Au revoir les enfants

Louis Malle’s classic film, based on his own experiences as a young boy in a boarding school during the German Occupation, remains pivotal viewing today, over twenty years after its initial release.

1944: Julien Quentin must unwillingly leave his mother and attend a boarding school run by Father Jean and his priests. A high-achieving student, Julien is unnerved by the arrival of the equally brilliant Jean Bonnet. Julien’s suspicions lead him to uncovering Jean’s secret: his real name in Kippelstein and he is being hidden by the priests along with several other Jewish boys. Hostility between the two boys soon turns to friendship but the tenuity of their happy existence is consistently threatened by the surrounding Nazi presence.

Against a looming historical backdrop, Malle evokes the time of childhood in an authentic and energetic manner akin to Vigo or Trufffaut. Gaspard Manesse’s (Julien) and Raphaël Fejtö’s (Jean) performances astound in this impeccably shot, scored and scripted work. The spectator cannot but help invest him or herself and the film packs an emotional punch that has moved vast numbers of them, both in France and abroad.

Au revoir les enfants was nominated for the best foreign film Oscar, received the Golden Lion at Venice, swept the board at the Césars and was awarded the coveted Prix Louis-Delluc for best French film in 1987. After a 10 year stint in the US, the film marked Louis Malle’s triumphant return to filmmaking in France and cemented his position as one of the country’s cinematic greats.