Unable to process or even understand the concept of grief, Paulette and Michel engage in larcenous activities. Related to Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits’): Xavier Dolan Picks 10 Greatest Films of all Time Paulette is strangely obsessed with death and she channels this obsession into Michel. Rene Clement, however, gradually delves beneath the angelical exterior to reveal the depth of the child’s trauma. The girl’s brimming eyes and doll-like attire is the very definition of angelic. But these petty problems of the adults largely play in the background as the narrative is mostly concerned with the strong bond between Michel and Paulette. All such narrative threads might seem too familiar and schmaltzier. Nevertheless, the eldest son of Gouard and eldest daughter of Dolle are frequently seen rolling in the hay. The Dolles also have a longstanding feud with their farming neighbors, The Gouards. The other members in the family include two daughters and a son, who has so far dodged the draft. Papa and mama Dolle (Lucien Hubert and Suzanne Courtal) reluctantly shelter Paulette, although their immediate concern is the waning health of their elder son, Georges (Jacques Marin), who is kicked by a wild horse just as Paulette arrives at Dolle farm. She runs into nine-year-old Michel Dolle (Georges Poujouly), a peasant boy who brings her to his family’s farm. The frightened girl wanders around the countryside, carrying the lifeless body of her dog. A squadron of German fighter planes descends upon them, instantly killing Paulette’s parents and dog. Five-year-old Paulette (Brigitte Fosey) holds her pet dog as she moves with her parents, crossing an old stone bridge. Set in the year 1940, a large group of Parisian civilians flee to the French countryside. But the lyricism and astute psychological details in the narrative were later developed for a full-length feature (legend says that it was popular comedian Jacques Tati who convinced Clement to make this decision).įorbidden Games opens with one of the most horrific yet bloodless sequences in cinema. Even then, The Forbidden Games was conceived as a short film. In 1947, he published it as a novel (The Secret Game) and it didn’t receive much attention in France.ĭirector Rene Clement and his screenwriting partners, Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost (with the assistance of Boyer), turned the novel once again into a script, which eventually caught the attention of producer Robert Dorfmann (who later made notable films like The Great Silence, Le Cercle Rouge, Tristana, Trafic).
Francois Boyer originally wrote the story as a screenplay, which due to its somber mood was virtually ignored by the French producers. Yet the project had to pass lot of excruciating hurdles before getting made.
Forbidden Games was a critical and commercial success in its time, receiving Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival. Scaled to perfectly fit the intimate view of children, the film explores the frail nature of humanity during wartime. Rene Clement’s Forbidden Games (‘Jeux interdits’, 1952) - based on writer Francois Boyer’s novel - is one of the greatest films ever made on grief, war, and loss of childhood innocence.
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