Interesting story with a powerful ending

Rating: 8/10 (2 May 2020)

1944. Julien goes to a Catholic school in German-occupied France. He is a loner and does not care too much when a new boy, Jean, joins his class. However, over time they become the best of friends. Then Julien discovers a secret about Jean.
Written and directed by Louis Malle, Au Revoir Les Enfants is a true story, taken from Malle's own childhood. Malle tells the story well, with a good set up, character depth and engagement and a very powerful ending. Quite evocative and poignant.
Not perfect though. It took a while for the story to progress: Act 1 takes up about 50% of the film. Even after that the story progresses quite slowly. It's never dull, due to the character engagement and some entertaining sub-plots, but I did start wondering where all this was going. It's all worth it though, due to the ending.
Great film.