One of the best films ever about war and its effects, FORBIDDEN GAMES also speaks beautifully to the need of children to construct their own fantasy world away from adult supervision.
Director Clement's most famous film carefully begins with its one action highlight, as refugees flee WWII Paris in the face of a Nazi attack. At a bottleneck on a bridge, German planes swoop down in perfect formation and strafe the confused column. Paulette (Fossey) is seen standing alone on the
bridge, her parents and dog dead. When someone throws the dog over the bridge, she goes after it and meets Michel (Poujouly), the 11 year-old son of peasants (Hubert and Courtal). The boy takes the girl home with him, and his parents take her in. When Paulette sees her parents buried, she decides
that her dog also needs to be buried in a grave with a cross. She and Michel steal a cross from the hearse carrying his older brother. He and Paulette begin to expand their secret animal cemetery to include moles, chickens, and even insects, all given elaborate memorial services with stolen
crosses. The eventual discovery of the children's secret and their future together make for a moving climax.
FORBIDDEN GAMES derives most of its power from Clement's painstakingly methodical direction and the remarkable performances of the two child leads. Poujouly and the amazing five year-old Fossey are highly expressive actors who give this stunning film its emotional core. The visual and narrative
style is a potent blend of stark documentary, pastoral realism and film noir. Seeing war through the eyes of children who cope with its atrocities by constructing their own little game of death was a brilliant move--it seems morbid and grotesque to all the adults, but the problem is that they are
the ones who really lack understanding and respect. leave a comment