Likely this was not done because Malle was trying to turn the story of his youth into hagiography and was not objective enough about the dramatic structural flaws in the screenplay. He likely felt that the suffusion of details, like Quentin’s bed-wetting, or the rest of the dormitory’s shared masturbations of 1001 Arabian Nights, would carry the film through to its powerful end. And it does, if limpingly, but not at the grand trot nor gallop of a great film. The fact that, in the penultimate scenes, it is an incidental look that Quentin shoots at his friend, Bonnet, that gives him away to the Gestapo inquisitor, is a great touch, but a savvy viewer is left wishing the rest of the film had been so well plotted.
This lack, in this personal film, contrasts greatly with Malle’s masterpiece, My Dinner With Andre, which is a film that is 98% set in a restaurant, with two old friends conversing. There, every word that is uttered has heft, and a viewer is left with far greater imagery burnt into their memories than in your typical special effects film.
Perhaps not coincidentally, one of the film’s best scenes, prior to the ending, also is set in a restaurant, where, after Julien’s and Jean’s ‘lost in the woods’ incident, and the two of them physically scrapping, Julien’s mother (Francine Racette) takes the two of them, and his older brother François (Stanislas Carré de Malberg) - who also goes to the boarding school and delights in giving wrong directions to German soldiers - to a fancy restaurant. There, they see some Vichy officers try to toss an old Jew out on the street, over the objections of a waiter.
What is interesting is that Malle does not let the scene just play out as an ode to anti-Semitism, the way a bad filmmaker like Steven Spielberg would. No, he spikes the scene and subverts any potential didacticism by having the German officers, at a nearby table, actually threaten and toss out the Vichy thugs, thereby allowing the old Jew to finish his meal in peace. Malle’s political intent is clear — invaders are bad enough, but collaborators are the real evil in such a time and situation. The best film to ever deal with this was Ingmar Bergman’s Shame (Skammen), but that was in a wholly fictive setting. Malle’s film makes its point well, but stings for its historic reality. Were more scenes in the film filled with those sorts of subtle, but effective moments, the film’s pacing would be picked up, for ‘pacing’ in a film can be subjective. It’s not the actual unfolding of events in real screen time that matters most, but the number of memorable moments that occur in a film.
Article comments
1 - moonraven
The first and, by far, the best film in Malle's trilogy of coming of age pictures is Le Souffle au Coeur (1971--released in the US as Murmur of the Heart).
It's a much more complex film than either Lacombe Lucien or Au revoir, les enfants--and it has the ebulliently wonderful actress Lea Massari as the mother, Clara, as well as a fine performance by Benoit Ferreux as Laurent.
The film did not receive the attention it deserved when it was released, as many critics were reluctant to take on the incest theme.
A charming,compassionate picture. Well worth re-seeing several times.
2 - Justin
This is simply one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen. We just watched this in French class, and there is only one word for it: amazing.
This is just one of those movies that can touch you deep down, and it left all of us thinking. This movie was powerful enough to move EVERYBODY. By the end, you found everybody from sensitive freshman girls to seniors on the varsity football team bawling their eyes out.
Between the moving (and true) story line and the incredible acting, this is a must-see.
3 - Christine
Although I agree with the critic on some points (the film does not engage one as it could) It left me thinking and made me come back again to absorb more. I watched it because my former supervisor at work has a bit part in it as one of the soliders who rounded up the Jewish boys. Not often you get to see your former boss in a Gestopo uniform! I thought the boys were excellent in their parts, but I DID wish to feel more for them when the Gestopo stormed in.
4 - bliffle
Excellent movie. As one would expect from Louis Malle.
Portrayal of people is his strongest skill. Even a modest Malle venture, such as the seldom seen TV documentary "Gods Country" (I seem to be one of the few who have seen it) shows his clarity of portrayal.
5 - bliffle
Excellent movie. As one would expect from Louis Malle.
Portrayal of people is his strongest skill. Even a modest Malle venture, such as the seldom seen TV documentary "Gods Country" (I seem to be one of the few who have seen it) shows his clarity of portrayal.