French Movie Review Sample

There are many books and movies that are dedicated to commemorate the World War II and the Holocaust, but “Au revoir les infants” is an exceptionally great story with a valuable moral behind.
The story opens in January 1944 in nazi-occupied France, right after a short Christmas vacation. A mother is having a farewell for her children who are returning to Catholic boarding school.
This cultural aspect is similar to the US, because at that times boarding schools were also famous and quite spread, as they ensured quality education and were also often based on theological thought. The priest who ran this school decided to protect several children who were Jews and illegally accepted them as students. Great majority of pupils, however, were from wealthy families who sent their children for education and protection from the war.
The main themes of the movie are childhood friendship, World War II and anti-semitism. In the start of the new semester Julien, one of the two sons, and Jean, a new student, explore friendship together. At first they were rivals, because Juliet is an excellent student and a tough guy in this school. On the other hand, Jean Bonnet was often razed by the rest of children, because he behaved differently. Juliet later on discovers that Jean’s real last name is Kippelstein and he starts to be more tolerant to him.
Julian is not anti-semitic and moreover, he didn’t know the meaning of the word “Jew”, He started to ask his friends about different facts, such as about pork and persecution. Julian feels compassion towards Jean and he is also impressed by his talent in math and playing piano.
Children engage in an interesting endeavor, which includes reading prohibited books, discussing personal stories, getting lost in the woods and hiding from everyone to enjoy piano.
The end of the movie is especially dramatic. When police arrived to the class to ask about “Jews” Julien accidently glanced behind his back and revealed his friend. Regardless of the attempts to hide or run away, several Jewish students were sent to Auschwitz and died shortly after.
In Au revoir les enfants the US is shown through Charlie Chaplin’s episode about immigration and the dialogue where children mentioned the US army needs to arrive soon to fight and help Europe. At the bottom line, French and American cultures are similar, especially the way that children lived and had interpersonal relationships.