Goodbye, Children (Au revoir, les enfants) (Auf Wiedersehen, Kinder) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
by Louis Malle
![Goodbye, Children (Au revoir, les enfants) (Auf Wiedersehen, Kinder) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]](/images/Goodbye-Children-Au-revoir-les-enfants-Auf-Wiedersehen-Kinder-NON-USA-FORMAT-PAL-Reg-4-Import-Australia-B000IHVFTU-L.jpg)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Director: Louis MallePrimary Contributor: Philippe Morier-Genoud
Primary Contributor: Fran?ois Berl?and
Primary Contributor: Peter Fitz
Primary Contributor: Gaspard Manesse
Commentary: CategoryFrance
Commentary: CategoryArthouse
Commentary: CategoryJewishThemes
DVD: Region Code 4
Audio: French (Unknown); English (Subtitled)
Format: Import, PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen
Running Time: 104 minutes
Studio: AV Channel
Movie Reviews of Goodbye, Children (Au revoir, les enfants) (Auf Wiedersehen, Kinder) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Movie Review: Prey for the children...
Summary: 5 Stars
A deeply rich and moving film, `Au Revoir, les Enfants' (translated `Goodbye, Children' in English) is one of the most harrowing films to be released in recent years (well, 1987 isn't really recent). Dealing with World War II and the discrimination against the Jews in France, `Au Revoir, les Enfants' is as tragic as it is enlightening and is definitely one of the finest films to ever broach to subject, especially from a child's perspective.
The film follows young Julien Quentin as he befriends a new student, Jean Bonnet. It is apparent right off the bat that Bonnet is not like the other boys, but that doesn't stop Julien from forming a bond with him. As the secrets behind Bonnet's stay at the school are revealed (it isn't too much of a spoiler to reveal that Bonnet is indeed Jewish and he is being hidden at the school by the priests that run it) then the safe haven these boys reside in soon becomes fear inspiring as Jean is being hunted by the French collaborators.
The film is beautifully shot by director Louis Malle (who also wrote the film based on his own personal experiences). The fact that the film was inspired by actual events helps aid in giving the film an honest tone, a feeling of purity even within all of the tragedy. This film glides over our eyes and fits comfortably with us as we take it in effortlessly. The film is richly shot and masterfully constructed. Technically, there is not a thing wrong here. The musical score, the scripting, the cinematography (such rich depictions of the boys living arrangements; all too often we forget that there is more to cinematography than beautiful landscapes) and the brilliant acting all contribute to the films many layers of breathtaking beauty.
The two young stars of the film, Gaspard Manesse and Raphael Fejto, are wonderfully cast in this film; each boy giving his character so much life and realistic humanity. Manesse plays Julien with this curiosity so prevalent in boys his age and manages to capture the impact of his surroundings, balancing his natural impulses with his manipulated ones. Fejto adds so many layers of mystery to Bonnet, the fear and repression that haunt his every movement. He delivers a truly believable and heart stopping performance. Francine Racette has a few splendid scenes as Julien's mother and Francois Negret is devilishly good as Joseph, the young boy who befriends and then betrays Julien.
The film is a very poignant look, not only at the Nazi rule, but at the impressionable state of our youth. As the boys within the school are conditioned by the world around them, by their parents and their teachers they are forced to find themselves within all the pressure to conform to each and every one else's idea of who they should become. They hate who everyone else hates, they love who everyone else loves and they condone what everyone else condones, but when they take themselves out of their own skin they are given the opportunity to actually choose for themselves who and what they are going to believe. Julien makes that choice, and it is seen on his face as the Gestapo drags away his friend.
That final frame, that face, that expression says it all.
This is a film of major importance, one that should be seen by all (it's of such importance I would recommend this to schools as well) for it sheds light on the effect that these tragic events have had on everyone, not just adults and parents but children as well.
Youth cannot protect us from the horrors of society; if anything, it makes us more susceptible to it.
Summary of Goodbye, Children (Au revoir, les enfants) (Auf Wiedersehen, Kinder) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: French (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Subtitles), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SYNOPSIS: Gaspard Manesse plays Julien, an 11-year-old Catholic boarding-school resident during the Nazi occupation of France. He is witness to the courage of his instructors, who defy the German's anti-Semitic policies and quietly enroll Jewish children into the school under assumed names. Manesse befriends Jean (Raphael Fejto), one of these "instant Catholics." The refugee children are betrayed by a hostile ex-employee of the school, forcing Julien once more to be a bystander to history as Jean and the teachers are arrested. For this return to the French film industry after several years in the US, Louis Malle purged himself of his own bitter memories of life under the thumbs of the Nazis. SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu,Art House & International DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Beautiful French Cinema
A Very Long EngagementRelease date: 2005-07-12; DVD
Best price: $6.96
Price in other shops:
C.R.A.Z.Y.WELLSPRING/GENIUS; Release date: 2007-02-20; DVD
Best price: $16.81
Price in other shops:
AmelieTAUTOU,AUDREY; Release date: 2002-07-16; DVD
Best price: $10.72
Price in other shops:
The Chorus (Les Choristes)Release date: 2005-05-03; DVD
Best price: $20.74
Price in other shops:
Bon VoyageRelease date: 2004-08-17; DVD
Best price: $15.22
Price in other shops:
Un Coeur en Hiver ( A Heart in Winter )Koch International; Release date: 2006-11-07; DVD
Best price: $13.41
Price in other shops:
Jean De Florette / Manon of the Spring (MGM World Films)TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-07-24; Published: 1987; DVD
Best price: $10.28
Price in other shops:
Murmur of the Heart - Criterion CollectionRelease date: 2006-03-28; DVD
Best price: $21.45
Price in other shops:
![Goodbye, Children (Au revoir, les enfants) (Auf Wiedersehen, Kinder) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ] Image](/images/Goodbye-Children-Au-revoir-les-enfants-Auf-Wiedersehen-Kinder-NON-USA-FORMAT-PAL-Reg-4-Import-Australia-B000IHVFTU-X.jpg)
Goodbye, Children (Au revoir, les enfants) (Auf Wiedersehen, Kinder) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]DVD
Best price: $29.99
Similar DVD Movies
La Jetee/ Sans Soleil (Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2007-06-26; DVD
Best price: $27.97
Price in other shops:
The Chorus (Les Choristes)Release date: 2005-05-03; DVD
Best price: $19.94
Price in other shops:
The Sorrow and the PityRelease date: 2001-04-24; DVD
Best price: $29.84
Price in other shops: