Powerful and moving

Rating: 8/10 (28 October 2013)

''Au Revoir Les Enfants'' is a very touching film about two children in a French boarding school who form a bond and share a dangerous secret. The film reflects the director's childhood life, Louis Malle, who as a kid witnessed three Jewish children and a priest being deported to Auschwitz during his stay in a boarding school. Deeply moving and realistic, ''Au Revoir Les Enfants'' is a film about friendship which challenges the viewer's emotions.
Malle directs the film with great care and makes sure that his characters go through their emotional journey without revealing themselves instantly. This gives great realism to the film as well as to its actors' performances. At 104 minutes, the film takes its time but by the end, we have witnessed an entire voyage of two children who despite their initial conflicts, come together and unveil their sensitive sides as children. Malle's direction does all that and the result is a film that doesn't force the audience to shed a tear like a melodrama rather than just tell us a powerful true story of bondage with realism.
Being a film where most of the characters are children, it would be very difficult to drain amazing performances from the leads. However, Louis Malle's meticulous direction allows the film to have a great emotional impact on the audience while guiding his young actors through the story. The two young protagonists (Gaspard Manesse, Raphaël Fejtö) give very natural performances which contribute very nicely to the film. They do not try to show off but they gradually expose themselves to the emotions and situations they find themselves in. What makes the children's performances so effective is that they portray authenticity . Their performances are raw and honest (At the end of the film, Manesse's performance leaves a very strong mark as he watches his best friend leaving with the Gestapo and waves at him while tearing silently, knowing that he will never see him again).
The film features no musical score (other than the children playing the piano in some parts of the film) but it proves not to be a weakness to the film's powerful story. Louis Malle's script is carefully written, clever and poignant.
If you are into films with a good, simple and moving story along with great performances, this is a recommend French classic that even after 26 years since its initial release, evokes strong emotions to its audience.