Perfect cast and a good story

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Another fine film by Louis Malle. An understated drama about two pubescent boys, one of whom is a Jew hiding from the Germans. The pacing is slow, but the various dramatic are scenes telling. The ominous ending creeps up like a thief in the night and the finale comes down like a sledgehammer. Even if it is as subtle as can be.Gaspard Manesse, on whose character the film focuses mostly in the first part, plays wonderfully natural, but I have no complaints on any of the cast. And the setting of rural France is beautiful to boot.This may not be the sort of film I watch a lot, but from to time, I can really appreciate it. A good 8 out of 10.

Au Revoir Les Enfants- France 1987This is #4 on the list.This movie, is heartbreakingly true. It's sad, and the whole spectrum is sad.Saying that, and knowing I have empathy towards all those affected by the holocaust and how tragic it was. But this movie was not at all what I thought it would be. Coming in expecting a heart-tear-wrenching movie that would make me sad, happy, and emotional. But besides the idea of this being a true story, no, It did nothing for me. The directing was cliché for this type of movie, but I was expecting that. But I had no idea that the film would be so, so, out of the ordinary in character development as well as plot movement. The characters don't do much "developing" till half way till the movie is over. Hell, the two main characters who are supposed to be friend, don't even become apprentices till late in the movie.There is not much to say about the movie and the production efforts because they were predictable. But the story, could've been told so much better. Maybe I am just that really awful and cruel guy who can't appreciate the movie for what it is because I thought the story should've been more dramatized but hey, I'm a child of the 21st century. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it, but I can't say I relatively "Liked" it.SilverRating: 5/10

I have been able to recall many titles featuring in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, and this French film is one of those that I remember and was certainly looking forward to watching, from BAFTA winning director Louis Malle (Atlantic City). Basically, set during World War II, and term is beginning at a Catholic school run by priests, and upper class boy Julien Quentin (Gaspard Manesse) and his brother François (Stanislas Carré De Malberg) are attending after being on vacation, and Julien reestablishes himself as the leader of the fellow students. The school sees a new student arriving, Jean Bonnet (Raphael Fejtö), who instantly becomes a victim to bullying by the other boys, and of course Julien does not like him for a while. As time goes by though Jean does become much more part of the gang and accepted, and he gains a friend in the leader, Julien even finds out Jean is Jewish and hiding out from the Nazis. There are a few other things happening while the boys attend their lessons and hang out together, such as assistant cook Joseph (François Négret) caught selling food on the black market. The big point come though when Nazis are searching the school, aware that there may be Jewish students hiding out, and in the end Jean and three others are caught and taken away, leaving Julien devastated. Also starring Francine Racette as Mme Quentin, Philippe Morier-Genoud as Father Jean, François Berléand as Father Michel and Peter Fitz as Muller. The cast of young actors all do pretty well, I will admit I did not understand everything going on, but it is an interesting enough story and concept from what I did follow, especially as it is semi-autobiographical based on the past of the director, I suppose it is a Second World War drama to see. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, it was nominated the BAFTAs for Best Film, Best Film not in the English Language and Best Original Screenplay, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Good!

Like most people, Malle had an uneventful childhood as he attended a boarding school in France. Unlike most people, Malle felt a need to make a movie about this rather dull period of his life. There is nothing very interesting about watching boys going through their daily routines at school. There is no plot, just random episodes that fail to sustain a narrative flow. There's an extended scene where the two main characters are separated from their troop while playing a game in the woods. It seems like it's building up to something dramatic, but it just fizzles out. The final scene is powerful, but does not warrant having to sit through the rest of this underwhelming drama.