the town. Although similar stories has been told elsewhere (e.g., Herzog's "Every Man for Himself"), Truffaut manages to put his own interesting spin on the tale. Further, his direction is masterful, and he won Best Director from the National Board of Review. The film was made in black and white, which adds great realism to the story - it looks terrific (It won Best Cinematography from the National Society of Film Critics). The only debit is the lack of DVD extras.

Before getting this DVD I'd only seen this film once before on TV sometime in the late 1970's. It was refreshing to see it once again particularly the prestine black and white form in which it is presented here.

The plot concerns the effort of a doctor, played by Truffaut himself, to educate a feral child that has been found in a forrest in a remote part of France. The story is told mainly through voice-over from a journal that we occasionally see Truffau writing and is supposedly based on true events that took place in the ninteenth centuary.

It is a beautifully observed film with understated and realistic performances from everyone involved in particular Jean-Pierre Cargol in the title roll as the boy who has lived in the forrest and become detached from society.

The strange thing about this film is it looks a lot older than it's 1969 production date and it is also strange that after two colour films Truffau went back to monochrome for this movie.

Truffau's doctor seems to be torn between emotional involvment with the child he eventually calls "Victor" and regarding his charge as a sociological experiment and that dilemma is at the heart of the film and is never really resolved even though his treatment of victor sometimes seems to owe more to Dr. Benjamin Spok than to ninteenth centuary child care techniques. Also when Victor is first examined by the doctor he comes to the conclusion that someone has at sometime tried to cut his throat but the doctor never tries to find out the identity of the attempted murderer or indeed the true identity of Victor himself. These aren't realy criticisms of the film so much as observations on how the film is presented although one thing that I would have welcomed would have been to have the voice- over in English as it is in the English versions of some of his other films; I find that having to read subtitles for both the dialoge and the voice-over is sometimes a bit waring and detracts from the excellent photography in this film.

In conclusion I feel this wonderful film is a neglected classic and I'm suprised that Hollywood hasn't remade it as it is such a great story.

Provocative, engaging, and moving, this movie is an absolute wonder - elegant, artful, with breathtaking use of Vivaldi's music, with amazing performance form Jeanne-Pierre Cargol as a Wild Child of the title, the young boy who was found living in the forest outside a village in 1790th France. Based on the book of the physician Itard (played by Francois Truffault) who took the boy in and tried to teach him how to live among humans. The contrast between the narrator's (Itard's) passionless voice and his growing emotional attachment to the boy is heartbreaking.

"The Wild Child" is my favorite Truffault's film - I think it is much stronger than his more popular "400 Blows". Highly recommended

The Wild Child has such a mild and subdued tone overall that at times it seems to muffle even the chaotic screeches and chimp-like antics of the wild boy, Victor. Vivaldi's airy refined baroque harmonies imbue the story with the quaint elegance of an old-fashioned miniature painting. Even though the movie was filmed in black and white, the pastoral scenes suggest a world of vibrant color, but a very domesticated one. Truffaut's portrayal of Dr. Itard, the boy's teacher is a paragon of cultured respectability and good intentions. So is that of Madame Guerin, the doctor's housekeeper, who becomes Victor's surrogate mother. This wild child who was found naked in a forest, abandoned at an early age, could neither speak nor focus his attention any more than an animal. Against this wildness was brought to bear the genteel but insistent demand of Dr. Itard that Victor learn to function according to the civilized standards of France,circa 1799. Needless to say, this engendered a conflict between the good doctor and his young charge. But even this rebellion amongst broken dishes and bitten hands still seems somewhat restrained from the out-and-out total war that you might expect from such a confrontation. And there is no indication given of how the doctor and his housekeeper managed with getting Victor housebroken. The point I'm trying to make is that this seems to be a somewhat idealized account of a true story that would probably have been a little messier in reality. But when Truffaut decided to make this movie, he was no doubt impelled by a motive other than just creating a factual documentary. Its a good exploration of what makes us human. This story makes it clear that the determining factor is our early and continuous association with others of our kind. Humanity is not instinctual but must be passed on through the generations by instruction and example. And although civilization is not perfect(shown by the persecution of Victor by other more normal children)if we are isolated from it, we cannot rise above the level of animals. Still, Victor retains a wistful longing for the open wild, and one of the more memorable ,less subdued scenes is of Victor swaying hypnotically on the doctor's lawn and seemingly worshiping the moon. So, civilization comes at the cost of forfeiting some of the wild, spontaneous joy of an untamed existence. The Wild Child, though it seems a trifle remote because of its refined style, is a very well-intentioned film and is refreshingly free of the crassness and vulgarity that seem to be obligatory in today's Hollywood fare.

The Wild Child is an absolutely enthralling film, based on the true story of a real-life boy "Tarzan". Discovered in a French Aveyron forest, in the late 1700s, "The Wild Child" was considered to be a deaf and dumb savage. But, young doctor Jean Itard (played by director Francois Truffaut) believes he can "civilize" the child and in a sense restore the humaity to the child. With tentative permission from the child's guardian "Institute for the Deaf and Dumb", Dr. Itard takes the savage boy into his home. Itard becomes the child's teacher and, ultimately, surrogate parent. The relationship that develops is beautiful as the boy's teacher steers the even course between a deep love and affection for the boy but also demanding results and using conditioning to modify the boys behaviour so he will hopefully be able to oneday face a less forgiving and understanding world.

Director/writer/co-star Truffaut's "L' Infant sauvage" is a minor masterpiece. It's beautifully photographed (by Nestor Almendros), thought-provoking, and emotionally captivating. The ending events are, in fact, an emotional roller-coaster. Truffaut elicits a tremendous performance from Jean-Pierre Cargol as the savage young Victor.Jean's preformance is fantastic as the boy really had to work hard playing a role where when he starts out as a naked boy with long hair living with wolves to a refines French boy with manner-the transformation is convincing. A great film for parents, teachers, and children and this film makes a great film.If you like this film I stongly recommend Nesmluvena Setkani. Nesmluvena Setkani is a hard to find film but I have seen it at CVMC and at Azov films and it sort of tells this same story from a science fiction point of view in the far future where a boy is found on a planet living wild.If you love the Wild Child you must be sure to see Nesmluvena Setkani.

The Wild Child is a film that resurfaces the true story of a young boy who is found living wild along the French countryside. The boy is like an animal in the sense he is untamed, self reliant, has a fear of humans, bares no clothing, and is accustomed to the elements of nature. The film begins with the capturing the eleven year old boy and his subsequent introduction to the civilized world. The child's fascinating story makes newspaper headlines in 1798 and among the many Parisians whose interest is sparked is that of a doctor played by Truffaut himself. Interested in studying the boy and discovering his potential, the doctor takes the young ruffian into his own home and begins a methodical series of learning experiments.

Truffaut uses this remarkable story and creates a wonderful film set in the late eighteenth century. He also avoids the all too common trap of over dramatizing a film set in this era and simply concentrates on the subject matter at hand - the discovery of a wild youth and his introduction into civilized world. The film is beautifully shot and Truffaut's simplistic narrative keeps the viewer's attention at all times. Although one of Truffaut's most unique films, The Wild Child is not quite a masterpiece, but has much merit and is definitely worth viewing.

I saw this movie years ago and immediately found it to be a movie worth watching; the story line is authentic in its historical facts and Vivaldi's music brings out the beauty of compassion when made reality among the least fortunate. I have seen it several times since.

Done in a low-key docu/feature style by a man with child's soul. The untamed warmness of Victor perfectly counterbalance the civilized coldness of Itard. Truffaut does not try to justify anything. One of his best.