A classic

It is probably one of the most heralded movies made by Louis Malle so I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film festival back in those days and it definitely deserved this prize. 10 years before, Louis Malle made another movie about France during WWII called 'Lacombe Lucien'. Personally, I did prefer 'Lacombe Lucien' because it was more original, a dark really unique view of this time period in France. This movie was more a crowd pleaser but it was still really good nonetheless. Apparently, even though it wasn't really autobiographical, it was still based on Malle's youth memories. Eventually, even though the whole thing was not really original, it was a very well made drama, probably the best in its genre. Indeed, I really loved the understated directing and the children were just downright amazing. Indeed, it follows more or less the rules of the formulas (an outsider comes to a school, at first there is some apprehension but then, of course, they become friends before the ultimate separation) but the characters and the emotions displayed felt really genuine. To conclude, it is a great WWII classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

8/10