Jeux interdits (1952)

Director:

René Clément

Writers:

Jean Aurenche (dialogue)
Jean Aurenche (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 December 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

War...and how it affects the lives of our children

Plot:

A young French girl orphaned in a Nazi air attack is befriended by the son of a poor farmer, and together they try to come to terms with the realities of death.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Cemetery | 1940s | Fleeing | Insect

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins

Cast

Georges Poujouly	...	Michel Dolle
Brigitte Fossey	...	Paulette
Amédée	...	Francis Gouard
Laurence Badie	...	Berthe Dolle
Madeleine Barbulée	...	Red Cross Nun (end of film)
Suzanne Courtal	...	Madame Dolle
Lucien Hubert	...	Dolle, the Father
Jacques Marin	...	Georges Dolle
Pierre Merovée	...	Raymond Dolle
Violette Monnier
Denise Péronne	...	Jeanne Gouard (as Denise Perronne)
Fernande Roy
Louis Saintève	...	Priest
André Wasley	...	Gouard, the Father

Also Known As:

Forbidden Games (USA)
The Secret Game
Apigorevmena paihnidia (Greece) [el]
Brincadeiras Proibidas (Portugal) (original subtitled version) [pt]
Brinquedo Proibido (Brazil) [pt]
Förbjuden lek (Sweden) [sv]
Forbudte lege (Denmark) [da]
Giochi proibiti (Italy) [it]
Jeux interdits (Belgium: French title) [fr]
Juegos prohibidos (Spain) [es]
Kielletyt leikit (Finland) [fi]
Verboden spelen (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Verbotene Spiele (West Germany) [de]

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-8 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Aiguines, Var, France

Company:

Silver Films

Trivia:

Brigitte Fossey's first film.

Goofs:

Continuity: Father Dolle drinks the same glass of wine twice, or does not pour the second glass. The level of wine in the bottle does not appear to change.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Le fils de Gascogne (1995)

Better late than never...

I don't know why I never managed to see "Les Jeux interdits" until tonight, an August evening in 2003, more than a half-century after the film's release. I'd heard about it ever since I started studying French in college in 1958.

The amount of comedy in the film surprised and pleased me. I'd always had the impression the film was morbid and creepy. I didn't find it so; poignant, occasionally disturbing, even heart-wrenching, but not morbid at all. The acting by the two children playing Michel and Paulette is the most amazing pair of performances I've ever seen. I learned from postings here that the film was made under far less than optimal conditions, but the flaws that do show up in the film, chief among them the abrupt and unsatisfactory ending, are so negligible in contrast to the overwhelming emotional and acting values throughout, that I rated this film a ten, the first time I've reached for the highest number.

I cannot imagine anything finer than this film, whose images will probably haunt me for the rest of my life.